CAS Profiles

Rachel Hunter is a Career Changer. In what field or actuarial concentration do you work in now? I most recently worked in pricing for small commercial lines. What job did you do or industry did you work in before becoming an actuary? During the late 90’s, I was part of the dot-com boom building websites » READ MORE

Where do you work and what is your position? I have been part of Travelers Insurance for 16 years. Currently I am an AVP in Corporate Actuarial where I lead our work on annual and quarterly financials related to reserves, catastrophe reporting and competitor analytics. Why did you decide to become an actuary? During my » READ MORE

Melissa Huenefeldt is a Career Changer. Where do you work and what is your position? Consulting Actuary, Milliman In what field or actuarial concentration do you work in now? Property & Casualty reserving for large deductible/self-insured organizations. What job did you do or industry did you work in before becoming an actuary? I double-majored in » READ MORE

Where do you work and what is your position? I work as a manager in the Insurance and Actuarial Advisory Services practice of EY. Why did you decide to become an actuary? When I was applying for college, I had no clue what I wanted to do but I knew that I wanted it to » READ MORE

Where do you work and what is your position? I currently work remotely out of Dallas, Texas as a Pricing Actuary for GuideOne Insurance. Why did you decide to become an actuary? My introduction to the profession began as a senior in high school spending an afternoon with a Chief Actuary working for a life » READ MORE

Where do you work and what is your position? I’m currently Group Chief Risk Officer at Everest, a global P&C insurance and reinsurance company headquartered in Warren, NJ. Why did you decide to become an actuary? I majored in actuarial sciences in college because I really enjoyed math and wanted to eventually be in the » READ MORE

CAS Profile – Allison Barnes Allison Barnes is a Career Changer. Where do you work and what is your position? Actuarial Analyst, CNA Insurance In what field or actuarial concentration do you work in now? Specialty Pricing, Financial Institutions What job did you do or industry did you work in before becoming an actuary? I » READ MORE

Where do you work and what is your position? I am President and Consulting Actuary at Liscord, Ward & Roy, Inc., a property/casualty actuarial consulting firm located in Manchester, NH. Why did you decide to become an actuary? A week before I finished college, a recruiter from Aetna Insurance was on campus talking to students » READ MORE

Where do you work and what is your position? I’m a pricing actuary with Ryan Specialty. Why did you decide to become an actuary? I went to a math and science high school (for NUS High we fight!), but I was definitely better at/more interested in math than sciences. I was looking for a math-related » READ MORE

Why did you decide to become an actuary? One of my neighbors is an actuary and introduced me to the field in high school. I was always good at math but wanted a career in business – and his job as an actuary sounded like a perfect fit! As I learned more about the profession » READ MORE

My name is Sebastian Czerwinski and I am a senior at Illinois State University. Currently I am an actuarial intern at COUNTRY Financial on their pricing team for commercial lines of business and I have accepted a full time position with them in the same position. An interesting fact about me is that I can » READ MORE

Name of university attended: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania Current employer/job title: Senior Actuary at New Energy Risk Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? Insurance is so dynamic and interesting!  I graduated from college in 2014, and while we were talking about “big data”, » READ MORE

My name is Jason Nikowitz.  I have an associate degree from Harper College, a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, and a master’s degree from North Central College.  I currently work at Zurich North America as an AVP Actuary and Team Lead.  Prior to transitioning to actuarial work, I taught high school mathematics for five years.  » READ MORE

University: The University of Iowa Current Employer/Title: Deloitte Consulting LLP – P&C Actuarial Senior Manager Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? Insurance is an industry with a lot of opportunities. Almost every individual and business in the US is required to have insurance. Insurance provides piece of » READ MORE

School: New York University  Current Employer/Title: Vice President Actuary, Head of US Reserving at Ascot Group  Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? The insurance industry is exciting because insurance products are always changing to keep up with the world.  For example, we get to see how cyber risks or » READ MORE

Name of college/university attended: Brigham Young University with a degree in Actuarial Science  Current employer/job title: Actuarial Analyst at the American Family Insurance Group  Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? Insurance is a great career for anyone interested in applying statistics you’ve learned in class or seen » READ MORE

Name of college/university attended: University of Notre Dame   Current employer/job title: Managing Director at Deloitte   Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? Working in the insurance industry is a way to be on the front lines of making a social impact. The industry is designed to » READ MORE

Name of college/university attended: University of Notre Dame Current employer/job title: CNA Insurance, Actuarial Consultant Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? The insurance industry has rewarding work. New graduates can immediately see their work helping clients recover after accidents or catastrophes. In addition, it has a great job » READ MORE

Name of college/university attended: Arizona State University  Current employer/job title: Allstate, Actuarial Analyst   Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? When I first started, one of the things that surprised me most was the strong sense of community present in the insurance industry. The amount of support and » READ MORE

