MEET LAURIE OLSON

BY CLAIRE HOWARD

TRIPPING UPON YOUR PASSION AND TURNING IT INTO A LONG AND FRUITFUL CAREER, only many can dream of. Laurie Olson is the exception. Twenty-five years ago, Laurie began her career in public service but little did she know risk management would be the sector to change her life.

“Interestingly enough, I fell into risk management on a fluke of honesty.” After welcoming her three beautiful children into this world and taking some time off, Laurie had to decide between two potential job opportunities: a Budget Analyst with Oregon county or a Business Manager in her local school district. She faced a conundrum we all face when applying for a new job: the waiting game, weighing the pro and cons of possibly saying yes to the wrong offer and being honest with the interviewer about the number of roles you're actually applying for. Laurie took the graceful route in telling the County of Oregon about her interest in another company. “I struggled ethically whether to accept the job I was already offered, knowing that I would then turn it down IF I was offered the other job OR come clean with the county about my situation. The later move was risky because it meant I could end up with neither job. At the end of the day, I decided to be honest and tell the county the real situation.” Her honesty eventually paid off, she never took the Budget Analyst position but was offered something more in return, a referral for a Risk Manager position with the county that changed her life forever.

I truly believe in what PRIMA stands for. I’ve been able to grow my career and knowledge in risk management with the help of PRIMA and the wonderful people I’ve met through PRIMA. Additionally, there is an exceptional Board of Directors right now, along with PRIMA staff that just feel like family. I want to continue to grow the programs that reach out to new members, the next generation of risk managers, and the development of mentoring programs that have already been started.

The people — hands down! Across the board — whatever field (Risk and HR Managers, School Districts, Special Districts, Pooling, Public Safety, etc.) — the people at our conferences represent individuals who are hungry to bring better risk management to our organizations along with the insurance brokers, vendors, consultants, PRIMA staff, retirees, and everyone’s support for each other make this FUN. YOU are my favorite part of this industry.

It’s also nice to be a part of the solution by helping communities and workplaces to be safer and leaner organizations.

I became a Risk Manager and three days later attended an Oregon PRIMA conference. So almost immediately, I began learning from and about PRIMA and networking with Risk Managers, vendors and agents in my state and on a national level. I attribute a large amount of my knowledge in risk management to PRIMA and the PRIMA membership, who welcomed and helped me learn about the field of risk, particularly when I was just starting out.

Maybe a better way to answer this is where do I think we need to focus our attention, and that is with inclusiveness and awareness about PRIMA to people who need it most. No doubt there has been a shift in the workforce, and we all have an opportunity to mentor our next generation of risk managers.

OF?

It’s wonderful that online networking capabilities through PRIMA Talk, PRIMA Cybrary, and ERM Training are now online. There are very well attended in-person networking and educational opportunities at the Annual

Conference and PRIMA Institute. Your PRIMA membership allows multiple people from your organization to receive these benefits as well as webinars, discounts for events, and PRIMA magazine.

WHERE DO YOU HOPE TO SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS?

Risk is my passion, but I’m looking at opportunities to branch out and better utilize some of the leadership skills I’ve developed in my EMPA program. I have a fire inside me and I don’t want to let burn out right now. So, I cannot wait to see where that takes me.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU OFFER THOSE THAT ARE NEW TO THE INDUSTRY?

It’s the greatest industry I’ve been a part of so far. You can make a real difference and if you end up working in risk management, it’s challenging, exciting and different every day.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE GIVEN YOURSELF FIVE YEARS AGO? When faced with a difficult decision, trust yourself and always lean into the answer that leads to doing the right thing. Be vulnerable in your friendships and brave enough to use your voice at work.

I would also tell myself to apply for the PRIMA Board of Directors….because you never know, you just might be the PRIMA President in five years and have the best experience of your entire career!