News

How Poppi Connects and Guides Public Entity Pools

Pools are used to operating with unique needs and circumstances, but you don’t have to start from scratch with every question. Poppi , AGRiP’s AI collaborator, provides clear, actionable guidance cultivated directly from within the pooling community. Asking Poppi for input is like calling several people from your trusted network of pooling peers. The Kinds of Questions Poppi Answers Best A recent review of Poppi’s activity reveals a range of questions — each reflecting the real-world challenges and responsibilities of pool staff. Here are just a few examples of questions recently posed to (and answered successfully by) Poppi: ...
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Mary Beth Woods Appointed to the AGRiP Board of Directors

AGRiP is pleased to welcome Mary Beth Woods as the newest member of our Board of Directors . Mary Beth is executive director of the Public Employer Risk Management Association ( PERMA ) and has more than 20 years of service in New York State government. She was appointed to fill a Board vacancy, with a term that expires December 31, 2026.
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AGRiP Shares Insights Across the Industry

AGRiP’s mission is to ensure public entity pools are effective, collaborative and informed. That’s why, in addition to hosting our own conferences, webinars and other events, we actively support and contribute to other industry associations’ educational opportunities. We routinely offer input about relevant content, recommend and guide presentations and speakers, and provide educational sessions at industry partner events. CAJPA (California Association of Joint Powers Authorities) is a professional association of pools in California. AGRiP and CAJPA have a longstanding, mutually supportive and formalized relationship. CAJPA also partners ...
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CEO and Senior Staff Institute Includes AI Learning, Peer Connections

The rapidly evolving world of AI is rewriting the rules for risk pools. As these shifts continue to accelerate, it’s more important than ever to stay proactive, informed and connected. CEO and Senior Staff Institute 2025 , August 3–6 in Chicago, is a unique chance for top pool executives, department heads and emerging leaders to discover how AI is redefining pooling — and learn how to effectively put these changes into practice. You will: Work alongside peers to envision AI scenarios, spot early changes and build strategies. Learn and explore technology and data essentials for AI implementations. Hear from experts about critical topics ...
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Privately Developed Chatbot Gives Access to Municipal Minutes

When you think about AI being used in the local public entity environment, you probably think about your members themselves designing an AI tool. But some information ripe for AI enablement may already be within the public domain — which means anyone can engage it. A recent article in the Vermont publication Seven Days — Questions About Your Town? Try This AI-Powered Chatbot — provides insight into the future of public information. The article describes a privately developed chatbot with access to minutes from 50 municipalities (and growing). The chatbot provides details about key local government decisions and can compare findings from multiple ...
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Plan Ahead for CEO Institute, Staff Forum and 2026 Events

Plan your calendar and budget now to attend upcoming professional development and networking events — and encourage others at your pool to plan ahead, too. CEO and Senior Staff Institute is Aug. 3– 6 in Chicago, IL. Attendees regularly report this small and collaborative learning experience is their favorite! Appropriate for any pool staff in a leadership role (or building towards one), our focus this year will help you anticipate and prepare for the future of AI at your pool. Staff Forum is Oct. 5–7 in Austin, TX. Staff Forum is where people in all pooling disciplines come together for cross-functional learning and exploration. There are ...
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How to Work With Your AI Collaborator, Poppi

Available now exclusively for AGRiP members, Poppi is our AI knowledge assistant trained on the power of pooling (website login is required). Here are some tips and suggestions based on early Poppi interactions: Engage with Poppi like a collaborator, not a search engine. Poppi is trained to engage in conversation and won’t respond as well to search terms the way you might enter them into a search engine. For instance, if you want to learn about financial benchmarks for pools, you might type “financial benchmarks for pools” into a search engine. In response, you’ll receive a list of links. But Poppi is looking for clues about the kind of ...
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Build Your Baseline Understanding of AI

Join over 250 pooling professionals who are now actively engaged in our AI learning hub , where they’re building a baseline understanding of AI and preparing for the future of pool work. A foundational knowledge of AI is quickly becoming as essential to daily work as knowing how to send an email. One standout lesson covers AI in marketing and member communications, including how to use AI for content generation, email marketing, social media optimization and personalized member communications. Another course describes how to use AI applications to unlock insights from pool information – which becomes even more interesting when you take the course ...
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Transform Your Member Relationships: Member Services Learning Path Now Available

A new series of courses focused on delivering excellent member services is now available on Pooling Academy. Courses are appropriate for anyone working on behalf of a pool who might impact its member relationships and satisfaction (and that’s everyone). Pool staff who have taken these courses say they help create a member-centric culture. The member services learning path includes seven courses that share ways to strengthen and maintain your connection with members. Courses provide real-life examples and scenarios, including practical strategies for enhancing every touchpoint with your members. Also check out financial and governance learning pathways ...
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Examples of AI Use by Pools Right Now

A recent AGRiP survey found that 94 percent of pool executives foresee AI fundamentally transforming pool operations, but only 12 percent understand its full implications. Members tell us they are looking for real-life examples of how AI is being used in pools today. AGRiP is gathering stories from pools about their AI experiments and implementations to support pool operations and better serve members. Let us know what your pool is doing so we can better anticipate AI’s impact together. Here are several concrete examples of current AI projects by pools (look at the resources section of each linked page): Improved risk management training ...
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The Key to Pooling Success is Better Sleep

