Building on 60 Years of Service to Our Profession
By William J. Michalisin
As we head into 2026, I find myself reflecting on the unique role the Academy plays in supporting and promoting the actuarial profession in the U.S. and am looking forward with real excitement to pursuing the opportunities that lie ahead. At its heart, everything we do is designed to accomplish three goals: serve our members, strengthen the actuarial profession, and demonstrate the value actuaries bring to our stakeholders and society.
Putting Members Front and Center
As CEO, my first priority is ensuring that our members, at all stages of their careers, truly feel the value of being part of this community. Whether they’re just starting out in the profession, serving as volunteers, or holding top leadership roles, Academy membership must be an investment that pays professional dividends. That’s why we’re committed to providing our members with high-quality educational resources on professionalism and policy topics, as well as opportunities to stay connected and share their expertise with peers, policymakers, regulators, and the public. We’re also dedicated to ensuring that employers see the value of endorsing and supporting their employees’ Academy membership, because stronger employees make stronger employers.
Our commitment to improving our services to members drives us to modernize across multiple levels. Operationally, we’ve invested heavily in technology, ranging from a redesigned website and our new, virtual volunteer community platform, Academy Connect, to our new learning management system, Academy Learning and a growing library of webinars and other types of self-paced online education. Next up is a new association management system that will make it easier for members to join, renew, register for events, and access our resources, while providing us with better insights into member needs so we can deliver even more value.
And we’re not stopping there. A board-level governance review is underway to ensure our structure and processes remain nimble and forward-looking. We’re evaluating evolving member requirements and competencies so that they reflect the changes in the profession’s landscape, from advances in artificial intelligence (AI) to emerging regulatory developments.
Safeguarding & Promoting Our Professional Voice & Impact
The Academy is the only U.S.-based actuarial organization that is dedicated to supporting the profession as a whole in the United States. As such, we’re proud to house and support the work of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB) and the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD), to uphold the U.S. Qualification Standard (USQS), and reinforce the importance of the Code of Professional Conduct, adopted by all five U.S.-based actuarial organizations. These structures keep us grounded in professionalism and form the foundation of our community’s commitment to integrity, independence, and credibility.
A major focus in the years ahead will be helping stakeholders—and the public—better understand the importance of professionalism and our self-regulated focus, as well as the significance of the more than 1,400 references to the MAAA designation in state and federal laws and regulations. In addition, ensuring the public understands the role and positive impact actuaries have on public policy and other factors that affect daily life is critical to the profession and to nurturing the future pipeline of actuaries. From insurance protections to broader applications in business and finance, actuaries provide key information and insights that benefit millions.
That’s why we’ll continue to ensure, through our public policy activities, that decision-makers are aware of and appreciate the value of our members’ informed, objective, and nonpartisan analysis. I can’t stress this enough: We aren’t a lobbying body; we inform and educate through Hill visits, policy symposiums, other congressional and federal agency outreach, engagement with and support for NAIC and state insurance departments, media interviews, and the more than 300 work products our volunteers and staff produce each year.
We’ve also greatly expanded the ways we use to communicate our members’ work and its value to a variety of audiences through our blog series, a new stakeholder newsletter, refreshed magazine content, podcasts, infographics, and video content.
Listening, Learning, and Responding
I’m particularly proud of the progress we’ve made in engaging directly with our members and stakeholders. Through member and volunteer surveys, employer outreach, Hill visits, and conversations with regulators, we’re getting a better handle on what we’re doing well and where we can do better. The lesson is clear: When we listen to our members closely and engage with them meaningfully, we can respond more effectively—not just by reacting, but by anticipating needs.
I want to conclude by welcoming our newest members to the fold. You’ve joined a mighty and growing community of professionals with a focus on impact. The actuarial profession may be compact in size when compared to others, but its impact is enormous and touches all aspects of society. The Academy is here to support your growth, uphold the standards that define us, and amplify the difference actuaries make every day. Your voice is valued, and the Academy is committed to engaging you, supporting your contributions, and helping you shape the work we do and the mission we serve.
