Ep. 650 Getting to Know Your Rancho Mesa Family with Taylor McClean
President of Rancho Mesa Insurance David Garcia, interviews Surety Client Coordinator Taylor McClean, on her upbringing, personal life, and professional career.
Show Notes: Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter
Host: David Garcia
Guest: Taylor McClean
Editor: Megan Lockhart
Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “Breaking News Intro” by nem0production
© Copyright 2026. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
Transcript
David Garcia: Hi, this is Dave Garcia. You’re listening to Rancho Mesa’s StudioOne™ podcast, where each week we break down complex insurance and safety topics to help your business thrive.
Today we'll be doing a getting to know the Rancho Mesa family segment, and my guest today will be Taylor McClean, who's a client coordinator here at Rancho Mesa.
Taylor, welcome to the show.
Taylor McClean: Hi, I'm happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
DG: Awesome. Yeah. So Taylor, we're going to just find out all kinds of things about you today. So let's start off with where did you grow up? Where are you from?
TM: I am from San Diego, California. I grew up here in different cities around San Diego.
DG: Okay. What high school did you go to?
TM: Okay. What high school did you go to?
DG: Yeah. Was that a newer school when you first went there?
TM: It was still relatively new, yeah. I think they have a pool now and stuff, but they didn't have that when I was there.
DG: Was the football field blue back then?
TM: It was blue, so it was interesting.
DG: That's pretty cool. So while you were in high school, did you get involved in anything there?
TM: I was kind of low-key in high school, I would say. I didn't do too many crazy things. I did a lot of reading and writing. I would say one thing that I did was... was pretty cool was my sophomore year of high school, I was in a writing competition.
DG: Oh, really?
TM: Yeah, my entire class, we entered a writing competition that was Edgar Allan Poe themed. So we all created different creepy stories and stuff and submitted them. And then they got voted on by my class members. And I ended up winning the competition.
DG: You did?
TM: Yeah. So that was really cool.
DG: You know, we're going to ask you for a copy of that at some point.
TM: I have it. I do have it.
DG: Well, we got to see that. Why don't you bring it in around Halloween? We'll talk about it. We'll promote it around the office.
TM: We'll make copies and we'll hand it out to everyone.
DG: I think it's perfect. Well, sign copies. You'll have to sign them.
TM: Yeah. The exclusive.
DG: Exclusive, right.
TM: Anniversary copies.
DG: There you go. Perfect. So Taylor, tell me when you're not at work, what do you like to do outside of work?
TM: I'm a huge reader. I love reading in random coffee shops. So I do. tour of San Diego on my days off and go see which coffee shop calls to me that day. And then I'll curl up at a table with my book and my latte. Other than that, I really love my cats. I've got two cats named Piper and Leo. They're named after the show Charmed, which is one of my favorite shows. And I hang out with my friends and family a lot. I'm super family and friend oriented.
DG: That's really nice. So going back to your books, I'm a reader as well. So are you an actual physical book reader or are you reading on your like a tablet or how do you consume your books?
TM: I do both. I don't like to take my books out of the house because I've damaged so many books, throwing them in my bag or anywhere or taking them to the beach. I always damage them. So I have my Kindle in my purse at all times, but I switch between the two.
DG: Yeah. And is there a particular type of book that you like to enjoy? Is it fiction or?
TM: I love fantasy. I love romance. I love all of the make-believe. I do not read anything about real life. Unless it's, of course, here at our book club that we have at work actually.
DG: All right. Well, let's dig a little deeper. You got any hidden talents that you want to share with us?
TM: Well, not many. I do have one cool one that I will tell you about, and it is related to what I said about reading before. I love to bind books. Sometimes it can be something that somebody's written, or sometimes I tear off covers of books and rebind them.
DG: Really?
TM: So there will be times where I print out a book and I sew it together. And then I build the cover. And then I build the art that goes on the cover.
DG: No kidding.
TM: I glue it all together. Yeah, make my own hard book.
DG: Yeah, that's really interesting. I don't think I've ever met somebody that does that. That's a really cool hobby. How did that start?
TM: It started with my love of reading. Yeah. I started doing it several years ago. I have my own outside of work book club with some of my girlfriends. And there was one year where I was thinking of Christmas presents for them. And we had just started our book club and we had cute little shirts made. And I thought, what is something really thoughtful? that I can do for my friends. So I looked into bookbinding and I was able to bind special editions of our favorite books for them.
