American Academy of Actuaries Recognizes Members’ Service to Public, U.S. Actuarial Profession
WASHINGTON—The American Academy of Actuaries recognized member service to the U.S. actuarial profession and the public with the presentation of awards to six individuals at its 2023 Annual Meeting: “Envision Tomorrow” in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13 and 14.
- John Schubert, MAAA, ASA, FCA, IAA, CEBS, of Chicago, Ill., received the Academy’s 2023 Jarvis Farley Service Award, a lifetime achievement award that honors an actuary whose volunteer efforts on behalf of the Academy have made significant contributions to the advancement of the profession.
- Frank Todisco, MAAA, FSA, EA, FCA, of Washington, D.C., received the Academy’s 2023 Robert J. Myers Public Service Award, an award established in 1994 to honor an actuary for a single noteworthy public service achievement or a career devoted to public service.
- Four Academy volunteers—Jason Karcher, MAAA, FSA, of Brookfield, Wis.; Susan Kent, MAAA, FCAS, of Bucyrus, Ohio; Grace Lattyak, MAAA, FSA, EA, of San Francisco, Calif.; and Kirsten Pedersen, MAAA, FSA, of Middleton, Wis.—received the Academy’s 2023 Outstanding Volunteerism Awards. The awards honor Academy volunteers who have made noteworthy contributions in their volunteer work during the last year.
John Schubert was selected for the Jarvis Farley Service Award for his remarkable 31 years of dedicated volunteer service to the Academy in nearly 50 different roles. Those roles include serving as Academy treasurer; vice president of health; a member of the Academy Board of Directors for four terms; current chairperson of the Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline; chairperson of several committees; and member of numerous governance, professionalism, and public policy committees. His accomplishments included wide-ranging and impactful work on retiree health issues and other health policy issues throughout his volunteer service.
“This year, the Jarvis Farley Award is presented to one of the Academy’s most dedicated, longest-serving and devoted volunteers, John Schubert,” 2022–23 Academy President Ken Kent said at the awards ceremony. “John’s prolific contributions have had a profound impact on his colleagues and public policy stakeholders, and on our profession.”
Frank Todisco received the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award for his outstanding leadership and vision in public service, in which he has expanded and enhanced the value of actuarial information and risk analyses provided to Congress, covering numerous federal programs, policies, and agencies. As Chief Actuary of the Government Accountability Office, he has transformed the role of that position with wide-ranging actuarial analyses and perspectives on some of the most important issues and programs of national interest. Prior to his service with GAO, Todisco served as Senior Pension Fellow with the Academy.
“Frank has exemplified the spirit of the Myers Award with outstanding leadership and vision, working with experts in various actuarial sub-specialties in many areas of national interest, including multiemployer pensions, U.S. Postal Service and regional authority financing; and fiscal risks and federal insurance programs—to name just a few,” said Ken Kent.
The Outstanding Volunteerism Awards recognized:
- Jason Karcher’s invaluable contributions and dedication to the Academy’s health policy work, including integral work on key comment letters on benefit and payment parameters, cost-sharing reductions, and health insurance premium drivers.
- Susan Kent’s outstanding leadership in proactively communicating the actuarial perspective on bias and insurance anti-discrimination issues, ranging from presentations to regulators and stakeholders in these issues, work on key issue briefs, and participating in regulatory and Capitol Hill meetings.
- Grace Lattyak’s instrumental service as vice chairperson of the Pension Committee in stewarding priority projects and other committee activities, and her numerous contributions to projects such as issue briefs and outreach activities such as federal agency and Capitol Hill visits.
- Kirsten Pedersen’s precedent-setting efforts in the life practice area on state laws and regulation relating to unfair discrimination, including chairing a subgroup focused on Colorado’s insurance anti-discrimination law, working on comment letters with multiple Academy practice councils, and developing a new practice note that promises to be a vital resource for actuaries in this emerging area.
Ken Kent thanked and acknowledged the Outstanding Volunteerism Award recipients for their contributions supporting the Academy’s mission: “Our volunteers are the powerful engine of all that the Academy does.”
Learn more at actuary.org/awards.
[Media only: Photos of the award recipients are available by contacting Academy Director of Communications and Public Affairs David Mendes at mendes@actuary.org.]
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The American Academy of Actuaries is a 19,500+ member professional association whose mission is to serve the public and the U.S. actuarial profession. For more than 50 years, the Academy has assisted public policymakers on all levels by providing leadership, objective expertise, and actuarial advice on risk and financial security issues. The Academy also sets qualification, practice, and professionalism standards for actuaries in the United States.
