Donegal’s Michele Christensen and Natasha Romero Named Among 2025 Central PA Women of Influence

Awarded annually to high-achieving women for their career accomplishments, CPBJ’s Women of Influence honor recognizes professional experience, community involvement, leadership and sustained commitment to mentoring.

As the driver behind Donegal’s Claims Academy, Christensen has mentored three classes of Claims trainees in recent years, yielding 24 graduates who have filled company roles with homegrown talent. It’s a program she’s built from the ground up, after being hand-picked to fill the brand-new role of Claims Quality Assurance and Training Manager back in 2022.

After a successful career in the hospitality  industry in Lancaster and York counties, Christensen made the move into insurance in 2009, swiftly advancing since then into various Claims leadership roles. Most recently, she earned her CPCU this month. 

Outside of Donegal, Christensen has given back to her Central Pennsylvania community by volunteering with Junior Achievement, at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, and through her support of the Mechanicsburg-based Homeward Bound Animal Rescue, from which she adopted her two beloved “mutts”, Corduroy and Tira.  

“Michele is organized and thorough, flexible and able to pivot easily,” said Bill Folmar, Senior Vice President of Claims. “But more importantly, her attitude and desire to do excellent work make her a key leader both within the company, and in the insurance community.” 

With previous roles in audit and financial reporting management at various accounting and financial advisory firms, Romero  joined the Donegal team in 2018, and has played an integral role on our Finance and Internal Audit teams.

Formerly Vice President of Internal Audit, she was named Controller in 2024 – a natural fit for her strong financial background, auditing experience, and deep company knowledge. As Controller, Romero  works closely with Accounting leadership, providing elevated oversight of our financial reporting process and internal control environment. 

Outside of Donegal, Romero seamlessly juggles being the mother of two young children with continued learning opportunities that fuel her growth, both personally and professionally.