DG: Wow, what a great gift. That's really thoughtful.
TM: Thanks.
DG: Well, so I know you're busy at work and it sounds like you're busy outside of work, but if you ever get a chance to go on vacation, do you have any favorite vacation spots that you like to go to?
TM: I'm not a big vacation person. I've done traveling for sure, but I am more of a sit back and enjoy the scenery type of person. I do a lot of staycations. I go up to the mountains or to the beach and I stay around San Diego for the most part. I love to just sit back and sit by a fire and talk with my friends and family. I like barbecues, that kind of stuff.
DG: Where in San Diego, if you had to pick like one or two spots that really stand out to you in San Diego, where do you like to go?
TM: I like Mount Laguna. I always drive up there. We did family camping trips every year up there with my dad. And we go up there for day trips to hike or just put on a lawn chair and we just sit and talk all day, and then I would say we also go to the beach a lot. Those beaches vary. I really love Torrey Pines. I often go there in the mornings with my stepmom and we walk around and collect seashells and the sand dollars there are really beautiful. So that's a big one for me too.
DG: You know something that’s . really great and unique about San Diego, you can, you could, if you wanted to, you could be in the mountains in the morning and you could be at the beach in the afternoon, and there's not too many places that you can do that. So I'm glad you're taking advantage of both of those things. All right. So here's the tough question.
TM: All right, I'm ready.
DG: Okay. What's something about yourself that most people don't know?
TM: I was prepared for this one because I have to think about it. I was born in Wyoming. Yeah, my dad went to college there.
DG: At the University of Wyoming?
TM: At the University of Wyoming, yeah.
DG: So he's a cowboy, right?
TM: He's a cowboy. Yeah. I was born there and my sister, one of my sisters was born there as well, and I moved here when I was about four years old. So I have some of my first memories there. Yeah. But it's just a fun fact. You don't meet many people that were born in Wyoming.
DG: There's not that many people in Wyoming.
TM: Yeah, exactly.
DG: So was that in Laramie? Is that where you were born?
TM: Yes, I was born in Laramie.
DG: Wow, that's really cool. Yeah, I grew up in El Cajon, but I was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. So similar, my family moved here when I was two. So I really don't have any Wisconsin memories like you do of Wyoming, but it's kind of unique, right? There's so few of us that are to be considered a San Diego native. When you're here at two or at four, we kind of call ourselves San Diego natives too.
TM: I am pretty much a San Diego native. I'm the second generation born here.
DG: Yeah.
TM: So my family's from Greece.
DG: Oh, really?
TM: Yeah. So that's also cool. I've got two cool things.
DG: Yeah, that is cool. Okay, so Taylor, tell me, who has been the most influential person in your life?
TM: I would say my dad's been the most influential person in my life. He supported me through all of my phases of life. He's taught me what it means to work hard. and show up for the people that are important to me he's also the funniest person alive and that's something that I really have taken from him yeah I’ve seen how powerful it is to light up a room with a laugh or to alleviate a hard moment with a laugh and that's just something that always reminds me of my dad that I have taken.
DG: That's cool we need to meet him one day then and have him come in and make us laugh.
TM: Absolutely he'll do it.
DG: Yeah I’m sure he would. Was it from him or anybody else, what's the best piece of advice that you think you've ever received?
TM: I would say you don't have to have your life figured out I think when we're younger there's a lot of planning going on. When I was in college, I remembered not having any idea what I wanted to do and not knowing what career path I wanted to go down. And it always made me panic, and I started seeing the beauty of not having to have it all figured out. I'm not the same person that I used to be. And it's okay to have your future ever evolving and ever changing and goals moving. So I plan as best as I can for my near future, and my long-term goals are just to be happy.
DG: Yeah, that's great. I think particularly in the insurance world, most of us didn't grow up thinking, I'm going to be in the insurance world. You know, kind of just it finds you and then you find out that it's, in my case, way more interesting than I ever thought and lots of different types of careers. So I agree. I don't think you want to, most people don't really know what they want to be until they are that person. You know, the opportunity presents itself and they walk out that path. So good for you.
TM: Thank you.
