Light Bulb Moments

Feb 17, 2026, 16:22 by Rob Reiskytl, CCA President

I recently connected with one of CCA’s newer members, Catherine Ochalek, to hear about her experience learning about and then eventually joining and finding value in the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. I anticipate having similar conversations with other newer CCA members in the months ahead.

One of my favorite parts of these conversations is the nonlinear paths that can lead to the actuarial profession and to the CCA. In my experience, life rarely follows a straight line.  When I sat down with Catherine, I expected to hear an interesting professional journey. What I didn’t expect was how much her background in teaching would frame the way she thinks about actuarial consulting — and honestly, remind me why communication sits at the heart of our profession.

Before becoming an actuary, Catherine was a high school math teacher. You can still hear the teacher in her, as she talks about the profession and her role as a consulting actuary. She described loving the moment when a complex concept finally clicks for someone — that unmistakable “light bulb” moment many of us have experienced in our personal and professional lives.  In her first role as a consulting actuary. and also now years later, she didn’t leave that mindset behind—she brought it with her.

What struck me is how intentional Catherine is about translating technical work into plain language for non-actuaries.  Perhaps you can relate.  She sees client conversations not as presentations, but as teaching moments. That framing is powerful. It’s easy in consulting to focus on sophisticated models, assumptions, and scenarios.  Catherine reminds us that impact happens when the other person truly understands what we’re saying.  This is how we build trust.
Now at RGA, Catherine wanted to stay sharp in that consulting skill set, which is what drew her more deeply into the Conference of Consulting Actuaries. She talked about the CCA as a place where people solve interesting problems and stay close to new ideas for actuarial thinking. But just as important, she mentioned that she sees the CCA as a community that reinforces the habits that make good consultants better—curiosity, clarity, and connection.

While listening to Catherine I kept coming back to a simple concept: the best actuaries aren’t just technical experts. They’re educators. Every client conversation is a chance to build understanding. Every meeting, every discussion, is an opportunity to replace confusion with confidence.

Catherine’s story is a reminder that the skills we develop outside traditional actuarial disciplines are not detours — they’re assets. Each experience we encounter helps prepare us for the next. When we bring those perspectives into our work, we don’t just solve problems, we help people see them clearly and quantify the possible outcomes.

That’s where the real light bulb moments happen.

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