ACAS - May 2021
Candidate Information
Education:
Bachelor of Science, Actuarial Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh (2018)
Bachelor of Arts, Spanish, University of Pittsburgh (2018)
- Minor in Creative Writing
Current Employment:
Associate Actuary and Pricing Manager, Allstate Insurance Company
2018 - Present
CAS Activities and Publications:
Volunteer Commitments:
Candidate Advocate Working Group, Member, 2020 – 2022
Predictive Analytics Task Force, Member, 2022
CAS Student Central Summer Program, Mentor, 2021
CAS Pioneer Team focused on Admissions, Member, 2021 - 2022
Admissions Roadmap Steering Group, Member, 2020 - 2021
“The CAS and an Introduction to P&C Insurance”, Presenter, CAS RPM Meeting, February 2021
New Associates Roundtable, Facilitator, May 2022 CAS Meeting
Student Conference Speed Networking, Mentor Participant, May 2023 CAS Meeting
Publications:
Future Fellows, “Enhancements to Credentials Are Coming: The Admissions Transformation Plan and You”, December 2021
Membership and Activities in Other Organizations:
Bonfire Beyond Women’s Talent Development Program, Participant
April 2022 – August 2022
NAWA Corporate Action Council, Allstate Representative
February 2023 - Present
Awards and Recognitions:
University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Scholarship, Recipient
- The Chancellor's Scholarship is a merit-based, four-year undergraduate scholarship award covering full tuition, room and board, and fees.
Culver Award, Recipient
- The Culver Award is a University of Pittsburgh award for recognition of academic achievement in mathematics.
Other Relevant Information:
“Principles of Risk and Insurance: Homeowners”, Guest Lecturer, DePaul University, January 2021 and April 2021
CAS Member Spotlight, Interviewee, October 2021
Allstate Exam Committee
- Lead, August 2021 - Present
- Member, December 2019 – August 2021
Serving as a volunteer with the CAS in multiple capacities has been one of my greatest professional joys, and I am honored to be nominated as a candidate for the CAS Board of Directors. I want to make the CAS a more transparent and effective organization by engaging members to participate in and guide the strategy of our professional society.
Even before I was a member, I knew the value of providing feedback to the CAS. Through my volunteering as a candidate and member, I saw firsthand how CAS decision making relies on member feedback to guide strategic direction. I contributed to our new predictive analytics requirements for associates, and I collaborated with staff to understand necessary changes to our admissions processes as part of the Admissions Transformation Plan. I am proud to share my insights on how to grow our profession for the future, and I know many other members are engaged and eager to provide their thoughts. I will advocate for more transparency in how the Board considers member feedback and additional resources for members to understand how changes to the CAS support our Envisioned Future.
The CAS is ready to draft a new Strategic Plan for 2024-2026 to support our pillars of building skills for the future, diversifying the pipeline, and expanding globally. The refresh of the strategic plan should explicitly connect strategic actions to member feedback to achieve our goal of an engaged actuarial organization.
The new Strategic Plan should also expand its commitment to building member skills for the future. I understand both the value and challenges of our current credentialing process. My exam journey was disrupted by COVID, and I have taken exams both on paper and pencil and at PearsonVue. Since I am a new Fellow, candidates I speak to know I understand their needs, their concerns, and their hopes for a better admissions experience. As an organization, we must modernize the methods we use to validate proficiencies while ensuring candidates have the skills needed in our changing profession. Actuaries are being asked to use new skills, like predictive analytics, in our daily work and relying on our strong basis in communication of technical concepts to do so. I will continue to advocate for our rigorous admissions process to ensure all actuaries demonstrate their competencies in our expanding actuarial skillset.
Admissions isn’t the only way to prepare for our Envisioned Future of a membership that is “sought after globally for their insights and ability to apply analytics to solve insurance and risk management problems.” To advance, we need to build on our existing skills for the future: clear communication, innovative problem-solving, and risk management knowledge. Our members and candidates are being asked to do more, and I believe the CAS can provide more resources to navigate the complex challenges presented to property and casualty actuaries. I will engage members to produce novel research to improve general knowledge in our industry and support them as they share those developments with the profession through research publications, volunteer engagement, and diversity organizations.
Member participation is key to the strength of the CAS, because members are the CAS. To promote member participation, the Board should communicate through methods that engage our diverse membership to provide feedback. All members should be able to contribute to our strategic vision. I want to ensure every member and candidate can confidently engage with the CAS to prepare for the global future of our organization.
We can accomplish our shared goal of a vibrant, in-demand CAS through three core avenues: increased transparency in strategic decision making, increased member participation in the CAS community, and an improved credentialing process The goal of transparency is to give members more input in the professional organization they belong to and to connect their experiences and needs to CAS strategy. To support the envisioned future of the CAS as a global, engaged, in-demand organization, we must hear from our members. Without a clear throughline from feedback to the next three years of transformation and change or a connection of actions to strategy, members feel disconnected from the Board and the organization overall.
I provided extensive feedback through my work on the Admissions Transformation Plan. I worked with board members, CAS staff, and the Candidate Advocacy Working Group to collect candidate feedback, and provide my own views, on the transformation plan. I hosted a “town hall” style meeting at my employer to describe the major changes to the admissions pathway and answer questions from candidates and members. I expanded that town hall into a Future Fellows article to connect with all candidates and members. The CAS collects member feedback, but the feedback process is not always clearly communicated to membership. I want to drive forward strategy by directly connecting it to candidate and member feedback that is already being collected and providing those updates in a format that speaks to members. One of the benefits of an active membership is participation to improve our society.
Volunteering on committees, grading exams, and building relationships with the next generation of actuaries is a crucial part of the CAS strategic pillar to diversify the pipeline. Engaged members make sure all actuaries can find a role model or mentor for their next professional step. I will work with diversity organizations that support CAS DEI strategy to improve awareness of the profession and provide role models to all actuaries and candidates. Within the CAS, I will champion new CAS programs to facilitate connections between experienced members as mentors and new members.
We can also enhance member participation in research for our global future. I intend to incubate and promote the scholarship of our actuaries through additional programs to help members shape their ideas into transformative research publications. These strategic investments in member research will provide a clear value proposition for the profession by improving the skills of all actuaries through advanced research.
Enhancing the expertise of all actuaries starts with candidates, who are the future of our profession. We must improve our credentialing process by ensuring all actuaries who complete our rigorous credentialing process demonstrate proficiencies necessary for the future. As new competencies like predictive analytics are required of actuaries and competing organizations deliver a modernized admissions pathway, our admissions process needs to identify and test the new skills used in practice that an actuary needs to be successful.
The CAS is dedicated to ensuring property and casualty actuaries are sought after globally. Our organization is stronger when the feedback of all actuaries is considered in the strategic direction of their organization, and actuaries actively participate in volunteer activities that expand their core competencies.
