RIMScast: Celebrating #SpencerDay and Funding the Future of Risk Management

Celebrating #SpencerDay and Funding the Future of Risk Management

Feb 27, 2023

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

Guest 1: Pat Saporito

Founder & Principal Consultant, Saporito & Associates, LLC

“Leveraging Data and Analytics for Continuous Risk Management” is a course that is available in three parts — Part 1’s next session is on March 9th. The in-person pre-conference workshop on April 29th and 30th in Atlanta Georgia will be “Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence in Risk Management.” RISKWORLD attendees save 30% on this course. The instructor for the virtual and in-person workshops is my friend Pat Saporito, Founder & Principal Consultant of Saporito & Associates, LLC. I’ve worked with her before and she’s one of our favorites here at RIMS. I wanted you to hear about what she has in store for you.

Guest 2: Megan Miller
Megan Miller is the Executive Director of the Spencer Educational Foundation. Megan is here to talk to us about #SpencerDay.

Guests 3 and 4: Anne Bowen and Jamal Evans

Anne and Jamal are 2022 Spencer Educational Foundation Scholarship Recipients.

Be sure to tune in for today’s informative conversations!

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About the RIMS Membership.

[:14] Registration for RISKWORLD 2023 is now open!

[:26] About RIMScast.

[:39] About today’s episode, #SpencerDay, and today’s guests.

[:53] All about upcoming RIMS webinars, workshops, events, and more!

[1:35] About RISKWORLD 2023.

[1:48] About recent episodes with RISKWORLD speakers.

[2:09] About data analytics courses that RIMS hosts virtually and will also host in person in Atlanta, Georgia ahead of RISKWORLD. The virtual course is “Leveraging Data and Analytics for Continuous Risk Management,” in three parts, with Part 1 on March 9th.

[2:35] The in-person course is a pre-conference workshop on April 29th and 30th in Atlanta Georgia, “Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in Risk Management.” RISKWORLD attendees save 30% on this course.

[2:48] The instructor for the virtual and in-person courses is Pat Saporito, Founder & Principal Consultant, Saporito & Associates, LLC.

[3:04] Justin welcomes Pat Saporito to RIMScast!

[3:11] About the virtual workshop Pat Saporito leads for RIMS in three modules or parts.

[3:22] The first part of the virtual workshop, “Leveraging Data,” is about the foundation of data and analytics and how to leverage the data for risk management.

[4:01] The second part of the virtual workshop, “Managing Data,” is about bringing data sources together and using the characteristics of the data by asking better analytical questions and using data scientists.

[4:58] The last part of the virtual workshop, “Optimizing Risk Management with AI,” is about algorithms that go beyond the usual. The course includes demos and how to build a framework for the attendees' use cases, and make incremental improvements.

[5:48] The practical tools attendees of each course receive from Pat.

[6:02] Justin is looking forward to Pat hosting the three combined modules under the title “Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in Risk Management,” in person in Atlanta, an all-day course over two days, April 29th and 30th.

[6:43] Pat will cover in person everything from the three modules of the virtual course, a little more concisely. She will also ask participants to bring a case study or risk management challenge to work on to make it practical for them.

[8:02] Pat describes her teaching style as very practical with some added humor. The in-person group discussion is also invaluable.

[8:37] Justin’s second guest, Spencer Educational Foundation Executive Director, Megan Miller is here to tell about #SpencerDay. Justin welcomes Megan to RIMScast.

[9:18] Spencer Day brought back their gala in 2022, after being on pandemic hiatus, and honored Neeti Bhalla Johnson. The year was also a high-water mark for fundraising.

[9:53] The Spencer Educational Foundation is excited about what it will be able to do in 2023.

[10:07] Neeti Bhalla Johnson’s Spencer gala award speech was recorded and posted on the SpencerEd.org website. That was very helpful for Justin to watch, preparing to have her on RIMScast.

[10:33] Several scholars at the gala came up to Megan to say how great it was to have a woman speaker that looked like them. They don’t see that a lot with high honors and big awards.

[11:10] Spencer Educational Foundation has been around for over 43 years and is known for its scholarships. Spencer Day raises awareness of the foundation. The foundation is grateful for the corporate support received over the decades.

[11:56] The Spencer Educational Foundation needs more individual support. The Foundation is asking for individuals to donate $23.00 for 2023 as a show of support. Spread the word today with #SpencerDay. On other days use #SpencerScholars and #FundingTheirFuture.

[12:45] Hashtags help the foundation to keep track of mentions on different social media platforms.

