Read what first-time attendees though about the conference and what they’re doing back at home
Helping Risk Managers Continue to Grow and Thrive
As you may have noticed in URMIA’s 2025 Impact Report, the association was able to present more scholarships to help members attend our 2025 Annual Conference. These scholarships were awarded to URMIA members who had not attended an annual conference prior to the 2025 event.
Impressions from Their Conference Attendance
Here’s what some of the scholarship recipients shared about what they discovered at the conference.
“What I valued most were the connections with other URMIA members. As someone who is a terminal introvert, this was a wonderful opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and meet like-minded people in higher education who offered insights and encouragement. As a side note, being able to help pack lunches for underprivileged children at the URMIAcares event was a very close second.”
Cerise Smith, Risk Management Coordinator – Liberty University
“In my new role, I have different and expanded responsibilities, and I needed context and perspective from across the field to inform my growing knowledge base. Because I understand the value of in-person learning and the Socratic method (my preferred method) of education, I applied for the scholarship and was delighted that I was able to attend.”
Zelena Williams, Travel Risk Lead & ERM Analyst | University of California, Berkeley
“Having access to so many experienced risk management professionals provided the opportunity to learn about their practices, positions, and mindsets as related to the management of international travel safety and security risk from across a wide range of institutional models. While the philosophies and strategies can vary significantly, it is helpful to understand the perspectives of other institutions.”
Susan Carty, Director of Compliance, Safety & Operations, Education Abroad | Indiana University
“Being with a huge, instant 'risk family' [was most valuable]! As a solo-risk manager, it can sometimes feel like you are the only one on the planet doing what you do - so attending a conference where there are 800+ passionate people who are in the risk management family is surreal and invaluable.”
Kirsty Altis-Downie, Risk & Compliance Lead | The University of Melbourne
As a new risk coordinator, I sometimes feel like I just slid into this position (came from a legal setting, not the traditional risk setting) and I’m just getting used to the terms and concepts in risk management. And I’m also later in my career-life. It can give one imposter syndrome. It was helpful to see that many people are coming into this field from adjacent areas and at all different stages of their careers. This was my ah-ha moment. It made me feel like I belong.”
Anne Clinton, Risk Coordinator | The University of Oklahoma
Takeaways for Any Risk Manager Regardless of Whether You Attended the Conference
Scholarship attendees also shared some insights that could be adopted by any risk manager, even if they didn’t attend the conference.
“One ‘ah-ha’ moment for me was while attending the session on “Enhancing Risk Management Within Educational Institutions” when a fellow attendee shared that his university’s transportation department had created stickers with a QR code for all their fleet vehicles that linked to their automobile insurance for a quick reference in case of an accident. It was one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” moments! During our next meeting with our transportation department, I plan to suggest that we look into doing the same.”
Cerise Smith, Risk Management Coordinator – Liberty University
“One key takeaway was from a session on RMIS systems - the speaker emphasized starting with strategy - rather than software - and defining the real problem, which resonated with me. Another insight came from a discussion on institutional risk tolerance: framing conversations around ‘can your budget cover it?’ when addressing potential losses or exposures is a practical approach I plan to start using.”
Melissa Cudzilo, Director of Risk Management and Insurance | University of Minnesota
“My most memorable ‘ah-ha’ moment was during the “Music Copyright and Licensing for Social Media” session. It made me think deeply about emerging risks related to student and university social media use and prompted me to review our policies and practices in this area.”
Angela Piersanti, Director, Risk & Insurance | Northwestern University
Accessing the Session Recordings
For those who did register to attend, don’t forget you have exclusive access to the session recordings through October. Look for the “Annual Conference 2025 Attendees” network under your community/URMIAnetwork listing when you are logged into the URMIA website and click on the library for that community.
Planning Ahead for 2026
Inspired to attend URMIA’s 57th Annual Conference in Philadelphia, October 10-14? We will begin accepting applications from first-time conference attendees for our professional development scholarships by early March. The deadline to apply is June 10th. Bookmark this URMIA webpage to learn more and apply to have your own “ah-ha” moments!
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