Governance Conference 2025 attendees shared enthusiasm for many sessions, including AI content , our ever-popular Pooling Basics curriculum, advice on creating productive dialogue , measuring member engagement , and the state of the reinsurance market . Pool executives gave the conference an amazing net promoter score (NPS) of 85. Topping the charts for positive feedback was a keynote session on healthy habits and a related session about the importance of getting good sleep . Surprised this was so popular? Us, too. Here’s our take on why this session struck a chord: People in pooling give tremendous time ...
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ISO: AI Champions Looking to Share

We are excited to announce the launch of an AI Champions peer group. We’re bringing together pooling professionals with an eye on AI to share strategies for encouraging AI exploration, methods to overcome common roadblocks and hurdles, and other best practices for starting AI implementation. If you are the top executive of an AGRiP member pool, send an email naming your pool’s AI Champion by April 25 to Claire Torza . Champions will meet with other AI enthusiasts, increase their confidence and knowledge in advocating for AI tools, and build skills to help drive innovation. Pools with participating champions will benefit from practical strategies ...
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Greensweig, TX Health Benefits Pool Receive 2025 Awards for Excellence

Dan Greensweig of League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) and TX Health Benefits Pool are recipients of our 2025 Awards for Excellence in Leadership and Performance, respectively. Dan, Administrator of LMCIT , is receiving the Award for Excellence in Leadership. He has worked to demonstrably improve the approach, conversation and treatment of PTSD among first responders. He is widely recognized by his pooling peers for leadership on this issue, deepening and adjusting the discussion about PTSD for workers’ compensation and liability in ways that are beneficial to first responders, their public entity employers and the wider ...
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TX Health Benefits Pool Receives Award for Excellence for Innovative Cybersecurity Program

TX Health Benefits Pool (TXHB) is recipient of the prestigious AGRiP Award for Excellence in Performance for its efforts and achievements in cybersecurity. The pool uses a comprehensive and innovative approach to address an issue of top concern for all public entity pools — the staunch protection of member data assets through exceptional cybersecurity practices. The pool’s cybersecurity practices leverage a certified ethical hacker to detect and harden its system, require vendor awareness and participation, and exceed industry and regulatory standards. “TX Health Benefits Pool’s work is a good example for all pools on how to build a top-grade ...
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Dan Greensweig of League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust is Recipient of Award for Excellence in Leadership

Dan Greensweig, Administrator of the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT), is recipient of AGRiP's prestigious Award for Excellence in Leadership . Dan will be recognized for his work to demonstrably improve the approach, conversation and treatment of PTSD among first responders in Minnesota. His work has resonated with his peers across the nation for deepening the discussion about PTSD for workers’ compensation and liability in ways that support first responders, their public entity employers and pools. “Dan led his pool in using a data-informed approach to identify and develop resources and services that address critical public ...
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15 Member Pools Earned AGRiP Recognition in 2024

Fifteen member pools earned AGRiP Recognition in 2024 and will be acknowledged at our upcoming Governance Conference for their achievement. AGRiP Recognition is a rigorous framework for pools to conduct a thorough self-assessment against established best practices, or Advisory Standards . Achieving Recognition indicates a pools’ commitment to achieving industry best practices. The following pools earned Recognition last year: Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority Association of Washington Cities Employee Benefit Trust Association of Washington Cities Risk Management Service ...
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AI Resources Available

As we continue our focus on AI experimentation in pooling, we will share updates and resources to our AI resources webpage . We encourage you to explore these resources to both prepare for and advance your AI strategy. Newly added resources include AGRiP's AI readiness checklist and an AI fact sheet from the City of San Jose, CA – useful tools for pools preparing to implement AI solutions. The AI fact sheet is an example of how and what to ask service providers and vendors using AI to support your operations. We know pools have an immediate need to better understand service providers’ use of AI. You will also find insights on AI applications ...
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AGRiP Welcomes New Members

Two new pools and two new QEI Patrons have joined AGRiP, enhancing the collaborative strength of the pooling community. Fire Risk Management Services (FRMS) offers comprehensive, cost-effective coverage to more than 200 fire districts. Self-Insured Schools of California (SISC) brings stability to public schools through property, liability, and workers’ compensation coverage. KnowBe4 offers comprehensive AI-driven tools to bolster cybersecurity resilience, including training, anti-phishing campaigns and AI defense agents. Concord Advisory Group provides objective investment research that guides financial ...
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AI Experimentation by Pools and AGRiP

Following our January survey about pool AI use, we held a meeting about AI experimentation with 200 people from 80 pools. There is no area of AI implementation most prevalent among pools. What is clear is the immediate need for pools to: Implement an AI use policy . Protect pool assets by sharing guidance about allowable AI use. Adopt an initial AI use policy right away and update it as your pool’s AI work expands. Inventory AI used by pool service providers . Your service providers may already be using AI to support pool operations and might have AI valuable resources available to you. Start asking questions to understand where ...
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Governance Conference Registration Ends Feb. 21

Friday, Feb. 21 is the last day to register for Governance Conference 2025. You can view session, venue and registration information on our website. If you have questions about attending, let us know right away so you don’t miss your chance to join this important learning opportunity.
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