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RECENT ACADEMY ACTIVITY | | |
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Only have a minute? Catch up on the week’s top stories with the latest “This Week … In a Minute” video. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive videos as they are released. | |
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No Issue Next Week; Actuarial Update Coming Nov. 26 |
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This Week will not be published next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday; the Academy office will be closed Nov. 27–28. The November Actuarial Update will be published on Wednesday, Nov. 26. | | | |
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Tricia Matson Becomes President; Academy Celebrates 60th Anniversary | | | |
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Matson receives the gavel from Knapp, becoming the Academy’s 61st president | | | |
The Academy celebrated its 60th anniversary and bestowed its annual service awards Friday in Washington at the Academy Leadership Summit & Governance Transition. Tricia Matson accepted the gavel in becoming the Academy’s 61st president, succeeding Darrell Knapp. Incoming vice presidents serving two-year terms are Bruce Cadenhead (retirement), Bill Jones (risk management & financial reporting), and Kirsten Pedersen (life). Frank Todisco, chief actuary at the U.S. Government Accountability Office and a former Academy pension fellow, became president-elect. The Academy also welcomed Member-Selected Directors Joseph Hicks (retirement), Ron Ogborne (health), and Becky Sheppard (health), who will serve three-year terms, and Joyce Bohl, a Board-selected director, who will serve a two-year term. See the Academy Board. Also in attendance to mark the milestone were representatives of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, the Casualty Actuarial Society, the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, and the Society of Actuaries.
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Watch a short video commemorating the Academy’s 60th anniversary. Matson noted she has served in many Academy volunteer roles, including as chairperson of the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB). “We operate in an era of unprecedented change and uncertainty,” she said, noting the challenges and opportunities the Academy faces “are unlike anything previous generations of actuaries have encountered. Data analytics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, climate change, demographic shifts, and rapidly evolving regulations are transforming every aspect of our work.” |
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In his outgoing presidential address, Knapp spoke of the Academy’s respected voice with public policymakers, the importance of professionalism standards, and the value of the MAAA designation. He also discussed the changes for new Academy members as of Jan. 1, 2026, which will be tied to Academy competency framework and experience requirements. “The MAAA designation should mean something, and these requirements ensure that it does” in the continually evolving credentialing environment, he said. | | | |
Keynote and Vice Presidents’ Outlook | | | |
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Practice council VPs share insights into 2026 priorities | | | |
Jeff Bush, principal of the nonpartisan Washington Update, gave the keynote address on what’s happening in the nation’s capital and the broader political and financial environment. Matson moderated a panel discussion of Academy vice presidents on 2026 priorities, with a look at upcoming publications, webinars, and events. Joining the new VPs on the panel were Nancy Behrens (professionalism and education), Annette James (health), and Susan Kent (casualty). The panel discussed key policy priorities across practice areas, emerging opportunities, cross-practice collaboration, and engagement with stakeholders for all practice councils at both the state and federal levels.
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The Academy also bestowed its annual service and recognition awards: - Jarvis Farley Service Award—Former Casualty Vice President Rade Musulin received the Jarvis Farley Service Award, a lifetime achievement honoring a member whose volunteer efforts on behalf of the Academy have made significant contributions to the advancement of the profession. Musulin received the award for his nearly 25 years of volunteer service in areas including flood insurance, cyber and climate risk, terrorism risk insurance, and sustainability.
- Robert J. Myers Public Service Award—Former Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Chief Policy Actuary Dave Gustafson received the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award, recognizing a member who has made an exceptional contribution to the common good, either for a single noteworthy public service achievement or a career devoted to public service. Gustafson, who retired in 2021, was selected for his extraordinary four-decade career at the PBGC, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to protecting the nation’s defined benefit retirement system.
- Outstanding Volunteerism Awards— Marc Altschull, Tyson Mohr, Derek Skoog, and Claire Wolkoff received the annual OVAs, for Academy volunteers who have performed conspicuously above and beyond reasonably expected duties and responsibilities. Altschull led the planning and implementation of this year’s inaugural insurance investment summit in New York; Mohr was recognized for his contributions as vice chairperson of the P/C Committee on Equity and Fairness and the Academy’s engagement with the NAIC; Skoog was recognized for his recent tenure as chairperson of the Medicare Committee and the Health Underwriting Risk Factors Analysis Work Group; and Wolkoff was recognized for her work in Retirement Practice Council committees and projects, including as chairperson of the Retirement Policy and Design Evaluation (RPADE) Committee.
- Rising Actuary Awards—Seven volunteers received Rising Actuary Awards: Kaitlin Creighton (life), Milliman; Timothy Koenig (life), Resolution Life; Andrew Larocque (health), Risk & Regulatory Consulting; Zhe “Gigi” Li (health), EY; Scott Merkord (casualty), Risk & Regulatory Consulting; Harrison Smith (life), Security Benefit Life; and Xing Wang (risk management), Illinois State University. See the recipients in the current issue of Contingencies, and read more in the Contingencies web exclusive coming in early December.
- Award for Research—Xi Xin, a Ph.D. candidate at Australia’s University of New South Wales, received the Academy’s third annual Award for Research, which recognizes work by an early-career scholar contributing significantly to an actuarial perspective on a public policy issue of interest to U.S. actuaries and public policymakers. This year’s theme was “Bias in Assessing Financial Risk: Origins, Detection, Mitigation,” and Xin received the award as co-author of “Antidiscrimination Insurance Pricing: Regulations, Fairness Criteria, and Models” research published in 2024 in the North American Actuarial Journal (Vol. 28, Issue 2).