DG: Is there, if you could like, you know, magic wand it here. instantly have a new skill or talent, what would it be?
TM: I think it would have to be singing. I'm a pretty terrible singer, but I very much admire the people who just have that talent and can control so much with their voice, and I've always wanted to do it. And I know it's a skill that you can learn because I'm not naturally gifted with it.
DG: Right.
TM: But if I could, I would.
DG: Yeah. I mean, that would be on my bucket list as well. I have no chance of, I can't even remember the lyrics other than to the national anthem. So I'm really far behind. Let's switch gears and now talk about you and Rancho Mesa a little bit. So how long have you been with us here at Rancho Mesa?
TM: I'm still relatively new. I've been with Rancho Mesa for about five months now.
DG: Five months, okay what motivated you to join us how did you find us or how did we find you?
TM: You found me very much so, so I spent the majority of my career before this as a store manager upper management in Starbucks um and because of that they paid for my bachelor's degree and a bunch of my family members started working for Starbucks as well because we all wanted to get our bachelor's degree on Starbucks’s dime.
DG: Right.
TM: So Jeremy, which is a producer here, he goes to the Starbucks in the parking lot here, which is where my sister works. And I had moved back to San Diego. I was gone for about a year. And when I moved back to San Diego, I was looking for something more long term, something that inspired me more, and I didn't know what it was. I just knew that I wanted something that I was going to be able to grow in, learn in, stay with long term. My sister met Jeremy and then another client of Jeremy's, an old client, I suppose, and they passed around my LinkedIn information, and I was contacted and came in for an interview. And here I am.
DG: That's awesome, credit to Jeremy. You know, everybody here is protective of our culture, and we're always trying to look for the one of ones, you know, the people that. are engaging and kind of want to push themselves and grow. So those attributes must have just stood out, and then to your credit, you took advantage of the opportunity. So you're at the entry level position, client coordinator to work on our service teams. So what are some of your responsibilities in those five months that you're beginning to learn?
TM: I support a lot of day-to-day client needs. I would say that my role covers a little piece of everything. The nice thing about being in such a general role right now is that I see so many different aspects and I can kind of carve out my own path as to where I want to go so on a daily basis I do lots of data gathering I collect information about clients and their needs and what's going on in their lives I endorse insurance policies I talk with clients and ensure that they're satisfied a little bit of claim handling a little bit of billing but the majority is just ensuring that things are running smoothly and organized.
DG: Yeah, I think, and to your credit, you know, you passed your insurance license exam. That was not easy to do, and you knocked it out of the park there. So I want to congratulate you on that. So is there one or two areas of your role that you really enjoy? Are you finding any one of those things in particular that you really enjoy?
TM: Yeah. Well, thank you so much for congratulating me. It was something that I'm super proud of.
DG: Oh my gosh. Yes. We know how difficult that is. From the days when I took it, it was much easier. Now it's really difficult. So what are the two areas that you really enjoy about your job?
TM: I really enjoy seeing how my role supports a bigger picture. I am very thirsty for information. So I'm always going to like my client managers, my team leads, and just asking for more information. They go above and beyond to show me how my work contributes to the bigger picture. And I'm a big person of knowing the why behind things, and they explain it to me. So I suppose my favorite. area of my role is the ability to learn more.
DG: You strike me as that person you know the thirst to grow the thirst for more information it's seemingly unquenchable for you like you just want you can't get enough of it so and we want to encourage that we want to support those things for you here as much as we know possibly can I know it's only been five months but is there any one accomplishment that strikes you as like, wow, I was really proud. Aside from passing the insurance license, that would probably be the answer to the question. But aside from that, is there anything else that really stands out?
TM: I am new to this industry and I feel like I'm doing really well for being new to the industry. I have the support that I need and the questions that I have are always answered, and I can see myself going really far within this company.
DG: Yeah, us too. So Taylor, what areas are you looking to expand or grow within your current career or your group?
TM: I really am not quite sure. I know that I would like to grow in this company. I think that the clear next step for me is going to be assistant client manager with what department is what I am unsure about. I really love construction, which is where I currently am. But I want to learn more about all of the different departments. I was just talking with everyone about... How different it is that we have the studio and how we have the surety group and landscape, and it's I just want a piece of everything.
DG: That makes you even more valuable.
TM: Thank you.
