Digital Pass Agenda

Awards Presentation

Rising Actuary, Outstanding Volunteerism, and Public Policy Research

General Session I
A Conversation with George Will

George Will, author and political columnist

Emcee: Ken Kent, MAAA, FSA, EA, FCA, 2022-23 President, American Academy of Actuaries

Breakout Session
Update on the National Flood Insurance Program

Flood insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) continue to be a significant public policy issue at the federal level. Panelists will discuss the current state of the NFIP and ideas for improvements in fighting flood risk and its impact on property owners and the economy.

Moderator: Richard Gibson, MAAA, FCAS, Senior Casualty Fellow, American Academy of Actuaries

Speakers: Philip Mulder, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Risk and Insurance, Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Diane P. Horn, Ph.D., Specialist, Flood Insurance and Emergency Management, Government and Finance Division, Congressional Research Service; Mitchell Waldner, FCAS, Actuary, FEMA

Annual Meeting and Presidential Transition

Panel Discussion: Envisioning the Actuary of Tomorrow

What does the future hold for the actuarial profession? How can we as actuaries help position our future colleagues and people considering the profession for success over the next several decades?

Join our luncheon panel discussion of actuaries in Tech, Government, and Banking as they discuss what led them down their career paths, what they see happening in their industries, and what we can do to mentor and build the future to ensure that the field continues to serve the public and foster growth.

Moderator: Sherry Chan, MAAA, FSA, FCA, EA, Chief Strategy Officer, Atidot; Co-founder & Advisory Board Member, Abacus Actuaries

Speakers: Frank Chang, Ph.D., FCAS, Uber Technologies Arthur da Silva, FCIA, FSA, ASA, Slope Software; Matthew Walker, Federal Reserve Board; Sarah Cheng, FSA, FCAS, Citi

Breakout Session
Behavioral Health Care in the U.S.

Behavioral health conditions—mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders—affect millions of Americans. However, access to behavioral health care services is often inadequate. In this session, panelists will provide an overview of the prevalence of behavioral health needs, the challenges to meeting those needs, and how the challenges can differ for different needs and populations. Panelists will also describe current and proposed actions to improve access to and availability of behavioral health services.

At the conclusion of this session, attendees will:

• Appreciate the breadth of behavioral health needs.
• Understand the array of challenges to meeting behavioral health needs.
• Identify actions currently being taken to address behavioral health system challenges
• Identify proposals that aim to address behavioral health system challenges.

Moderator: Mitchell Momanyi, MAAA, FSA, Vice Chairperson, Health Practice Council

Speakers: Hannah S. Locke, Senior Analyst, Health Care Team, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Jessica Farb, Managing Director, Health Care Team, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Trina Dutta, Chief of Staff,  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Eva DuGoff, Ph.D., Senior Health Advisor and Director of Health Policy Research, Senate Committee on Finance, Majority Staff

General Session II
Shedding Light on Hidden Biases
Opening remarks by Rayid Ghani, Distinguished Career Professor, Joint Appointment in the Machine Learning Department and the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Moderator: Dorothy L. Andrews, Ph.D., MAAA, ASA, CSPA, Chairperson, Data Science and Analytics Committee 

Panelists: Jessica Jackson, Ph.D, American Psychological Association Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest; James Gusczca, Ph.D., FCAS, Consulting Actuary and Data Scientist; Philip Barlow, MAAA, FSA, District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking; Regina Tuma, Ph.D., Faculty in Media Psychology, Fielding Graduate University; Esther Kahng, J.D., Chief Counsel, House Committee on Financial Services

Awards Presentation
Robert J. Myers Public Service Award and the Jarvis Farley Service Award

General Session III
Taking the Numb out of Numbers
Mona Chalabi, data journalist 

Emcee: Lisa Slotznick, MAAA, FCAS, 2023-24 President, American Academy of Actuaries

Breakout Session
Group Annuity Contracts for Pension Risk Transfer

This joint pension and life practice area session will feature a panel discussion that will cover the regulatory and structural evolution of insurance companies that provide pension risk transfer group annuity contracts.

At the conclusion of this session, attendees will:

• Gain a high-level understanding of regulations impacting and structure of life insurance companies that write group annuity contracts for pension risk transfers.
• Learn about the state guarantees available to participants.
• Gain insight into the fiduciary considerations pension plan sponsors and independent fiduciaries consider when purchasing a group annuity contract for pension plan participants.

JBEA CPE: 1.5 non-core credits

Moderators: Brent Dooley, MAAA, FSA, Member, Annuity Reserves and Capital Working Group, American Academy of Actuaries; and Grace Lattyak, MAAA, FSA, EA, Vice Chairperson, Pension Committee, American Academy of Actuaries

Speakers: Michael D. Heard, FLMI; EVP & Chief Operating Officer, National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOHLGA); William P. O'Sullivan, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, NOLHGA; Denise Sisk, Managing Director, State Street Global Advisors; Patricia Matson, MAAA, FSA, Chairperson, Asset Adequacy and Reinsurance Issues Task Force, American Academy of Actuaries

Putting DEI into Practice

Annette James, chairperson of the Academy’s DEI Committee, will lead a conversation with various groups that support underrepresented populations within the actuarial profession about how well the profession has responded to the very real need to become a more diverse, inclusive, and welcoming career and what more can be done to further this work.

Moderator: Annette James, MAAA, FSA, FCA, Chairperson, DEI Committee

Panelists: Ron Gebhardtsbauer, MAAA, Sexuality and Gender Alliance of Actuaries; Dwayne Husbands, MAAA, FSA, CFA, President, International Association of Black Actuaries; Amber Rohde, FCAS, President Network of Actuarial Women and Allies; Enrique Schulz, FCCA, ASA, Secretary, Organization of Latino Actuaries; Sherry Chan, MAAA, FSA, FCA, EA, Chief Strategy Officer, Atidot; Co-founder & Advisory Board Member, Abacus Actuaries; Pooja Gattu, MAAA, ASA, Workstream Lead (Networking), South Asian Network of Actuaries (SANA)

General Session IV
Actuarial Practice in an Age of AI
Panel Discussion

Artificial intelligence is in the public eye like never before in 2023, driven by headlines about generative AI. Learn about what this and similar technologies means and could mean in the future for actuaries’ work and the actuarial role, in this panel discussion of leading professionals with close insurance, actuarial, and legal experience in advising and managing teams and workstreams on technology changes, implementation, and compliance issues. Gain an informed perspective of what AI is, its potential promise--and limitations—as well as new regulatory considerations, and its potential implications for the evolving dynamics between actuaries and data scientists.

Discussion Leader: Doug McElhaney, McKinsey

Panelists: Charlie Lee, McKinsey; Arthur da Silva, Slope Software; James Lynch, MAAA, FCAS, James Lynch Casualty Actuary Services

Emcee: Amy Angell, MAAA, FCAS, Vice President, Casualty, and Board Member, American Academy of Actuaries

General Session V
Professionalism
Ethics and AI—The Code is Key
Tim Hwang, expert on AI, machine learning, & technology ethics

JBEA CPE: 1.2 core ethics credits

Emcee: Tim Geddes, MAAA, FCA, FSA, EA, Vice President, Professionalism and Education