American Land Title Association Elects Donald Kennedy as President

The American Land Title Association, the national trade association of the land title insurance industry, announced that Donald (Don) Kennedy has been named president for 2023-2024.

“Over the next year, ALTA will help our members challenge unregulated title insurance alternatives that put consumers at unnecessary risk, while continuing to support appropriate regulation of the title insurance industry, advance public policies that protect consumers against predatory practices and advocate for the safe and efficient transfer of real property for all homebuyers,” said Kennedy, managing director for First American Title Insurance Co.’s Agency Division. “We also will focus on helping our members develop a workforce that reflects their communities.

“The ALTA presidency is the perfect opportunity to engage with more than 6,000 ALTA member companies and thousands of title insurance colleagues who serve and protect local communities across the United States. I am confident that with the ALTA Board of Governors, staff and membership, we will achieve our goals in the year ahead.”

ALTA’s 2023-2024 strategic priorities include helping members:

  • Champion the title insurance industry and combat regulatory threats
  • Promote title insurance as the best way to protect property rights
  • Succeed through adaptation and innovation

“Don is an esteemed member of the title insurance industry and a well-respected leader at ALTA,” said ALTA CEO Diane Tomb. “The decades he has spent as a title insurance professional, a litigation attorney and a board member for ALTA, the ALTA Good Deeds Foundation and the California Land Title Association will serve him well as ALTA President. His analytical mind, drive and ability and willingness to listen will help ALTA promote the title insurance industry and lead the ALTA membership through a challenging economic market.”

Kennedy is a third-generation ALTA president, following his father’s, Parker S. Kennedy, presidency in 1993-1994 and his grandfather’s, Donald P. Kennedy, presidency in 1983-1984.

“I am proud to build on my father’s and grandfather’s legacies as ALTA president,” Kennedy said. “They have passed down to me a legacy of character and leadership that has shaped my career. Through my years on the ALTA Board of Governors, I’ve come to appreciate and share their passion for the title insurance industry and title professionals who work to protect the property rights of all Americans.”

Kennedy’s biography can be found on ALTA’s website.

Members of ALTA’s 2023-2024 Board of Governors include:

  • President: Don Kennedy, First American Title Insurance Co.
  • President-elect: Richard H. Welshons, DCA Title
  •  Treasurer: Tara Smith, Stewart Title Guaranty Co.
  • Chair of Finance Committee: Lisa M. Steele, Mother Lode Holding Co.
  • Agents Section Chair: Craig Haskins, Knight Barry Title Inc.
  • Agents Section Rep: Quinn H. Stufflebeam, Title Financial Corp.
  •  Agents Section Rep: Deborah Bailey, Bailey Helms Legal
  • Underwriters Section Chair: David Townsend MTP, NTP, FNF Family of Cos.
  • Underwriters Section Rep: Donald A. O’Neill, WFG National Title Insurance Co.
  • Underwriters Section Rep: Scott T. Chandler CTIS, NTP, Westcor Land Title Insurance Co.
  • Immediate Past President: Jack Rattikin III, Rattikin Title Co.