OLA Industry Newsletter: August 2025

Dear OLA Community,

This industry newsletter is provided to our professional members, industry sponsors, partners, allies, and subscribers to keep you current with OLA's various activities, spotlight members of our community, and connect you with career and volunteer opportunities. 

If you are not already on our distribution list, please register for an OLA Member Portal account at members@latinoactuaries.org to receive this newsletter and other important communications!

Please reach out to our newsletter team at newsletter@latinoactuaries.org if you have any questions or feedback (or for corporate sponsors and partners, any items you'd like featured in this newsletter), and thank you for your continued support of OLA!

Alan Ramirez
Director of Membership

Table of Contents

1. Upcoming Events & Announcements
2. Mixers
3. Community Spotlights
4. Career Corner
5. Volunteer Opportunities
6. Student Section
7. Support OLA!
8. Connect With Us
   

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2025 OLA Avanza conference!

The OLA Avanza Conference will bring together OLA prospects (college/university students, recent graduates, and career-changers), OLA Members (actuarial professionals), OLA Leaders (Board of Directors, Program Managers, and Committees), Corporate Sponsors, and Industry/Community Partners for enhanced in-person networking opportunities, including OLA's familiar Mixer format, an in-person career fair, networking meals, and breakout panels/sessions for both prospects and professionals.

New for 2025: The rebranded 2025 OLA Avanza Conference will expand the programming offered during the 2024 OLA Early Career Symposium to feature both general and breakout sessions so actuarial professionals can earn Continuing Education (CE) and/or Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits.

🗣️ATTENDEES: Please ensure your OLA Member Portal account details are up-to-date to ensure you continue to receive the latest OLA news and upcoming events! If you don't have an account, you can register here:🔗 https://members.latinoactuaries.org/general/register_member_type.asp?

See you all at the OLA Avanza Conference next week!

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Past 2025 mixers

Boston - June 17

Phoenix - June 12 (collaboration with CADS)

Gerardo duarte, ASA

Hometown: Currently live in Laredo, TX, but grew up in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Both are border towns separated by the Rio Grande River.

University: University of Texas at Austin

OLA Involvement: Board Member and Director of Pipeline Development

Current Position: Senior Manager, CVS Health

Tell us a little about yourself:  I grew up in a Mexican household, but with some exposure to the U.S. culture given the proximity - I have the best of both worlds! I moved to the U.S. when I was 18, did two years of community college and transferred to UT Austin where I graduated in 2018 with a major Actuarial Science. I’ve been a Health Actuary since then holding consulting-like roles. I am a very outdoorsy guy - I enjoy hiking, catch-and-release fishing, kayaking, camping, etc.  

How has OLA impacted your career? I’ll sum it up with two things: Community and Experience.

• Community: OLA has introduced me to a vast network of actuaries who I can reach out for questions. I appreciate how much I’ve learned about the industry from chats with fellow OLA members. We are truly a community where everyone supports each other!
  
• Experience: Through volunteering and serving as a Board Member, I’ve been exposed to different situations/projects which have helped me grow as a leader and increased my business acumen. Additionally, it’s been rewarding to contribute to the growth of fellow Latine prospects and actuaries.

What is your favorite thing of being an actuary? The constant learning – I’m an intellectually curious person, and as an Actuary, I enjoy being challenged to solve problems and answer questions stemming from an ever-changing environment.