[13:25] The Spencer Foundation is holding a Pickleball Tournament on the Saturday preceding the RISKWORLD conference. They are looking for players and sponsors now. On Sunday there is the 2023 Spencer Gallagher Golf Tournament at the Smoke Rise Country Club.

[14:27] The Spencer RIMS Risk Management Challenge will be held with students from China, India, Canada, and the U.S. on Monday afternoon. On Monday evening, there is the Spencer Reception. On Tuesday morning May 2nd, there is the 5K Fun Run.

[15:27] The 2023 Funding Their Future Gala will be on September 14th, in New York City. There is a new venue to be revealed. The honoree will be announced in the coming months. Save the date! There will also be a couple of student speakers.

[16:30] The Spencer Foundation will award about $650,000 in 2023 scholarships (over 100 awards) and about $1 million in other 2023 programs, including course development funding to schools for risk management and insurance courses and programs.

[17:10] The focus has been on minority-serving institutions, such as HBCUs and Hispanic-serving institutions, to diversify the pipeline of talent.

[17:58] Justin introduces his next guests, two recipients of Spencer scholarships at the Funding Their Future Gala of 2022, Anne Bowen and Jamal Evans, who are on the show to talk about the role Spencer has played in this early part of their risk careers.

[18:16] Justin welcomes Anne Bowen and Jamal Evans to RIMScast. The last time Anne and Jamal met, they were nervously walking onstage as scholarship award recipients. Anne and Jamal speak of the honor they received and how it felt in front of so many risk and insurance industry executives.

[19:34] Anne looks back at the impact Spencer has had on her education, internship, and career, on other students, and professionals.

[20:22] Jamal seconds that. For Jamal, the big thing was the financial support while going through undergraduate school. Jamal is a two-time Spencer Scholar, first as a junior, which allowed him to focus on his education and not be bogged down with concern. That yielded successes for Jamal.

[20:48] Jamal also has participated in the Mentorship Program and has been helped by the industry professionals he connected with through Spencer.

[21:19] Anne offers her advice to students applying now for a Spencer Scholarship. Take that leap of faith, really put yourself out there, and share your story. Every person has a unique story about how they got into this industry. Be your true self.

[22:01] Jamal says just go for it. There are always “nerves” when applying and doing the essay requirement. Spencer is there to support future insurance professionals and they’re passionate about those who are trying to educate themselves in the insurance industry.

[22:24] Take the leap of faith. Be diligent with your essay; be passionate and authentic. It’s a great organization with much more opportunities than the financial incentive.

[22:49] Jamal thanks all of the Spencer staff, from the people who process the applications to the people who manage the event. Tandeka Nomvete is one individual who stands out. She encouraged him at the Spencer Educational Gala before he spoke and she continues to show him support and direct him to resources and opportunities.

[24:00] Anne expresses her #AttitudeOfGratitude to Tandeka Nomvete, for taking them under her wing at the Gala. Anne thanks Megan Miller for helping Indiana State University where Anne got her undergraduate degree and is studying for her master’s degree. Anne also thanks her advisor on campus, Ms. Rebecca Ray.

[25:31] Justin thanks Anne Bowen and Jamal Evans for joining us on RIMScast. Justin thanks all of his guests. Remember to participate in Spencer Day by visiting SpencerEd.org and the Spencer Day link in this episode’s show notes. On social, follow #SpencerDay. Justin appreciates your support.

[25:53] You can sponsor a RIMScast episode! Justin shares examples of episode sponsors. See links to sponsored episodes below. RIMScast has a global audience comprised of risk and insurance professionals, legal professionals, students, business leaders, C-Suite executives, and more! Contact PD@rims.org for more information.

[26:35] More RIMS offerings: Transitional Membership available to members separated from their place of employment, valid for up to two years or until you secure your next full-time position. — Register for the RIMS CRMP, the only risk management-based competency credential. — Check out the searchable RIMS Content Page.

[27:31] Subscribe to the monthly Risk Management Magazine and Risk Management Monitor, the official RIMS blog.

[27:45] To contact Justin, email Content@rims.org. Justin thanks you for your continued support and engagement on social media. Stay safe and healthy and we’ll see you next week!

Mentioned in this Episode:

Spencer Day is Feb 27. Visit SpencerEd.org/spencer-day to show your support. Share this episode on social media with #SpencerScholars #ICM2023 InsuranceCareersMonth

RISKWORLD 2023 — April 30‒May 3 in Atlanta, Georgia! Public registration is open!

Riskworld: In-Person Workshops April 29‒30 | “RISKWORLD Pre-Conference Workshop Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence in Risk Management”
Save 30% on pre-conference workshops when you register to attend RISKWORLD!