Meet the team

Lisamarie Lukas

• Director of Communications

• Hometown:
  Sweet Home Chicago
• Educational background:
  Northwestern University, 2003, M.S., Integrated Marketing Communications
  DePaul University, 1993, B.A., Organizational Psychology
• The last book I read was:
  Poke the Box by Seth Godin
• My favorite movie is:
  It’s a toss-up between Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Raising Arizona, Some Like it Hot and The Manchurian Candidate – yes, it’s a wild mix.
• My iTunes library includes:
  At 2100 songs and counting, it is growing everyday…Black Eyed Peas, Dean Martin, House of Pain, Earth Wind & Fire, Sade, Aerosmith, Steve Miller Band, The Beatles, Jay-Z, Etta James, Foreigner, Beastie Boys, N.E.R.D., Sting, Rolling Stones, Gershwin, Joan Jett and John Legend.
• If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would be:
  Mexican food. Specifically, homemade guacamole, salsa, chips and chicken mole.
• Number of years working with the SOA:
  I’m from the 2007 vintage !
• My role at the SOA involves:
  Wow...how much time do you have? While it depends upon the day, my main role is to manage and guide the SOA’s communications activities with members, candidates, employers, the media and the public. The small but mighty communications team consists of three groups: public relations, publications and web. We’re growing in our social media efforts so it has been a great challenge to integrate and launch these tools to further our dialogue with members, candidates and the public.
• One thing I wish that students and candidates knew about the SOA is:
  We really care about you!
• The best thing about being on the SOA campus visit team is:
  No doubt about it — meeting with students and faculty. It is interesting to hear different challenges/concerns/questions and it feels fantastic to provide recommendations, offer solutions and answer questions. In a former life, I worked for two different universities in fundraising, constituent relations and marketing, and there’s nothing like the energy of a college campus, the students’ enthusiasm and talking with dedicated faculty.
• The question I get most often from students is:
  What opportunities do actuaries have for a career beyond the insurance industry?
• I consider a visit successful if:
  At the end of our visit, the students are hanging around to talk with us.
• One tip I’d give candidates currently taking exams is:
  To find balance and become well-rounded. It is important to study but also remember to have fun and develop yourself beyond your studies. Make time to be with the people you love, do the things you enjoy and gain life experience. You don’t want to wake up one day and realize you all you did for 5+ years was study for exams. It’s a given that actuaries are smart and excel quantitatively so what will differentiate is the ability to demonstrate your strong communications skills, awareness of what’s happening in today’s business world, and broader interests outside of your professional life.
• One thing that every candidate should know about the profession is:
  
• It is absolutely fascinating and we’re working to grow the profession beyond the historical areas of practice (insurance and retirement) into industries like investments, banking and financial services.
• Anything else you’d like to tell candidates?
  1) Be patient with and kind to yourself during the exam process; failing an exam (or two or four) will not ruin your actuarial career. Plenty of leading actuaries had a few unsuccessful exam attempts. 2) Do not make the Actuarial Outpost the sole source of your information about exams or the profession. Much of what is on the AO isn’t accurate. 3) Make sure you take communication courses throughout your college years. Learning to write, present and listen are invaluable skills you’ll need throughout your career no matter what level you are or hope to achieve. And, don’t stop there. Once you move into a professional role, continue to do all that you can to sharpen your communication skills.