Description: The SOA launched the Actuarial Innovation & Technology Strategic Research Program earlier this year, focusing on projects in which technology is being used in actuarial work. The presenters will highlight reports from the program including a review of the Top Actuarial Technologies of 2019, the growing use of cloud computing and its impact on furthering and deepening actuarial analyses, and the growing innovative approaches using non-traditional data sources for risk selection and segmentation and its intersection with industry regulation. An overview of this new SOA research initiative and key findings from recently released reports will be covered.

Description: Negotiation - it's not just for buying a car! Actuaries negotiate every day at work, whether it's getting buy-in to change a critical assumption or a more reasonable timeline to complete a project. This workshop will be led by an instructor specializing in executive education and will offer techniques you can use to be more effective in your day-to-day life.

Description: Learn concrete strategies to manage executive dysfunction. The author discusses techniques she has learned along the way to improve productivity and manage time. High-level tips are: 1) Write it down. 2) Plan your day. 3) Don't let email and social media steal all your precious time. 4) Give your brain a little distraction. 5) Find an accountability partner. 6) Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. 7) When distracted, begin again. 8) Give yourself grace.

Description: Recap on book club on Empowering Women in Leadership

Description: A summary recap of the recent SOA Health Conference held in Dallas, TX in June of 2025. With the intentional use of AI to assist with the summary, this article gives a good overview of the recent conference with personal commentary from one of the attendees.

Description: Article describes best practices for teaching a course module that involves multiple parameters. A good example is hypothesis testing which requires consideration of the parameters, sample-size, population distribution, known variance and has as consequences whether a normal or t distribution should be used or whether non parametric methods are used. The articles recommends use of the Prime Implicant Normal Form as a means of teaching. It shows the superiority of this method over other forms such as heuristics, complete rules, or graduated approaches.

Description: This is the third in a four-part series dedicated to strategies for improving EQ, based on the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 written by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. In previous issues of The Stepping Stone, I discussed the skills of self-awareness and self-management. In this article, I will share a few more of the book’s strategies and provide examples and personal insights to illustrate how to develop the third skill of social awareness in personal, social, and business situations.

Description: In today’s market of post-pandemic consolidation and org chart streamlining, we’ve observed significant changes to actuarial career development and advancement opportunities. But, those changes aren’t occurring in equal measures across the arc of the actuarial career. Our focus is on the impact felt by experienced reinsurance actuaries.

Description: Learn various ways that actuaries are an making an impact on social issues such as healthcare, public health and climate change. Do you ever wonder if the actuarial profession is doing more than making bottom line revenue for its employers? Hear directly from multiple actuaries who are following their vocation by utilizing their actuarial skills to address real societal issues.

Description: Description of rationale and benefits of moving newsletter to a digital format