HUMMINGBIRD INSURANCE - Key Persons
Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Brooke has been in the Asheville area for almost a decade. After completing her degree in Communications at the University of North Carolina in Asheville, she worked as a reporter and writer for the Mountain Xpress and Ashvegas. Over the years, Brooke developed many deep and meaningful relationships in Asheville and the surrounding area through in-depth interviews and reporting on everything from city government to adventure cats.
Brooke believes that each person has a story. Her love of talking with members of her local community and learning their unique stories translated perfectly into a career that helps connect people with health care based on their individual needs. A self-described nerd, Brooke is obsessed with her work and enjoys navigating the complexities of the health care system, but shares information in a plainspoken, non-pretentious manner. She has lots of great stories to share and is eager to hear some of yours!
In her free time, Brooke enjoys exploring the mountains of Western North Carolina with her partner, Jamie, snuggling up with a good book and her cats, Yoko and Yoshimi, and tending to her many houseplants and garden. Brooke continues to write for local publications and performs in the art-rock band, Daydream Creatures."
Cybele Hetherington and family moved to WNC in 2004 to be closer to her husband's aging parents. The family quickly learned to love the mountain lifestyle of good water, clean air, friendly people, and relaxed living. She and her husband have raised four children, and currently share their home with Rusty the Husky and two pampered cats.
Cybele received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology before pursuing graduate work in Linguistics. A well-known homeschool educator, advocate, and mentor, Cybele helped to create and foster the thriving WNC homeschool community. In her long-term role as an educational consultant, Cybele provided customized support to students and their families through ongoing, personalized service - matching the opportunity to the individual's needs is what she most enjoys.
As her children moved into early adulthood and no longer required her full-time attention, Cybele decided to embrace new challenges. Hummingbird Insurance offered an ideal opportunity for Cybele to bring her love of matching peoples' needs to the best insurance solutions available. To Cybele, community is everything, and the Hummingbird Insurance commitment to the WNC community is a perfect fit.
Dan Murphy first started visiting the Appalachian Mountains when he was twelve years old. Every summer he would come up from Florida to spend several weeks helping repair damaged homes in impoverished regions of the mountains. In the process of fixing roofs and repairing foundations, he fell in love with this part of the country and resolved to move there in the future.
Dan has been a lifelong martial artist, beginning at the age of five, and by the time he was a teenager he managed a training hall that taught Karate to children. He has two black belts and has practiced five different systems, all of which gave him a strong sense of personal control, focus, and the importance of always doing the right thing.
In his early twenties he helped start a Security company and, separately, wrote curriculum for online courses in Greek philosophy. The importance of self reflection and personal inquiry was rooted into him at a young age thanks to his own martial arts teacher. As a child he was encouraged to read philosophical works from Asian, Oriental, Greek, and European cultures. Today he occasionally gives public lectures or online workshops about these and related subjects, all of which have had a powerful impact on his life. Dan also travels to India periodically, where he studies medicinal herbalism.
After a long hiatus from doing health and life insurance several years ago, Dan decided to join the Hummingbird family. He reached out to us because of our five-star reputation in the region, which said to him that this was a business that was treating their clients well and doing everything above-board. With a bit of extraordinary luck he found two kindred spirits working there. Mike Peterson, like himself, had traveled in India and pursued an interest in meditation. Geoffrey Ferland, the founder, was from Dan's hometown in Florida. He joined the team right away and now works to continue our reputation as an honest, client-focused agency.
Job Titles:
- Professional Agent
- Professional Licensed Agent
Originally from North Dakota, Kelsi moved to Asheville in 2008 from St. Louis, Missouri. Kelsi loves Asheville and all the activities and community offered here. Although she moved here to attend Warren Wilson College, she stayed upon graduating because she felt like it was home. Kelsi received two Bachelor's of Arts degrees, one in Global Studies and the other in Political Science. Kelsi has always had a passion for travelling and has been doing so since a small child, so Global Studies seemed like a good fit.
Upon graduating, she has worked at a variety of upscale and premiere establishments throughout Asheville. Her main focus is customer service and client retention as well as providing a personal experience for whom she serves. Kelsi is grateful to be a part of the Hummingbird family and happy to help others obtain affordable and accessible health care. In her free time, Kelsi enjoys spending time with her dog Bowie and her family, going to shows, hiking, and stand up paddle boarding, as well as further exploring Asheville's community and culture.