As we celebrate 60 years, I can’t help but think we’re just getting started. The evolution of the profession is what makes it exciting—each new challenge, each innovation, each opportunity to serve the public and U.S. actuarial profession reminds us why this work matters. Together, we’ll continue to strengthen our community, advance our profession, and make sure the value of actuaries is recognized, understood, and felt everywhere it should.
Member-Centered Learning
By Lori Feinman
We in Education and Events have been eagerly awaiting 2026’s arrival, as this year marks the introduction of several exciting new member-focused enhancements. A few projects the Academy has launched over the past few years are coming to fruition, giving members new ways to engage in interactive learning experiences and collaborate in the development of professional education.
Academy Learning and Continuing Education
Launched in 2024, the Academy’s learning management system, Academy Learning, has become a valuable member resource for publications, webinars, and event recordings. In 2026, we’ll go beyond sharing previously produced educational material by providing new continuing education (CE)-eligible content that supports member engagement and better meets users’ needs. Over time, Academy Learning will leverage learners’ preferences to curate content based on what they have viewed previously. We’ll also seek member input to further improve their learning experiences, through a member needs survey, and by asking Academy volunteers and members to offer advice on which topics to prioritize. This feedback will further ensure content is more relevant than ever, and we’re delighted to give users more “skin in the game.”
And, in 2025, the Academy integrated seven years of historic earned continuing education data (as required by the USQS) into Academy Learning, with plans to retire the TRACE® online tracking tool in 2026. Now, content consumed—and, thereby, credits earned—through Academy Learning will automatically appear in the user’s record under “My Learning,” and credits earned through other organizations’ programs can be added to create one comprehensive, centralized, year-long learning record. It’s a sophisticated but easy-to-use platform and will greatly improve members’ overall learning experience.
Engaging Members and Events in 2026
We’ll be working on increasing member engagement through technology in other areas, too. Members will benefit from new tools in our webinar platform to encourage attendee interaction, new seminar-specific applications during in-person events, and expanded on-demand education modules across all content areas.
2026 promises to be busy and exciting in the Academy events world. We look forward to newer offerings, such as the second Insurance Investment Summit; legacy Academy seminars, including the Life and Health Qualifications Seminar and the Seminar on Effective Property/Casualty Loss Reserve Opinions; our ongoing collaboration on CLRS, held jointly with the CAS; a special multi-day, policy-focused, CE event on Capitol Hill in the spring; hosted educational and social events at NAIC and other industry convenings; a celebratory Volunteer Leadership Summit in the fall, and dozens of engaging webinars, which are always available on-demand in Academy Learning as a benefit of membership.
Behind the Curtain
The Education and Events team brings a strong and diverse mix of skills and experience to where we are today. Everyone on the team brings a fresh perspective to our roles and our focus on elevating the member’s learning experience. Our varied backgrounds in association and corporate event management, public-school and higher education, hospitality, and the military, are our collective superpower. We cross-train, mentor and, when necessary, troubleshoot on the fly to stay on top of all we do.
None of this progress would be possible without the Academy’s inclusive and supportive culture. Whether you’re a member, committee volunteer, board member, or staff, we’re all part of the Academy community, ready to contribute expertise, guidance, and support wherever needed. This organization-wide commitment to member service and each other, and our combined dedication to the organization’s mission and the actuarial profession, helps the Academy stand out.
Keeping the Academy’s Motor Running (Under the Hood)
By Tom Hopkins
The Academy’s HR, IT, and Accounting teams—which I like to think of as the Academy’s internal engine—focused on two priorities in 2025: Incorporating automation and AI into our operations. And we’ll continue advancing these “two A’s” in 2026 to further enhance the Academy’s performance and efficiency and improve our service to members.
