Welcome to the CAS Staff Spotlight, a column featuring members of the CAS staff. For this spotlight, we are proud to introduce you to Heather Davis.
What do you do at the CAS? How does your role support the Strategic Plan?
I began my role as the research manager in August. My role is to help the research working groups run smoothly and support our other research efforts, such as the Individual Research Grants and Quick Start Grants. Working with the CAS Research and Publications teams, my aim is to ensure that CAS is known as a thought leader that produces timely research papers and tools relevant to audiences from practicing actuaries to academics.
I support the 2026 CAS Strategic Plan by enhancing and promoting content and thought leadership focused on Climate Risk and Artificial Intelligence in particular. We want to be recognized as a source of expertise and guidance in these and other key areas of risk. By fostering quality research and widely promoting the products that result, I am helping to achieve a key goal of the CAS Strategic Plan.
What inspires you in your job? What do you love most about your job?
Collaborating with our talented and dedicated CAS volunteers inspires me the most. They give their time and creative skills generously to investigate important research questions, fill research gaps, and develop practical tools that help both consumers and the insurance industry. What they do is foundational for many fields that rely onaccurate data and careful analysis for quality decision-making. In my job, I love honing systems to make them more efficient and finding ways to package and promote research findings. The CAS produces a lot of important content, and the systems we use to develop that content can always be improved. Likewise, there are always new and interesting ways to present and promote content — whether through visuals, storytelling, podcasts, or events.
Describe your educational and professional background. What do you bring to the organization?
I have 30 years of experience producing publications for international public health projects, including research papers and related tools and collateral. I have strong experience and skills in both project management and writing and editing. I’ve brought thousands of research and publication projects to fruition for communities around the globe. Through that experience, I learned why having strong publishing standards and processes is so important. I built many workflows and job aids to help both authors and staff be more cost-efficient and effective in their research and publication development.
What is your favorite hobby outside of work?
In my spare time, I write poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that actually gets published when I am lucky. I also am active in literary communities in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where I live, and in Washington, D.C. Currently, I’m working on a young adult novel in verse and loving that process.
If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go and why?
I would go to the Philippines because my husband’s family emigrated from there to Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, and I would love for my kids to learn more about their Filipino heritage.
What would your colleagues find surprising about you?
I love riding on trains and took one all the way across the U.S. while on my honeymoon. I think I could handle driving a horse and buggy though, as many people do here in Lancaster.
