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April 23, 2013

ULM Director of Insurance presents at National Hurricane Conference

Dr. Christine Berry, director of Insurance, Finance and Economics at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, recently presented at the National Hurricane Conference, held in New Orleans.

According to Berry, the conference is one of the nation's leading forums for education and professional training with the primary goal of improving hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in the United States and the surrounding tropical islands.

The conference was attended by fire marshals, emergency management personnel, representatives from the Small Business Administration, and city councilmen.  

"The conference also serves as a national forum for federal, state and local officials, as well as private industry to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve emergency management," said Berry.

Berry was invited by the Insurance Information Institute (III) to give her presentation, "Small Business Resilience after a Disaster."

The presentation discussed many of the barriers to risk management faced by small businesses.

The barriers were identified through surveys of Louisiana small businesses, conducted by ULM risk management insurance majors through the Small Business Risk Management Institute (SBMRI) and by the Louisiana Small Business Development Center consultants.  

In addition to explaining the challenges faced by businesses, several solutions were offered in the presentation.

Berry continued, "I hope that the information not only brought some attention to the important work we are doing in the SBRMI along with the LSBDC, but also helped some of the attendees as they work toward improving hurricane preparedness, response and recovery for small businesses across the country."

Berry has taught at ULM for over 12 years.

She earned a B.S. in finance from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in risk management and Insurance from Florida State University.

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