The “Two A’s” in Action
For example, we’ve been developing new data dashboards, which will give Academy leaders key information in quick snapshots on various metrics, including membership trends, IT performance, and HR data. The dashboards represent a real automation breakthrough; they transform a mountain of data into a clear, concise “report card” that shows management how well the organization is performing.
Another key milestone for 2026 will be the launch of a new association management system designed to make it easier for members to review their records, purchase products, and engage with new platforms such as Academy Learning and Academy Connect, a community-based offering supporting virtual engagement for volunteers and eventually members. By syncing these systems, new platforms, and our website, members will experience a more streamlined, integrated way to access Academy offerings.
And, to boost efficiency, we revamped our chart of accounts, a categorized list of all financial accounts (think of it as a filing cabinet containing financial data that organizes transactions and generates financial statements). This change improved our ability to track—and reduce—expenses and will help us make smarter financial decisions, ensuring investments are geared toward delivering greater member value.
Teaming with Technical Titans
Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum; we’ve sought out top-notch expertise to ensure our enhancements come off without a hitch. Our partnership with ADP has streamlined HR tasks ranging—from PTO tracking to performance reviews—while our IT partner, Dataprise, has helped us find and address security vulnerabilities, and migrate more of our systems to the cloud to boost reliability and reduce costs. These collaborations have freed staff to focus on serving members, made our systems and data safer and more efficient, and will help us ensure that our internal operations are operating seamlessly in the background.
There are many ways to measure success and a key one for us is how quietly and effectively we operate behind the scenes. We’re dedicated to keeping everything running smoothly so that members’ interactions with the Academy—from travel expense reimbursements and products purchase to CE tracking and reporting, and profile updates—are quick, easy, and accurate.
Looking Ahead
This year will undoubtedly usher in major advances in AI development, and we’re excited to see how actuaries continue exploring and using the new technology—and how we, too, can further capitalize on it. The Academy enters 2026 on a firm financial footing, and our ongoing work to refine and increase our use of AI and other new technology will ensure that the future is bright.
Professionalism
By Brian Jackson
Former Academy President Steve Alpert once described the Academy as the fulcrum of the profession’s self-regulation because the Academy is structured to provide independence and credibility to the infrastructure of actuarial professionalism. Steve also noted that balanced on either side of this fulcrum are our members’ individual actions on the one hand, and the expectations and needs of the public on the other. Steve further posited that “If self-regulation is to be effective, all three parts must be balanced and in harmony: The Academy’s fulcrum must be at the right point, public needs and expectations must be appropriately identified, and individual actuaries must do the right things consistent with both.”
I take Steve’s guidance to heart. And I believe that the Professionalism Department’s priority—next year, and every year—will be to do our very best to ensure that all three parts are aligned and complement each other. We will continue to provide a structure that ensures that that actuarial profession remains completely capable of self-regulation and that it continues to maintain its reputation for providing actuarial service with honesty, integrity, and competence, and for accepting responsibilities not merely to principals but to a broader definition of interests a “learned profession” should serve.
The Heavy Responsibility, and Exercise, of Self-Regulation
The Academy was established 60 years ago to bring credibility and recognition to actuaries practicing in the U.S. Independent of but with the full support of the educational societies, the Academy has created a framework of standards, discipline, and qualification for practice in the U.S., as well as a voice for the U.S. profession on public policy matters for which actuarial expertise is helpful to the public interest. We still do that.
However, the largely self-regulated nature of the actuarial profession requires vigilant self-examination of our standards of practice, our Code of Professional Conduct and our Qualification Standards. Our plan for next year is to focus on assisting the ASB, Committee on Qualifications, and the ABCD when conducting the self-examination necessary for professional credibility and objectivity and for making sure that actuaries are professionally accountable. This year, we will also continue to assist our members in meeting the profession’s high ethical standards by providing quality continuing education opportunities designed to help members understand and satisfy their professional obligations under the Code and keep current with the standards of practice and qualification that guide them when providing professional services. Our goal, as always, will be to provide independent and objective information, based on the principles of professionalism found in the Code.
