This summer, some of the Ezra Penland team attended two of the actuarial profession’s most important gatherings. The International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC (August 6-9), and the Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA) Avanza Conference in Chicago, IL (August 12 -14). Back-to-back, the two events made for a busy but genuinely rewarding stretch. It was part continuing education, part career fair, part celebration of the communities working to diversify this field.
Representation is still a real challenge in this profession. Reports cited by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) put Black actuaries at less than 3% of all credentialed actuaries across North America, and Hispanic actuaries at roughly 2%. Both IABA and OLA exist to help close that gap through mentorship, scholarships, and events exactly like these. Here’s what stood out from each:
IABA Annual Meeting: Boot Camp Mock Interviews, Career Fair, and the All Black Affair
Founded in 1992, IABA has grown from 65 founding members to gatherings of 600+ participants at recent annual meetings. As a recruiter, it’s one of the most efficient ways to meet a large, motivated pool of actuarial professionals and aspiring actuaries in a short window.
Volunteering at the Boot Camp: Mock Interviews
IABA’s boot camp is a concentrated push on exam prep and technical skills, and it wraps up on the final day with mock interviews. This is where we got to participate, volunteering as interviewers to give actuarial students and aspiring actuaries practice under realistic conditions and with honest feedback.
A few things stood out from the mock interview session:
- We were incredibly impressed with the attendees we spoke with. The knowledge and experience was clearly there. In many cases, all they needed was a little practice and confidence to communicate their strengths during an interview better.
- Real-time feedback made a visible difference. Watching someone tighten up their answer between one round and the next was one of the most rewarding parts of the week.
- It’s a low-stakes way for aspiring actuaries to get comfortable being evaluated before they’re in front of an actual hiring manager.
The Career Networking Event
We also had a table at IABA’s Career Networking Event. We weren’t there to fill a specific role, but to serve as a career resource and offer resume advice on the spot.
- Reviewing resumes drew a steady stream of job seekers all afternoon. Candidates wanted specifics, including how to frame exam progress, talk about internships, and tailor a resume by practice area.
- Being agency-side rather than employer-side changed the conversations. Job seekers were more open about where they were actually getting stuck in their search.
- It reinforced how much of the “getting hired” gap is presentation, not qualifications. Many attendees were strong on paper but hadn’t had anyone walk them through how to show it.
Many of the largest actuarial employers sit on IABA’s Corporate Advisory Council. The Career Networking Event functions as a real pipeline for actuarial talent – our table was just one part of a much bigger room working towards the same goal of helping the attendees.
The All Black Affair Awards Ceremony
The weekend closed with IABA’s Annual Awards Event, informally known this year as the All Black Affair, recognizing actuaries, students, and allies who’ve made a meaningful impact on the profession and community.
- It’s a celebration, not a formality. The energy in the room reflects genuine pride in the honorees’ work and dedication to becoming credentialed actuaries.
- It spotlights people you may not have heard of yet, doing work that deserves recognition.
- It reframes the week and serves as a reminder of why representation and mentorship matter in the first place.
OLA Avanza Conference: Walking the Career Fair, the Celebration Dinner, and More
A week later, OLA’s Avanza Conference, the organization’s largest in-person gathering, brought together an equally wide mix of students, career changers, working professionals, board members, and corporate sponsors. The conference includes general and breakout sessions, a career fair, and multiple networking events and opportunities.
The Career Fair
At this event, the Ezra Penland team spent the fair walking the floor and striking up conversations directly with job seekers. It was a different dynamic than sitting behind a booth and waiting for people to come to us.
- The attendees had a surprising amount of career changers, which meant different conversations: translating outside experience into an actuarial narrative, and talking exam progress alongside a non-traditional background.
- Approaching people ourselves let us reach candidates who might not have stopped at a booth.
- The conversations were shorter but more numerous, giving us a broader read on the room and the professionals at different stages of their careers attending the event.
Friday Night Celebration Dinner
OLA’s Annual Recognition Dinner and Celebration highlights the contributions and ongoing growth of the organization, and Friday night’s event delivered exactly that.
- It’s where OLA recognizes the people doing the behind-the-scenes work, including volunteers, program managers, and mentors who don’t always get visibility during the year.
- The tone shifts from “conference” to “community.” The dinner feels less like a program and more like a reunion of everyone coming together.
- It is a strong networking opportunity in its own right. Some of the most useful conversations we had all week happened over dinner, not during scheduled sessions.
Why Both Conferences Are Worth It – Especially if You’re on the Recruiting Side
Attending IABA and OLA back-to-back, running mock interviews, staffing a table, and attending two career fairs made for a demanding two weeks. But from a recruiter’s perspective, there’s no substitute for direct, in-person time with members of the actuarial community. You get a far better read on where the pipeline stands, and job seekers and aspiring actuaries get real, immediate feedback instead of submitting an application and never hearing back. If you’re a recruiter, hiring manager, or agency working in this space, both events are worth building into your annual calendar, not as a sponsorship line item, but as a genuine investment in a pipeline that still has real gaps to close.
A few resources if you want to go deeper:
- IABA Annual Meeting Page – registration, sponsorship guide, and past session recordings
- 2026 OLA Avanza Conference details via CAS
- SOA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion resources
- Explore our current actuarial opportunities.
- Read more from our team on actuarial career development.
If you’re an Actuary who stopped by our table or we met at the conferences, we would love to connect – Ezra Penland Linkedin, (800) 580-3972, actuaries@ezrapenland.com.