My name is Chelsea Adler and I’m an FCAS passionate about changing the narrative around insurance. After graduating from Ohio State University with a major in Actuarial Science, I spent the first 5 years of my career pricing Homeowners insurance at State Farm. I then transitioned to my current role as Senior Manager, Pricing and » READ MORE

My name is Dan Post, and it is hard to believe that I have been an FCAS for 19 years!  I graduated from Lebanon Valley College with a degree in Actuarial Science (and a minor in music) and have held a variety of actuarial positions at several insurance companies.  I have spent the last 16 » READ MORE

Susana Gisele Zelaya, FCAS, FCIA, works as an Actuary at ICBC in the Product Pricing Team. She graduated from Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) with a bachelor degree in actuarial sciences. Born in El Salvador, her parents moved to Canada where she grew up as French Canadian and recently moved to British Columbia. She » READ MORE

My name is Denise Olson. I currently work at Zurich North America as the Head of New Programs leading a cross functional due diligence team. I graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (Go Big Red!) with a double major in Actuarial Science and Math. In my 30-year career, I’ve spent about 20 years » READ MORE

My name is Matthew Cairo and I work as an Actuarial Analyst at State Farm in the Homeowners Pricing Unit. I graduated from Florida State University (Go Noles!) with a double major in Actuarial Science and Risk Management & Insurance. I held the title of Vice-President of the Iota chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma while » READ MORE

Cory Ortiz works at State Farm as an Actuarial Analyst in the Homeowners Pricing Unit.  Cory graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Actuarial Science and a minor in Business Management.  He was born and raised in Central Illinois and is back in his hometown after graduating from BYU. Why would you recommend » READ MORE

Carlo Lahura works as an Actuarial Consultant with EY where he has advised a variety of national and international clients since 2017, and obtained his FCAS credential in 2019. Carlo graduated as Valedictorian from the University of Waterloo in 2017 with 7 actuarial exams, president of various clubs, and nearly 2 years of actuarial internships. » READ MORE

My name is Melissa Salazar and I am a Senior Actuarial Analyst at Nationwide Insurance where I work in Management Liability and Specialty Lines of insurance. I was raised in Florida where I went to school at the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and obtained my Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics as well as » READ MORE

Julianne Borgardt has been with Allstate Insurance Company since 2015 and currently works as an Actuarial Assistant on Allstate Business Insurance’s Commercial Property Lines. Julianne is a graduate of Concordia University of Wisconsin where she majored in Actuarial Science and minored in German Language. In addition to her normal actuarial work, Julianne has enjoyed speaking » READ MORE

Kelly Gates is a Pricing Actuary on the Commercial Auto team at Zurich North America. She is an Associate of the CAS and is currently working on her last exam for her Fellowship. She is a graduate of Lafayette College. Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? I » READ MORE

Robert Hark is an Actuarial Analyst at Applied Underwriters. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Montana Tech and a Master of Science from the University of California, Davis. Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? If you have strong mathematical and analytical skills, and you would like » READ MORE

Marla Strykowski, FCAS, MAAA, is an actuary at Plymouth Rock Assurance. She graduated from Bentley University with a double major in Mathematical Sciences and Liberal Studies, with a concentration in Actuarial Science. Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? Learning about the numerous aspects of the insurance industry » READ MORE

Allie Rexroat, ACAS, MAAA, works as an Actuarial Analyst at State Farm in the Specialty Lines Pricing Unit. She is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri. Why would you recommend a career in the insurance industry to current college students? The insurance industry today is changing very quickly. There are so many new » READ MORE

Madison Bemis studies actuarial science and music at the University of St. Thomas. She previously held the title of Co-President of the Beta Pi chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma and currently serves as the concertmaster for her school’s string orchestra. Madison is also currently interning at Travelers, where she will be working full-time after graduation. » READ MORE

Matthew Edson studies actuarial science and finance and economics at the University of Connecticut. He is the CFO of the UConn chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma. Matthew will be pursing an internship this summer at Travelers in their Actuarial and Analytics Leadership Development Program (AALDP). Why are you interested in pursuing a career in the » READ MORE

Kristen Marshall studies actuarial science at Illinois State University. She is the vice president of membership for Toastmasters International Club on campus, the finance coordinator for Christian Business, and the current trip leader for the 2018 Honors Program Alternative Spring Break Trip to New Orleans, where she will partner with Junior Achievement to visit low-income » READ MORE

  Jake Akstins studies actuarial science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is president of the university’s actuarial science club, and was selected as a 2017 CAS Trust Scholarship Winner. Jake has spent the last two summers interning at CNA and will begin working there full time after graduation. Why are you interested » READ MORE