Does anyone have strong feelings about any of the candidates?
Yes. Thread here:
I don’t personally know any of the candidates but I could not support David S. based on his statement.
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As a summary, a group that came into the thread I linked to claim that trans people aren’t real and redlining never happened has endorse Skurnick, Gleba, Hines, and Bergh. I’m supporting Rohde, Lederer, Llaguno, and Belden because I’d like to continue to be an actuary.
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So David S. is campaigning entirely on anti-DEI. Pass.
Carolyn S. says she never wanted to be on the board until the DEI initiatives. Pass.
Goodness, John G., it’s basically the same exact stance in vaguer wording. Pass.
Alan Hines’ profile doesn’t have any obvious red flag, but if he was endorsed by the same anti-DEI people, pass.
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In fairness, Coe’s written bit on “Meet the Candidates” references both how DEI and the update to the Ratemaking Statement of Principles came to be as reasons for her candidacy. (I haven’t watched the Youtube video bit.)
Had she not been endorsed by WLTC, it would not have raised a red flag with me, and her written statement did resonate with me in a “let’s not fall into the trap of becoming the SOA” kind of way.
I hope I don’t come to regret that interpretation.
If I remember correctly, she seemed to have a beef with the term “equity” specifically, which I don’t really understand.
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Speaking of equity, I just skimmed the 2022 Syllabus and major props to the CAS for calling out available accommodations for pregnancy and nursing in a very specific way. That section didn’t exist when I was taking exams.
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I voted today. Gave more of a read about the candidates than typical. So thanks to the folks who compelled me to do that.
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Didn’t read about the candidates. But I trust MH so I’m going with this.
anti-DEI should be called out, fired, and canceled.
No, he complains about several unrelated issues, issues involving the CAS making swyping changed with little member input. Issues that i think are important to the future of the CAS. Then he mentions dei as having been handled similarly. His motive wasn’t the dei initiative, it was the staff/volunteer model, and downgrading the role of the VPs, and the attempted merger with the SOA.
But he did speak out against the Diversity Exam Reimbursement Program (DERP) because it favors some groups over others. As someone who has done mentoring with the Actuarial Foundation (who does a lot of outreach for students from minority groups), his statement was a dealbreaker for me.
I wasn’t thrilled with his answer, but i did not consider it disqualifying.
I am certainly not an expert on what programs are best and most effective to improve diversity. But my guess is that outreach, education, and mentorship are all more important, especially if the DERP is replaced with a need-based program.
And the CAS desperately needs board members who care about the membership, and about openness and responsiveness, and not just about growing the business of the CAS.
As it should be for anyone that cares about the CAS existing for much longer. If the DEI initiative fails, I’d expect the CAS to be ineffective and some of the largest insurance departments (CA, NY, etc) to question the credibility of the credential.
Bump. Just about a week left in the voting.