Her Story
About Dawn
Dawn Prenatt serves as supervisor over the processing team in the contracting department at Foremost, where she manages contracting for national accounts and strategic partner accounts. Her team handles licensing, contracts, agent additions and terminations, and code consolidation projects for high-volume insurance agencies with a national footprint. Prior to her five years in insurance, she spent seven years at the Cleveland Clinic in healthcare finance, progressing from prior authorizations representative to work leader roles in emergency room registration and billing operations, and then to supervisor overseeing integrations of hospital facilities into the billing system. While working full time and raising two young children, she earned an associate's degree and later a bachelor's degree, receiving a writing award for one of her class papers, and completed the revenue cycle leadership group program at Cleveland Clinic, where she was also named Revenue Cycle Employee of the Month. Dawn values walking with integrity, transparency, and authenticity as the core of relationship building. She attributes her success to her faith, the people who took chances on her and mentored her when she doubted herself, and her family, whom she strives to set a good example for. She advises young women entering the industry to never give up, take action during struggles, and learn by observing successful women in meetings.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Dawn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my faith, and people taking a chance on me and believing in me when I didn't believe in myself. People who were willing to take the time to mentor me and grow me. And my family. I just want to keep trying to be a good example to them.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My senior director at the Cleveland Clinic, Joe Keckin, told me that it was super important that when I'm gathering information and working to present it to upper leadership to manage up, and to think about what the senior leadership group is going to ask you before they even ask you. And to include that in your presentation so that you're already providing them the information, and they don't even need to ask for it. And to show that you have that forward thinking.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just don't give up. Even on the days that seem endless, or that you just want to shut the books and walk off, just remember that it's only a moment and it will pass. And tomorrow or even the next hour is a brand new opportunity. When you're struggling, just get up and take some action. Find somebody who is a few steps above you and watch women in meetings - their mannerisms, how they present, how they speak - and learn from them.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
We need to figure out how to do more with less. Insurance is rapidly changing. For Farmers, we are working hard to move up in the IA channel and navigating many different strategic initiatives. My department is trying to strategize how to support these different initiatives with high volume of work and rigorous goals.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Walking with integrity, transparency, and being authentic. Those are the core of relationship building. If you want true success in work or personal life, be honest. People will grow to trust you and you will gain so much through being true. We all want to belong, and making connections based on those core values gives back tenfold.
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