DG: When you can move around within the company, provide the same level of expertise. It's really important to us that we do have cross training and opportunities as we continue to grow, develop. Right. It could be a team lead in a different. group than you're currently in that you'd want to try to interview for that. So I would encourage you to just keep seeking that knowledge like you're doing. I always like to ask these questions, kind of getting down toward the end. So if you were to meet a total stranger and they asked you about Rancho Mesa, how would you describe Rancho Mesa to them?
TM: I think Rancho Mesa is very much a company that stands up for their clients. We're the middleman between the insurance carrier and the client. And we very much stand up for the client's needs and we do our best to, you know, form those relationships with them, and I feel like all positions here within our company contribute to that.
DG: Yeah, that's really the core value. You really want to be client-centric, you know, and use our expertise to really support them. So if you're five months in already feeling that, that's from me as the president of the company, I'm pumped because it means that we're doing a good job of training new people like you. So that's really awesome. Culture is a big thing to me. So how would you describe Rancho Mesa's culture in just three words?
TM: I would describe it as supportive, empowering, and thoughtful I think that just like you said our core values everything that I’ve experienced here so far is based in satisfaction for both the employees and the clients I have never felt so empowered within a company not just by you could walk down the hallway and you the president talks to me who's entry level and makes me feel like we're all one big team and we truly are.
DG: Yeah that's it that's great that you feel that way because that's what we're trying to It's not cotton candy. There's substance to that feeling, we're not just trying to pretend that's the feeling. So I'm glad to hear you say that. So let's do this, Taylor. We're just towards the end now. Let's take the magic wand and tap it and say, we're going to look backwards three years, five years from now. Where do you see yourself within Rancho Mesa?
TM: I see myself making a bigger impact. What that... like I'm not 100% certain of at this time. But I see myself climbing to find my perfect spot, and I want to make other people feel supported, and I want to be a leader. I've always been a leader in all of my roles outside of this company, and I want a team to help guide through things, and I want to continue helping people feel supported the way that you guys are already doing. I just want to be a part of what you guys are doing.
DG: Well, I think, Taylor, you're exactly what we're looking to do for people. What I would ask you to do in return is to challenge me and the leadership team here to make sure that we're feeding you the right way. We need to challenge you. We need to give you more opportunities. We need to give you more opportunities to develop, and we're aware of those things. We try to do the best we can. But I challenge you to say, hey, tell me if it's not enough. Like I want more and here's some ideas because we're really open to that. That's what's fun. You know, we have a ton of people here that have been here 15, 20 years. So that to me says, well, we're doing some things right because they're still here. It's not just a job to them. And so I think there's a distinction between I'm satisfied with my job. I think you can make that pretty easy for people, compensation, nice office, that kind of stuff, but are they engaged?
TM: Do they want to stay?
DG: Yeah. And my takeaway from me to you today is you're engaged. I think you're satisfied.
TM: I absolutely am.
DG: But I think you're engaged because you mentioned wanting to see how what you do impacts other people. And that's engagement. That's where every role here plays a role. And it's all about engagement. So I'm really pumped, you made my day. All right. So before we wrap up. Last thing, you have anything that we didn't talk about that you'd like to talk about, now's your chance.
TM: Not necessarily anything that I want to talk about, but I do just want to say that I'm so thankful to be here. And I have worked for so many different places in my time. And this by far has been the best place that I've worked.
DG: Right. A year from now, I want you to be saying the same thing five years from now, 10 years from now. 20 years from now. So Taylor, thank you so much for joining me today and letting us get to know a little bit more about you and your role within Rancho Mesa. Like the Wyoming thing just keeps rattling in my head. You know, when I was a kid, and this is funny, I was going to be a lawyer. That was when I was like in seventh grade, and I was going to go to law school in Wyoming because I loved Wyoming. It's like I just saw it as this untapped territory with beautiful mountains and trees and rivers and lakes, and it never came to fruition. So to hear that you were born there I was like that's pretty cool that's a connection for me.
TM: That's really cool.
DG: That was really cool. So, all right, everyone out there, thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. If you've enjoyed what you'd heard, please share this episode and subscribe for more insights like this, more opportunities to meet your family here at Rancho Mesa. You can subscribe to us at ranchomesa.com. We'll talk to you again soon. Goodbye.