Commentary on Diversity

SOUTHEASTERN ACTUARIES CONFERENCE COMMENTARY ON DIVERSITY

At the Southeastern Actuaries Conference, we live by the motto "Be Part of Something that Counts".  Over time, that motto has meant many different things, primarily around establishing a community of actuarial professionals who get together during the year to share experiences, spend time with family and friends, learn some technical and leadership skills, and meet our continuing education requirements.  It also extends at times into other community areas, such as our scholarship program and our outreach efforts to schools and universities.

As a part of our role in the community, we at the SEAC stand against prejudice in all forms.  We are committed to diversity, equality, and inclusion that reflects the diverse perspectives, cultures, lifestyles and backgrounds of our members and the profession we represent.  Article 2 of our organizing document notes that the "purpose of this Conference shall be to promote friendship amount its members and to foster and promote the practice of actuarial science."  While this statement does not explicitly address the need to recognize, appreciate and honor the diversity of our membership and to look for inclusion of all interested individuals, we cannot live up to this purpose or achieve our motto if our members or other stakeholders do not feel respected and safe or are not sure that they have a voice which is heard.

As the world around us continues to evolve and adapt to the new environment brought on by COVID and other broad cultural pressures, we need to commit to inclusion and diversity in our organization and communities.  We need to engage in difficult conversations to make progress, while always remaining respectful and empathetic to each other.  We each are reacting to change in our own way, so let's be open to challenging discussions and not dismissive of reactions which may be different than our own.  As we continue to interact moving forward, let's look for ways where we can proactively seek opportunities to benefit from our varied experiences and grow not just as actuaries, but as people.  We look forward to the chance to do that together, and as an Executive Committee, we welcome any ideas from membership on how we can do that most effectively.

December 2021

Current News

Spring 2024- The 2024 SEAC Spring Meeting will be held at the Opal Grand Oceanfront Resort and Spa in Delray Beach, Florida, on June 19-21, 2024. We look forward to seeing everyone in this beautiful beachfront location. Registration is now open.

Fall 2023 - The SEAC Spring Meeting was held at the Desoto Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, on November 15-17, 2023.  Attendees were pleased with the hotel as well as the historic location, with lots of great sites to experience.  Sessions continued to be well attended and included strong audience participation.

Spring 2023 - The SEAC Spring Meeting was held at the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida on June 21-23, 2023.  Attendance was particularly strong for this meeting at a beautiful resort location with a strong assortment of speakers and presentations.  We also launched a new partnership with an event planner to assist with outside activities during the conference.

Fall 2022 - The SEAC Annual Meeting was held at the Hyatt Centric in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 16-18, 2022.  This was a joint meeting along with the Actuaries' Club of the Southwest (ACSW). We had continued strong attendance and participation in the sessions, with positive feedback all around.  Congratulations to Woolford London (President) and JoAnn Bogolin (Member-At-Large) on their elections.

Spring 2022 - The SEAC Spring Meeting was held at The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida on June 22-24, 2022.  The event was well attended, with both the location and the content well received by those in attendance.

Fall 2021 - The SEAC Annual Meeting was held at the Hotel Emeline, in Charleston, South Carolina on November 17-19, 2021, in a return to our in-person format. It was great to see everyone again and to re-engage with numerous friends and colleagues we had not seen for a couple of years.  Congratulations to Kareen Dorsett (President) and John Gramelspacher (Member-At-Large) on their elections.

Spring 2021 - The SEAC Spring Meeting was a virtual event held on June 23-24, 2021. The pandemic continued to be a major consideration for live events, but the meeting was as successful and well-attended as ever.

If you would like to be considered as our next Member-At-Large on the Executive Committee, please contact Woolford London for more information.