R. Douglas Shaffer was born in August 1956 in Seattle, Washington. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Central Washington University and a minor in Business Administration in 1979. Douglas holds Professional Pilots Licenses (Airline Transport Pilot) and moved to Alaska in 1979, where he worked across the state and lived on the North Slope. In 1983, he expanded his career to include being an aviation claims adjuster and aircraft accident investigator. In 1985, he began his journey into the world of insurance by starting to sell aviation insurance. He worked for Equitable Life in 1985 and 1986 and then City Insurance Agency until 1991. At that time, Douglas decided to go out on his own and create Associated Insurance Services. He serves as the President of this company to this day and also has served on the Board of Directors for the Alaska Independent Agents and Brokers for a decade. Over that time, he served as director, treasurer, and president of the association. In his personal life, Douglas has been happily married to his wife Shirley since 1980 and lives in Anchorage with her and his three kids, Jack, Ian, and Mitchiko. He also has two grandchildren, Seth and Alexxa. When he isn’t busy running Associated Insurance or working with his partners at AZ Insurance Services, Douglas enjoys travelling, football, gourmet cooking, gardening, and spending time with his beautiful family.