To contact a PARMA Chapter Officer, please click here.

Become a Sponsor!

Chair

DeAnna Soria
Risk Manager
City of Huntington Beach
2000 Main Street
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 860-6265

Vice Chair

Tyrone Spears
Division Chief
City of Los Angeles
700 E Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 473-3378

Secretary / Treasurer

Candice Fisher
Sr. Human Resources Analyst
City of Brea
1 Civic Center Circle
Brea, CA 92821
714-671-4446

PARMA, the acronym for the Public Agency Risk Management Association, was founded in 1974, by a group of eight risk managers. PARMA was the first organization of its kind, and was formed to provide a forum for California public sector risk managers to share ideas on how to perform their duties in this emerging field. At that time in the history of public entity risk management, no venue existed for risk managers to learn their trade, and most of what was being done was experimental in nature. That being the case, the founders of PARMA wished to share their experiences and risk management techniques so that their fellow risk managers would not have to continually keep “reinventing the wheel.” This collegial spirit still permeates PARMA, and the networking that it engenders is the cornerstone of PARMA.

PARMA has grown from that tiny band of risk managers, to an organization that spans the entire State of California, has members in Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada, and which is now comprised of over 600 members in six local Chapters It is still governed by its members and a central Board of Directors, whose members are nominated and elected by the membership.

To contact a PARMA Chapter Officer, please click here.

Become a sponsor!

Chair

Jenny Thompson
Risk Manager
County of Fresno
2200 Tulare St.
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 600-1850

Vice Chair

Karen Lara, CPDM, CLMS
Risk Management Analyst
County of Tulare
2900 W. Burrel Ave.
Visalia, CA 93291
(559) 205-1217

Secretary / Treasurer

Chris Woods
Human Resources Analyst
County of Fresno
2220 Tulare St.
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 600-1788

Board Director

Tanesha Welch
Special Education Instruction III
Central Unified School District
5652 W. Gettysburg
Fresno, CA 93722

This scholarship program is dedicated to Ben C. Francis (1931-2008) one of the founding members of PARMA.

In 1974 Ben Francis, along with other prominent risk management professionals began efforts to form a risk management association. On October 24, 1974 bylaws for the Public Agency Risk Management Association were enacted.

PUBLIC AGENCY RISK MANAGERS ASSOCATION
BEN C. FRANCIS RISK MANAGEMENT EDUCATION FUND

The PARMA Board of Directors established a scholarship program for public entity employees. Specifics of  the program are as follows:

ELIGIBILITY

Any employee of a member public agency pursing an Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Enterprise Risk Management Professional (ERMP), Associate in Risk Pool Management (ARPM) or Risk Management for Public Entities (RMPE) shall be eligible. To qualify for reimbursement the application should be submitted either prior to or during enrollment in the class. Payment for previously completed course work will not be part of the reimbursement program. The program must be completed within five years of approval of the scholarship award.

REQUIREMENTS

Complete the bottom portion of this form and submit with:

1. a written sponsorship statement by a representative of a PARMA member agency (send separately)
2. a statement of your ultimate goal(s) in the field of risk management (provide below)
3. a description of your participation in PARMA, including at the local Chapter level (provide below)
4. any other related experience or information you may wish to submit in support of your scholarship request (provide below)

SELECTION PROCESS

A three-member committee, appointed by the president of PARMA, shall select the candidate(s) to be

awarded a scholarship. This selection shall be based upon the candidate’s statement of his/her ultimate life goals in risk management and other related information. No member of this committee may be a sponsor of a candidate, nor may a committee member be a representative of the same public agency of a candidate. One of these committee members shall be an Associate Member of PARMA. 

SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNTS

Up to four scholarships may be awarded each year. Payments of up to $500 shall be made upon evidence of successful completion of each of the national exams for each of the part(s) of the courses leading to the designation. Copies of expense receipts for class tuition, books, and exam fees should also be submitted. Actual reimbursement will be based on receipts submitted and will not exceed $500 per course. Expenses reimbursed by applicant’s employer are not eligible for additional reimbursement from the Fund. If you are interested in participating in the scholarship program, please complete this form and the other requirements listed above.  

To apply for the scholarship, complete the online application.

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