Why APIW President Dawnmarie Black Wants Professionals to Stop Saying They "Fell Into Insurance"

Welcome to RIMScast. Your host is Justin Smulison, Business Content Manager at RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

In this episode, Justin interviews APIW President Dawnmarie Black about her role at Amwins and her journey to get there, starting with clerical work in her father's insurance agency. Dawnmarie speaks about the great training program she received early in her career, being mentored, joining an association board, and growing her career through being mentored, networking, connecting, building relationships, being mentored, and leadership. She emphasizes communication and transparency as the basis of relationships.

Justin and Dawnmarie discuss upcoming trends in risk, recruiting talent, and retaining professionals with a culture of trust and development. Dawnmarie speaks of Amwins's innovative outreach to underrepresented children and HBCUs about the insurance industry. Finally, Dawnmarie focuses on her association work and the upcoming APIW 50th Anniversary Gala on November 3rd in NYC.

Listen for themes of communication, connection, and relationship building.

Key Takeaways:

[:01] About RIMS and RIMScast.

[:16] About this episode of RIMScast. We will be joined today by Dawnmarie Black of Amwins. She is also the President of the Association of Professional Insurance Women (APIW). But first…

[:42] RIMS-CRMP Workshop. We are delighted to announce that on August 27th and 28th, RIMS President Manny Padilla will be leading the two-day in-person workshop at St. John's University at 101 Astor Place in New York City. A link to the registration is in this episode's show notes.

[1:02] RIMS-CRMP Virtual Workshops. RIMS will partner with PARIMA for the RIMS-CRMP Exam Prep on September 1st and 2nd. Registration links are in this episode's show notes.

[1:12] Also on the webinars page, you will see a two-part series hosted by the RIMS Membership Department. The "Classroom to Career" webinar series highlights how RIMS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and connections needed to thrive in risk management careers.

[1:28] Participants will gain insights into industry trends, career pathways, and practical tools that help them confidently step into the evolving world of risk management after graduation. These sessions will be hosted on September 1st and 9th.

[1:41] These sessions are member exclusives and are complimentary for RIMS members, of course. So, if you are interested in becoming a member, this would be the time. Visit RIMS.org/membership.