Past Employer Biographies
Securian Financial - 2/5
Melanie Robbins
Melanie Robbins, FSA, MAAA, and CERA, has been at Securian Financial since graduating from UW-Madison in May 2016. Melanie currently works as an actuarial manager, leading the Supplemental Health Pricing Team in developing and pricing Accident, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity products.
Matt Zuber
Matt Zuber, FSA and CERA, graduated from UW-Madison in December 2012 and has been with Securian Financial since. Matt works as an actuarial manager on the Group Life Case Underwriting team, leading and consulting on the pricing, analysis, and risk management of the more dynamic and complex group life cases.
United Health Group - 2/15
Max Krueger
Max Krueger is an actuarial director from New Berlin, Wisconsin who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014. Max Krueger has worked in medical claims trend forecasting, behavioral health claims analytics and forecasting, Medicaid capitation rate development, rate review, and reserving. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, sports, traveling, spending time with his son and nephews.
Eric Drake
Eric Drake is an actuarial analyst from Madison, WI who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2021. He has experience in rate and premium development for fully insured commercial policies, rate filing, competitor analysis, and level funded premium development. Some of his nonprofessional interests include hiking, fishing, trivia, running, and watching Badger game
Church Mutual - 2/21
Casey Grosshauser
Casey Grosshauser graduated from UWEC in 2017 with a major in Actuarial Science and a certificate in Information Systems. She started as an Underwriter out of college. Continued to study for actuarial exams outside of work and was an actuarial Assistant from 2018-2021. She started at Church Mutual in November, 2021 as an Actuarial Consultant and was promoted to Assistant Actuary in October, 2023. She received ACAS and MAAA in Spring, 2021,is sitting for Exam 9 this spring, and mentored the 2023 summer actuarial interns. Casey Grosshauser is the Actuarial Liaison for UWEC (recruiting, employer presentations, etc.) She was born and raised right outside of Madison. She grew up playing Baseball and Soccer. When she's not studying/working, you can find her up north fishing with friends/family
Jack Pawlak
Jack Pawlak graduated from UW-Madison in 2022 with majors in Actuarial Science, Finance and Risk Management Insurance. He was a Business Intelligence/Actuarial Science intern the Summer before Senior year with Church Mutual; he worked part-time during his senior year and started full-time post-graduation. He is sitting for MAS-1 this upcoming Fall. Jack Pawlak is the Actuarial Liaison for UW-Madison (recruiting, employer presentations, etc.). He is from Grafton, WI – grew up a Badger fan and ultimately was his primary goal for school. His primary sport growing up was Baseball, also played Basketball and Football. When he is not studying/working, he's an avid runner and sports fanatic (Badgers, Packers, Bucks, Cubs – NOT Brewers).
Wakely - 2/27
Paul Brochhausen
Paul is an Actuarial Analyst in the Madison office. He joined Wakely this past September after graduating from UW-Madison in May and interning with Wakely over the summer. Since starting, Paul has worked on Medicaid redetermination analyses and ACA risk adjustment. Outside of work, Paul spends his free time skiing, disc golfing, and watching football.
Evan Bitter
Evan is an Actuarial Analyst in the Denver office. He joined Wakely full-time after graduating from UW-Madison in December of 2022. Evan works a little on many client services including provider risk, Medicare bids, ACA rate filings, risk score optimization, and medication adherence. He is also looking to earn his ASA this year, only needing to finish modules. In his free time, Evan likes to ski, hike, play tennis, and watch Badger sports.
Rebecca Peot, ASA, MAAA
Rebecca is an Actuarial Consultant with the Wakely Madison office. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and worked in-house for a large insurance company and for a startup insurer before joining the Minneapolis office in 2019. Rebecca has worked with Medicare and Medicaid clients at Wakely, with a primary focus on Medicare bids (pricing, strategy, benefit analysis, audit, and more). Her recent focus has been on valuing the impact of the IRA on future Medicare Part D pricing. Rebecca is one of the founding members of the Wakely Madison office and is excited to continue to grow Wakely’s footprint in the Madison area.