A Message to New Members
The one message I’d share with our new numbers is that membership in the Academy means that you recognize yourself as a member of a profession—a profession that holds itself to high standards of conduct, practice, and qualification and strives to serve the public as well as the U.S. actuarial profession. I’d also mention that they are very fortunate in that they have joined an organization that has a culture of integrity that allows them, as new actuaries, to model their professional behavior by watching how senior, more experienced, members demonstrate and encourage ethical values when providing professional services. Lastly, I’d say the Academy’s established reputation for objectivity and independence allows our members to enjoy the trust of legislators, regulators, and the public. So, when new members are out there practicing and using the MAAA designation, the reputation of the entire profession supports them—and each new member’s professional integrity supports the entire profession.
Message Delivered: Expanding the Academy’s Outreach
By David J. Nolan
Last year was a busy one for the Academy and, inevitably, for the Communications Department, because our team is involved in every department’s work. The technological initiatives we undertook last year will help our members to engage more effectively with each other and with a growing and increasingly diverse audience. Maintaining that upward trajectory requires a lot of flexibility and openness to new ways of doing things and we’ve proved to be up to the challenge.
Top Member Benefit: Diversifying Our Delivery Systems
Communication is not one-size-fits-all proposition; the “platinum rule” is to send information out in the ways people want to receive it. Some prefer a newsletter format while others may gravitate toward an infographic, video, podcast, or blog post. We started leaning into all these formats last year, while enhancing existing ones, to showcase our members’ work in as many formats as possible.
Last year we launched a new website that makes our material easier to find, and instituted a new email system that enhances engagement with members as well as the look and feel of our newsletters. We also recruited staff with expertise in producing sophisticated motion graphics, live-action videos and eye-catching infographics. All of these enhancements will continue to amplify the Academy’s voice and impact in 2026 in a variety of formats that resonate across a diverse membership as they allow us to better showcase volunteers’ work through our publications, webinars, the website, and social media. This year we’ll be focusing on helping members present their work in the best possible light: making sure it’s polished, professional, distributed across multiple platforms, and given the best chance to fly.
Contingencies, our bimonthly magazine has a refreshed look and continues to deliver actuarial insights and examine the issues shaping the insurance and financial services industries. We recently introduced three new columns—CEO Insights, Policy Compass, and Member Spotlight—to showcase our members, highlight the Academy’s unique role, and share the many initiatives underway to best serve our members, the public, and the U.S. actuarial profession.
We also had a hand in improving member-to-member and member-to-staff communication by supporting the Membership Department’s Academy Connect communications platform. (The Academy has also initiated conversations about improving our new association management system, with which all departments of the Academy are involved.) And we’re working with the Professionalism Department to help them add to the resources they offer.
Finally, we’ll continue refining how efficiently we receive, prepare, and release our volunteers’ work, ensuring timely delivery and, thus, helping it to gain more traction among members and the many stakeholders who rely on the more than 300 publications produced by the Academy annually.
Expanding Member Outreach
Actuaries are very generous about sharing their expertise and insights and a big part of our job is making it easy and effective for them to do so. We’re working hard to expand Academy members’ outreach to stakeholders by helping the Public Policy Department prepare members to conduct Hill visits and developing expanded policymaker contact lists. We’re also compiling other lists of key contacts both within and beyond the actuarial field.
One of our biggest challenges has been and remains attracting more media attention to the Academy’s work. What actuaries do may seem obscure and opaque to many but the issues they address affect everyone’s lives in ways large and small. I like to say that, although few realize it, there are seven actuaries in everybody’s life. Some journalists are aware of their influence but most of them tend to be trade press who speak to a select audience. It’s much harder to get covered in mainstream media but our team does a great job of helping us to break in.
