Please welcome two new member volunteers and three new candidate representatives to the Candidate Advocate Working Group (CAWG)! These volunteers help advocate candidates’ viewpoints to the broader CAS community. The candidate representatives are your voice in the CAS – don’t hesitate to reach out to CAWG@casact.org with any feedback, ideas or comments!

New member volunteers

Wesley Griffiths, FCAS, has been a long-time CAS volunteer having spent time on the Exam Committee, serving as chair on both the University Engagement Committee as well as the Leadership Development Committee. He currently teams with other CAS members to represent the CAS at the International Association of Actuaries. Wes achieved his FCAS designation in 2009 and has worked at Travelers most of his career, concentrating primarily in a commercial lines capacity. In his role at Travelers, he focuses his energy on deepening connections and engagement across the broad data and analytics community at all levels. His passion in that area is what brought him to this working group, and he is excited to work hard to better the experience for the future of the CAS and of the profession – our candidates.

Bailey Hescock, ACAS, couldn’t wait until after her exams to start volunteering for the CAS, so she joined the CAWG. She is excited for the opportunity to learn what’s on candidates’ minds to help improve their experiences while supporting her peers as they work towards their designations. Bailey grew up and went to college in Idaho but has moved to Connecticut to join the Actuarial Leadership Development Program at The Hartford, where she works on the commercial lines auto and property reserving team. She is working toward her FCAS with only exams 8 and 9 left. Outside of work and studying, Bailey enjoys travelling and puzzles, and spending time with her pup, Toasty Toast.

New candidate representatives

A former Candidate Liaison Committee (CLC) member encouraged Claire DiOrio to join the CAWG (formerly CLC). She’s enthusiastic about working with the CAS — she is most excited about writing Future Fellows articles and engaging in conversations about mental health with CAS candidates and members. She works for CNA Insurance as an actuarial consultant in the claim analytics department. She has MAS-II, Exam 5 and Exam 6 left to attain her ACAS designation. Her hobbies include going to comedy shows and trying out new restaurants in Chicago and reading.

Othon Hamill joined the CLC after inquiring about how post-exam survey information was used in the exam development process. He was pleased to hear that each comment is read and catalogued, and he encourages people to voice their opinions during the post-exam survey. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 2020 with a degree in actuarial science and now works for the American Family Insurance Group in small commercial lines. One of the favorite parts of his job is using the CAS-published Python module, Chainladder, to advance methods and projects in reserving. Othon lives in Seattle with his wife, and when not studying, he can be found catching up on professional tennis, dabbling in crossword building and fly-fishing around the Pacific Northwest.

Jack Richards joins the CAWG after volunteering on a variety of CAS committees since 2018, most recently on the University Engagement Working Group. In addition to his CAS experience, he was a student leader in college for Gamma Iota Sigma, which represents 5,000+ students, on the board of trustees. Jack hopes to advocate for candidates and integrate candidate perspectives across CAS working groups. He is looking forward to hearing candidate feedback and ideas, and he encourages all candidates to reach out. Jack graduated from Drake University in 2020 and joined Deloitte Consulting as a business analyst in the actuarial and insurance solutions practice. He has experience in cyber insurance pricing, reserving and actuarial modernization across consulting, industry and start-up environments. Jack lives in Chicago and enjoys playing golf and tennis in his free time.

Thank you to our former CAWG volunteers for helping to advocate for candidate viewpoints across the CAS: Meghan Goldfarb, FCAS; Leisha Cavallaro, ACAS; Layla Trummer, ACAS; Nate Williams, Chandler Fischbeck, and Victor Wang. Candidates interested in joining the CAWG can apply annually.