Milliman - 3/4
Aric Booth (Professional Staff with CMH Health, Medicare Health focus)
Aric graduated from UW-Madison in December of 2021 and has been at Milliman for over a year and a half. In his time at UW, Aric majored in Actuarial Science, Finance, and Risk Management and Insurance while being involved as the President of the Club Soccer Team. Since starting at Milliman, Aric has acquired health actuarial experience in multiple markets across several teams while leaning on mentors and Milliman’s industry experts to learn.
Sam Sager (Manager with Property and Casualty)
Sam graduated from UW-Madison in 2015 and has 8 years of property & casualty actuarial experience, all at Milliman. Sam's experience is in commercial lines reserving. He often works on non-traditional insurance exposures like asbestos, pollution, product liability, and black lung. He has been a leader in the development of the Milwaukee P&C practice's black lung reserve modeling. When not working, Sam enjoys spending time in the outdoors, especially fly fishing, and cheering on the Badgers.
Annie Gunnlaugsson (Consultant with CMH Health, Long Term Care Health focus)
Annie graduated from UW-Madison in 2012 and has worked at Milliman for the 12 years since. Annie's focus is in the Long-Term Care (LTC) space, working with both private LTC insurance and on public LTC reform initiatives. Outside of work, Annie enjoys spending time with her husband and 2-year-old sons and cheering on the Badgers!
Julia Friedman (Senior Consultant with CMH Health, Medicare Health focus)
Julia graduated from UW-Madison in 2009 and has nearly 14 years of health actuarial experience, all at Milliman. Julia's experience is focused on managed care pricing, strategic analysis, regulatory impacts, and competitive analysis – with Julia’s primary area of expertise being in the Medicare Advantage market. When not working, Julia enjoys hanging out with her husband and 2 boys. Go Badgers!
Carl Ashenbrenner (Principal and Consulting Actuary with Property and Casualty)
Carl graduated from UW-Madison in 1994 and has nearly 30 years of property/casualty actuarial experience. Carl started his career at a large commercial insurance company and has worked at Milliman for over 23 years. Carl's experience is focused on ratemaking and reserving for mainly commercial and agricultural (crop) insurance.
Jason Sciborski (Equity Principal with CMH Health, Medicare Part D focus)
Jason is a principal and consulting actuary with Milliman. He graduated from UW-Madison in 2003, joining a large health insurance company. Jason joined Milliman in 2006 and works with a variety of clients including professional associations / trusts, provider-owned health plans, and insurance companies, both in the commercial and retiree markets.
Acuity - 3/11
Cori Garrett Kreif, ACAS
Cori Garrett Kreif is an Associate Actuary on the Commercial Lines team working in Acuity’s package products which includes General Liability, Property, Bis-Pak and Excess Liability lines as a ratemaking actuary. She joined Acuity in May 2018 after graduating from UW-Madison and achieved her ACAS in January 2024. Balancing out work and studying in her free time she enjoys aerial arts and curling in the winter.
Olivia Buss
Olivia Buss is an Actuarial Analyst on the Personal Lines team at Acuity Insurance. She works primarily with the Homeowners Line. Olivia joined Acuity in June 2019 after graduating from UW--Madison. She is currently studying for Exam 6 in hopes of achieving ACAS this year. Her hobbies include running, weight training, volleyball, and cooking.
Cigna - 3/19
Jenny DeFraties, FSA
Jenny DeFraties, FSA (formally Jenny Soler) graduated from UW Madison in 2019. She interned with Cigna in 2018 and has worked full-time with The Cigna Group for the last 5 years. She’s had roles in dental pricing & pharmacy economics, and now she works in the financial planning and analytics (FP&A) team for Cigna's core medical products. Outside of work, Jenny enjoys playing golf, pickleball, and cornhole. She also enjoys and walking her 2 husky-mix dogs and going to comedy shows.
Nishani Patel
Nishani Patel graduated from UW Madison in 2023 with degrees in Actuarial Science, Risk Management & Insurance, and Marketing. She has been working full-time with The Cigna Group for the last year. Her current role is in New Product Pricing for Medicare Supplement under Cigna’s Supplemental Benefits team. Outside of work, Nishani enjoys traveling, watching football, watching sunsets, and playing New York Times games.