Maria grew up in Taylorsville, NC and then moved to the mountains and attended Western Carolina University starting in 2003. Right before graduating from WCU, she moved to Asheville and worked for a technology company while finishing her degree in Interior Design. Maria worked in construction and design for about 14 years, the last 5 of which she worked for a local disaster restoration company. In restoration, Maria dealt with property insurance agents and claims regularly, and now she is thrilled to be helping people insure *who* they love, not *what* they love!
Maria's husband works in construction. They met through mutual friends. They live in Mills River and have 2 rescue dogs. Maria and her husband enjoy hiking and the great outdoors, and are avid paintballers that play on a traveling team! Maria is also a collector and has a love of all things vintage and antique.
Mike Peterson moved to Asheville in 2006. He came from Anchorage, Alaska with a lengthy pit stop in Bali, Indonesia. Mike and his three girls love Asheville and can often be found about town exploring and enjoying all the wonders that the area has to offer.
He received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University. Major interests other than spending time with family and friends are exploring, entertaining, and traveling. After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Mike spent his late twenties enjoying snow sports in Montana, Alaska, and Hokkaido Japan. Additionally, he spent several years traveling and experiencing life in Mexico, Costa Rica, Japan, India, Nepal, Laos, and Thailand. Meeting, connecting, and making friends has always been a priority and Mike has been lucky to do this throughout the world.
Professionally, Mike has had a career in telecommunications and healthcare. He most recently served as the Director of Business Development for Asheville Radiology Associates providing management consulting services for Mission Health System. During that time, he also earned a Masters of Business Administration from Lenoir Rhyne University.
Mike decided to leave the corporate world to pursue his true purpose and passion, which is connecting with people and helping them connect with solutions that support a healthy lifestyle. Hummingbird Insurance is the perfect fit and allows Mike the opportunity to do just that; meet clients who he can get to know in order to discover ways to help them benefit from his knowledge, compassion and integrity.
Job Titles:
- Professional Agent
- Professional Licensed Agent
Hailing from New York City and the Philippines, Ralph brings an enveloping experience of warmth and personality to Hummingbird Insurance. Ralph originally went to school for culinary arts at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. From there, he fell in love with the finesse, elegance, and grace of classical fine dining service. His passion for genuine hospitality and service ignited, leading him down a path that would include managing highly rated restaurants in New York and Washington D.C. Ralph also is a certified Sommelier, so ask him about wine!
Ralph is a recent transplant to Asheville, having visited with his husband in 2010 and was determined to exchange the hustle and bustle of DC for the fresh air and good vibes of Asheville. Being new to the area, Ralph is constantly exploring his new surroundings and finding a great deal of pleasure checking out the ever-expanding food scene, particularly anything that will satisfy his sweet tooth.
After moving to Asheville, Ralph discovered a multitude of outlets to keeping active and fit; from hot yoga and hiking the innumerable trails with his 3 dogs, to Crossfit and Aerial Arts. Even after buying his home in Candler, which he believes will always be in perpetual renovation mode while his husband tries to knock out the ever growing "honey-do" list, he will find the time to help keep him leading that active lifestyle.
An Alachua county native, Sean Murphy was born to the mayor of the city as well as a nurse practitioner. He grew up in a home that was centered around the welfare of others, and always trying to do what was best. Whether it was helping his family or helping repair homes in the impoverished areas of the Appalachian Mountains, Sean spent his younger years developing a natural affinity for hard work, determination and compassionate action.
Born with a sense of wanderlust, Sean has spent many years practicing, studying and applying the philosophies and histories of various cultures. Starting at the age of seven with Karate, he has been on a lifelong journey of self-improvement that has led him to develop a strong sense of moral character, humor, discipline and drive to help others as much as possible.
He first turned to health and life insurance while working as a massage therapist. Hearing every day how much stress the average client dealt with due to their health insurance, Sean set out to deal with the source of his clients' stress directly, as an honest and sincere worker for your benefit in his hometown of Gainesville, Florida.