American Academy of Actuaries Recognizes Volunteers’ Service to the Public and Profession

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 -- The American Academy of Actuaries issued the following news release:

The American Academy of Actuaries recognized several of its most dedicated volunteers for their service to the public, the U.S. actuarial profession, and the Academy with awards presented at its Annual Meeting and Public Policy Forum on Nov. 1-2 in Washington, D.C. They include recipients of the Academy's two prestigious lifetime awards, the Jarvis Farley Service Award and the Robert J. Myers Public Service Award, and four recipients of the 2018 Outstanding Volunteerism Award.

"Service is at the heart of the Academy's mission," said Academy 2018-19 President Steve Alpert. "We are fortunate to benefit from the skill, dedication, and hard work of our volunteers. The Academy has as its mission a paramount commitment to serve the public and to assist in the creation of sound public policy."

Geoffrey Sandler of Montvale, N.J., whose long and distinguished record of Academy volunteerism includes serving as vice president of both health and professionalism as well as prolific contributions in numerous other volunteer positions, received the 2018 Jarvis Farley Service Award. The award honors an actuary whose volunteer efforts on behalf of the Academy have made significant contributions to the advancement of the profession. The Academy established the award in 1991 to honor one of its most dedicated volunteers, Jarvis Farley, a charter member of the Academy and an invaluable resource for the profession.

"There are plenty of opportunities to share our expertise for the good of the public and the profession," said Sandler. "It's easy for us to go about our day-to-day jobs and lose sight of how important our profession is in providing a sound basis for protecting the financial security needs of the public relating to life insurance, retirement plans, health care programs, and property and casualty protections."

Elise Liebers of New York, N.Y., whose wide-ranging and impressive public service accomplishments span work at the New York State Insurance Department (now Department of Financial Services), work in developing a National Association of Insurance Commissioners risk-based capital formula, building insurance expertise within the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and being a leading U.S. voice at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors on financial stability and international standards for insurance supervision, received the 2018 Robert J. Myers Public Service Award. In 1994 the Academy's Committee on Actuarial Public Service established the award, which is named after Robert J. Myers to honor his lifelong commitment to public service.

"Thank you to the Academy for acknowledging the contributions of actuaries who devote their careers to public service," Liebers said. "The actuarial skill set, education, independence and professional requirements combine to make actuaries uniquely qualified to assess the implications of various policy alternatives. The actuary's technical working knowledge of insurance is not at all easily substituted for, and I believe that actuarial perspective has been, and will continue to be, essential for sound policymaking."

Four Academy volunteers--Karen Bender of Little Saumico, Wis.; Lauren Cavanaugh of Pennington, N.J.; Jason Russell of Washington, D.C.; and Wayne Stuenkel of Vestavia, Ala.--were recognized with the Academy's 2018 Outstanding Volunteerism Award. The award honors Academy volunteers who have made noteworthy volunteerism contributions in the past year.

"In their work on behalf of the Academy, our Outstanding Volunteerism Award recipients each demonstrated a commitment that won the admiration of the members and officers of the Academy," said Alpert.