That said, the ability to speak clearly and effectively with journalists and policymakers doesn’t come naturally; it takes a special sort of skill to message clearly and convincingly and an awareness of when and how one’s remarks could be misconstrued. That’s why we offer members presentation training to help them “perform” effectively in public settings, whether they’re testifying on Capitol Hill, participating in a webinar or podcast, or being interviewed.
We also have an active and growing speakers’ bureau whose participants are helping to explain and highlight the actuarial perspective on key issues and discuss what actuaries bring to the table.
Measuring Success
Our department doesn’t define its work by numbers alone, but data plays a key role in measuring progress. Our email open rates hover around 40%, which is high for a professional association. The website draws more than 150,000 unique visitors annually, with high levels of repeat traffic. Thousands of media mentions are logged each year and our social media metrics are consistently strong as well.
But numbers don’t tell the whole story. Quality of interaction is as important as quantity, and we’re proud of how inventive, adaptable, and forward-looking the Academy has been in developing a broad variety of approaches to better support members’ work and our efforts to disseminate it.
Goal for 2026: Showcasing the Best in Us
As the new year unfolds, we’ll continue to ensure that our members’ voices are heard, their work is understood, and their impact is recognized. This profession’s strength lies not only in its practitioners’ technical rigor, but in its professionalism, strong sense of ethics, and its commitment to promoting the public good. Helping to showcase those qualities, clearly and across every available platform, will remain our highest priority.
Strengthening the Member Experience in 2026
By Kasha Shelton
Members are our most important asset. That is why in 2026 we are focused on ensuring members feel connected, engaged, and valued at every stage of their journey and that employers clearly see the value of supporting and encouraging Academy membership.
The 2025 Member Value Survey gave us unprecedented insights into the diverse needs and perspectives of our membership. With responses spanning every career stage and practice area, we now have a roadmap that reflects what members want most: clearer pathways into the Academy, stronger feedback loops, and more support for both volunteers and employers.
Deepening Member and Key Audience Engagement
For new members, we are expanding the welcome email series and webinars launched in 2025, adding touchpoints across the year to help them feel connected from the start. We are also piloting a new space in Academy Connect where a variety of pilot groups, such as new members, can ask questions, respond to polls, and build peer connections.
For the newly credentialed actuaries, we are introducing a new reduced-rate membership tier in 2026. These early career members will be paired with tailored resources, including guides to navigate professionalism, opportunities to connect with peers, and programming that supports their leadership development.
Expanding the membership pipeline is also a priority. Members will be equipped with outreach toolkits to present at high schools and universities, while also engaging parents of high school students to raise awareness of actuarial career opportunities. Updated university toolkits will bridge the gap between academic study and professional practice. Working closely with the Emerging Leaders Subcommittee, we will also increase our engagement with educators and explore opportunities to collaborate with peer organizations to collectively support a strong pipeline into the profession.
Employers remain central to our strategy. Through the Employer Value Subcommittee, we will be building resources companies can use to understand and highlight the value of Academy membership, including practical tools and recognition initiatives. Just as importantly, we will be learning from employers about the challenges they face in attracting and retaining actuarial talent, emerging trends, and challenges, so we can respond with meaningful support through expanded member and employer resources.
Advancing the Volunteer Journey
Volunteer contributions are at the heart of our work. One of the clearest findings from last year’s volunteer survey was the need to refine onboarding. In 2026, we will launch a comprehensive program in collaboration with the Volunteer Engagement Subcommittee to develop additions such as orientation sessions, clear role descriptions, explanatory videos, training manuals, and podcasts with experienced volunteers sharing best practices.
We are also sharpening our focus on committee succession planning. By working more closely with committees to anticipate vacancies we can ensure smooth transitions and bring in fresh voices with the right skills and interests. This helps volunteers succeed and strengthens the member experience overall.