Read more about the award recipients. | | | |
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Academy Holds Successful Sold-Out LHQ Seminar | | | |
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Rhonda Ahrens presents at a life session | | | |
The Academy’s sold-out 2025 Life and Health Qualifications Seminar was held Nov. 17–20 in Arlington, Va. New this year were separate life and health tracks, following a day of general education—and a three-hour exam on the fourth day. Outgoing Academy President Darrell Knapp, who heads the seminar subcommittee, said the format change was based on previous seminar attendees’ input. “We’re still trying to give the health actuaries some life education, and the life actuaries some health education, because that’s part of being a well-rounded actuary—being a professional and understanding the questions that need to be addressed,” Knapp said.
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Register for December’s P/C Loss Opinion Seminar |
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There’s still time to register for the 2025 Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions, being held Dec. 8–9 in Salt Lake City. The seminar is designed for P/C actuaries who prepare NAIC annual statements of actuarial opinion on P/C loss reserves. Register today. December Webinars In addition to the two professionalism webinars, the Academy will hold three practice-area webinars in December: - Commercial Liability Survey of the Market (Dec. 2)—The new Commercial Liability Task Force will release its first paper later this year; presenters in this casualty webinar will share a preview and explore the challenges facing the commercial market. Register today.
- PBR: VM-31 as Seen by Regulators (Dec. 12)—Have you wondered what your regulator thinks about your PBR report or how you stack up compared to other companies? This life webinar, featuring several state regulatory actuaries, will address these and related questions. Register today.
- Capital Markets: What Now? (Dec. 16)—Pension Committee presenters will address uncertainties such as rising federal debt, demographic shifts, slowing globalization, and technological change add complexity to the market outlook, in this retirement webinar. Register today.
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PUBLIC POLICY Public Policy in Action
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- Health Equity Committee Chairperson Becky Sheppard and Vice Chairperson Sara Teppema presented Monday on the committee’s “Broadening the Focus” initiative in a Conference of Consulting Actuaries webinar.
- The Annuity Reserves and Capital Subcommittee sent a comment letter to the NAIC Life Actuarial (A) Task Force’s VM-22 Subgroup on the VM-22 Aggregation Exposure.
Resource Center—Visit the online Resource Center to stay on top of the latest Academy news and activity. | | | |
Upcoming Professionalism Webinars—Bias in AI, Tales from the Dark Side | | | |
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Join us in December for two professionalism webinars: |
- Identifying and Managing Bias in AI (Dec. 5), will explore potential model bias inherent risks that can arise at multiple stages of actuarial data-driven decision making, from data collection and modeling to interpretation and implementation. This webinar is intended to meet the USQS bias requirement. Register today.
- Tales From the Dark Side (Dec. 19) will continue the popular annual professionalism series featuring Actuarial Board for Counseling and Discipline (ABCD) case studies. ABCD members Tim Geddes and Cande Olsen will present. Register today.
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Actuary Voices—Academy and the NAIC | | | |
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The latest Actuary Voices features Academy Public Policy State Outreach Director Katie Dzurec and NAIC Chief Government Affairs Officer Ethan Sonnichsen, who discuss the relationship between the Academy and the NAIC. Subscribe to Actuary Voices wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
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Academy Reaches Students and Actuarial Clubs Through Speakers Bureau |
Speakers arranged by the Academy Speakers Bureau presented on public policy and professionalism topics at four events: - Data Science and Analytics Committee member Alex Esche presented “An Actuarial View of Data Bias: Definitions, Impacts, and Considerations” virtually on Tuesday to graduate students in Georgia State University’s Actuarial Science and Risk Management program.
- Also on Tuesday, Academy General Counsel and Senior Director of Professionalism Brian Jackson presented on professionalism to the Actuarial Society of Greater New York, in New York City. Health Equity Committee Chairperson Becky Sheppard and committee members Ugo Okpewho and Chanelle Desir also presented at the meeting, as did Climate Change Joint Committee Chairperson Seong-min Eom and Vice Chairperson Peter Ott, who spoke on the committee’s August climate policy paper.
- Immediate Past Social Security Committee Chairperson Amy Kemp presented “Social Security at 90: A Time for Celebration—and Reform” interactively on Thursday using the Academy’s Social Security Challenge at the Actuaries’ Club of Hartford and Springfield meeting in Hartford, Conn.
- ABCD member Cande Olsen presented “Outside the Comfort Zone: Unexpected Professionalism Challenges—Case Studies Illustrating Professional Considerations” on Friday at the Southeastern Actuaries Conference in Charlotte, N.C.
Looking for a speaker? The Academy Speakers Bureau provides qualified speakers on professionalism and public policy topics. | | | |
- The Fall Life Perspectives covers the latest upcoming changes to the Life and Health Law Valuation Manual in a Q&A with Sonia Reigles, incoming life Vice President Kirsten Pedersen’s insights into Life Practice Council priorities, and recent legislative and regulatory activity.
- New Actuarially Sound blog posts cover the Academy’s research efforts, and rural health issues, to mark National Rural Health Day (Nov. 20).
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- A Forbes column on the value of self-regulation noted and linked to an Academy article exploring the strategic value of the Academy’s activities in this area.
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