Elevance - 4/2
James Bianco, ASA
James has worked at Elevance Health since November 2022 as an Associate Actuary, where he assesses valuation of assets and liabilities and sets IBNR reserves for commercial health products. Prior to Elevance, James worked at United Healthcare on the Pricing team developing rating factors for Medicare products and Guardian Life as an Underwriter for group benefit packages for large employers. James graduated from UW-Madison in May 2017, where he played trombone in the UW Marching Band. He received his ASA designation in October 2022 and has 7 years of industry experience.
Emma Mueller
Emma began as an intern for Elevance in May 2021 and started full time in July 2022 after graduating from UW-Madison in May 2022. She works in Restated Financial Analytics supporting the Medicaid business at Elevance. She has passed 6 SOA exams and still studying. One of her favorite hobbies is wakeboarding in northern Wisconsin during the summers.
Samuel Coburn
Sam began working for Elevance Health as an intern in December 2021 and has been full-time since September 2022. He works as a commercial pricing analyst for the state of Maine’s individual, small group, and large group blocks. Sam graduated from the University of Illinois – Chicago in December 2016 and was in the Actuarial Capstone program at UW-Madison for the 2021-2022 school year. In his free time, Sam enjoys fostering dogs until they are able to find their forever home.
Student Panel - 4/10
The following panelists are senior students at UW Madison pursing actuarial careers after their graduation in May:
David Lattos
Incoming Program Analyst at Global Atlantic Financial Group (Financial Reinsurance). Previously an Actuarial Intern at Global Atlantic Financial Group (2023), and Humana (Health, 2022).
Abby Emmrich
Incoming Actuarial Analyst at Allstate in self funded group health insurance (Health). Previously an Actuarial Intern for Allstate (Health, 2023), and Society Insurance (P&C, 2022).
Sam Krieger
Incoming Actuarial Analyst for Optum Advisory Services (Health). Previously an Actuarial Intern for Optum Advisory Services (Health, 2022 & 2023).
Noah Key
Incoming Actuarial Analyst at Deliotte (P&C). Previously an Actuarial Summer Scholar for Deliotte (2023) and Actuarial Intern for Centene Corporation (Health, 2022).
Isabella Brzezinski
Incoming Actuarial Analyst at Old Republic (P&C) Previously an Intern at M3 Insurance (Business Insurance, P&C).
Bella Thiel
Incoming Actuarial Analyst at Allstate (P&C). Previously an Actuarial Intern at AIG (Life, 2023) and Corebridge Financial (Life, 2022).
Diverse Actuaries Panel - 4/17
Tenesia McGruder, FSA, MAAA
Past President of International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA)
Gerardo Duarte, ASA
Member of Organization of Latino Actuaries (OLA)
Roi Trawon
Member of Sexuality and Gender Alliance of Actuaries (SAGAA)
Northwestern Mutual - 4/23
Rachel Zimdars, ASA
Rachel graduated from UW-Madison in 2020 and has worked at Northwestern Mutual since graduation. She attained her ASA designation in 2022 and is currently in a one-year rotation on the Whole Life Insurance pricing team as member of the Actuarial Leadership Development Program (ALDP). Rachel enjoys sailing during the summer and recently got back from a sailing trip in Australia.
Mike Richter, FSA
Mike graduated from UW-Madison in 2020 and has worked at Northwestern Mutual since graduation. He attained his FSA designation in 2023 and is currently outside the Actuarial Department on the Underwriting Research team. This team focuses on advancing the company’s future of underwriting vision by developing a more holistic view of risk selection. Mike loves the outdoors and is currently planning a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in June.
Ellie Mirsberger
Ellie graduated from UW Madison in May of 2023 and has been working at NM since July. She is currently preparing for her last ASA exam (ATPA) and is working in a one-year rotation in Term and Additional Benefits as a member of the Actuarial Leadership and Development Program (ALDP). Ellie loves reading, playing pickleball, spending time on the water, and exploring new restaurants in MKE.