Expanding Feedback and Responsiveness
We are introducing new feedback channels, including shorter pulse surveys, quick polls on Academy Connect and the website, and member conversations tied to specific initiatives. Feedback will not just be collected; it will be shared back and acted on so members can see where their input has shaped change.
We are also expanding a pilot program for new members to create more structured onboarding experiences. Combined with our feedback channels, this approach will allow us to stay more closely attuned to members’ needs, adjust more quickly, and keep members confident about their voices matter.
Strengthening Requirements and Standards
A major initiative in 2026 is the rollout of the Academy’s new membership requirements heavily focused on the Academy’s Competency Framework, which sets clear expectations for the minimum experience and expertise required for membership. We are updating the membership application process to reflect these requirements, ensuring applicants understand the professional and regulatory responsibilities tied to earning and maintaining the MAAA credential.
The Academy is referenced in thousands of laws and regulations. Protecting the integrity of the MAAA designation is central to maintaining public trust and preserving self-regulation in the actuarial profession.
Looking Ahead
The challenges facing society, including climate change, demographic shifts, and retirement security, are deeply connected to risk management. The Academy is committed to providing trusted, objective insights to policymakers and regulators on these issues. We are also building new ways to collaborate with actuarial partners to reinforce our position as the national voice of the U.S. actuarial profession.
Above all, we want members to know we are listening. Through surveys, polls, and direct conversations, member feedback is helping to shape our priorities. While we cannot act on every suggestion, we are committed to expanding our services and making the Academy a place where every member feels the value of belonging.
The profession is evolving with new challenges such as artificial intelligence, climate change, and regulatory complexity. By maintaining strong feedback loops, sharing insights across departments, and responding to member needs, we are building an Academy that will not only meet the challenges of 2026 but also set the stage for the years ahead.
Policy with Purpose: Helping Actuaries Weigh in on the Issues That Affect Us All
By Geralyn Trujillo
Although you are reading this article in early 2026, strategic planning for the public policy agenda actually started back last summer, with each practice council meeting to discuss what to anticipate in the next 12 to 18 months. One of the key refrains of those conversations, regardless of practice area, was the focus on our evergreen mission: serving the public and the U.S. actuarial profession. No matter the issue or line of business, public policy and research continues to prioritize positioning our volunteers and our work products to reflect sound actuarial practice, objective analysis, balanced perspective, and a nonpartisan voice. Achieving this goal won’t be easy, particularly in the current political environment with the likelihood of a challenging mid-year election ahead of us.
Spotlighting the “Act” in Actuary
We know that policymakers, regulators, and the public need clear, accurate, and actionable information to help answer the question, “Why are our laws and regulations not working as we want?” That’s exactly the sweet spot for the policy and research work of the Academy’s Casualty, Life, Health, Retirement, and Risk Management and Financial Reporting Practice Councils.
The Academy is consistently working to connect the proverbial dots on a broad range of issues, ranging from aging and financial security to artificial intelligence and data, to the impact of climate events, to a consumer’s ability to access and afford insurance, to investments and financial reporting. Our public policy volunteers do the heavy lifting in support of the Academy’s mission. Through their publications, presentations, and engagement, we are able to highlight the relevance and value of actuaries—in industry, in business, and in policy. We often hear from our stakeholders—including elected officials, professional staff, consumer advocates, trade associations—that it is the Academy and actuaries who bring the analysis, perspective, and insight that can help quiet some of the rhetoric and point the way to a better solution that will benefit the public.
In 2026, one of our priorities is to find more effective ways to shine a brighter spotlight on our policy and research work, emphasizing the balanced and objective analysis our members offer. As we work with our colleagues in the Communications Department, we’ll be focusing on how we better incorporate shorter pieces—one-pagers and infographics—that help summarize our policy findings and analysis. We also want to better leverage other communication modes to help share information and engage with our key audiences by increasing the public’s awareness of Actuarially Sound, our blog, and offering a greater number of policy-focused Actuary Voices, the Academy’s podcast. Even something as quick as reacting to Academy activity on LinkedIn or other social media platforms helps to amplify our work.
Meeting policymakers, consumer advocates, and the public where they are, using language that is accessible and understandable, is an interesting challenge for our technical expertise. We will continue to emphasize why having an actuary at the proverbial policy table is not just a “nice to have” but a “need to have.” Our research team helps us achieve this by continuing to spotlight early career academic research that influences public policy through our annual Award for Research and by submitting proposals on professionalism and policy topics for national and international conferences.
Get Ready to Save the Date(s)
We are energized by several events that will be on the Academy’s calendar in 2026; some are highly anticipated annual gatherings while others are relatively new. Following a successful inaugural summit, the Life Practice Council will once again host an Insurance Investment Summit this year. The event is intended to facilitate conversations between actuaries, regulators, asset managers, and insurance executives, focusing on the evolving landscape of insurance asset management.
We anticipate hosting a retirement symposium, following last year’s Retirement Practice Council’s focus on strengthening the U.S. retirement system and 2024’s ERISA@50 event. Both engaged congressional and federal agency representatives, who joined Academy volunteers in addressing recently published works. In 2026, we’re looking at ways to better incorporate a cross-practice perspective on aging and financial security. Retirement encompasses more than just Social Security, pensions, and 401(k)s—it’s also health insurance coverage (Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid), long-term care insurance, annuities, and life insurance products.
The Casualty Practice Council will continue to develop and offer its established and well-regarded Opinion Loss Seminar, along with the ever-popular Casualty Loss Reserve Seminar event that the Academy produces with the Casualty Actuarial Society.
For all five practice councils, we’ll also be hosting the second annual joint congressional Hill Visits. Early in the spring, volunteers and staff will once again head to Capitol Hill, meeting with key Senate and House of Representative committee offices and staff to discuss our priority policy issues and to ask them what is on their mind as they look beyond mid-term elections.
We’re also focused on developing relationships with state legislators, primarily through the Academy’s relationship with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). As we see more interest in issues around AI, climate events, insurance affordability and accessibility, and financial reporting at the state legislative level, building relationships with the organization that represents state elected officials and their staff offers the Academy another opportunity to inform and present our volunteer’s works and expertise to help inform and influence public policy.
The Three P’s—Public Policy Participation
We are also prioritizing how to communicate and identify the various ways members can participate in the Academy’s public policy activities. Opportunities range from serving on committees and helping to develop and edit issue briefs and policy papers, to serving as peer reviewers, to participating on podcasts or webinars. We want to expand and increase awareness of our policy speakers’ bureau, offering opportunities for actuarial clubs, employers, or other groups to hear from volunteers and Academy staff about the policy and research work we are doing. We’ve also launched the new policy column in Contingencies, Policy Compass, which will give us another way to talk about the Academy’s policy work and engagement.
Finally, we’ll be focused on spreading the word about why membership in the Academy is so valuable—for actuaries, for employers, for policymakers. The value of the MAAA credential and why it is so incredibly important for those inside and outside of the actuarial profession will be folded into more of our policy work—particularly as we look to engage with state and federal legislators, regulators, and other insurance and financial services stakeholders. We will continue to support the Academy’s mission and vision by finding ways to easily explain how professionalism informs and influences our public policy work.
There is no such thing as a quiet year for the Academy or for public policy, and we have no doubt that 2026 will continue to challenge our ability to react to sudden changes in the political landscape while maintaining our focus on our key priorities. Luckily, our volunteers and members are our superpower. They are the heart and soul of the organization and the power that keeps the public policy light shining brightly. Election seasons come and go, policy priorities ebb and flow, and the public policy department along with our volunteers and practice councils will continue to build on our mission and vision to the benefit of the public and the U.S. actuarial profession.