President's Memo February 2026

Dear AFERM Members, and ERM Community:

It is both an honor and a responsibility to write to you for the first time as President of the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM). I am grateful for your trust, your engagement, and your continued commitment to advancing Enterprise Risk Management across government. At a time of rapid change and persistent uncertainty, one message is clear: risk management is important—and it has never been more important than it is today.

Gratitude for Our Leadership and Legacy

First and foremost, I want to express my sincere thanks to our immediate Past President and the former members of the Board of Directors. Their leadership, dedication, and service have sustained AFERM through an especially challenging period. They have given their time, expertise, and energy to this organization despite significant headwinds. We build on a strong foundation because of their efforts, and I am deeply appreciative of the path they have laid for us.

A Changing Environment for Risk Professionals

The past year has brought significant uncertainty across government and the broader risk management community. Organizational restructuring, evolving threats, fiscal pressures, and competing priorities have tested institutions and individuals alike. For risk management professionals within the federal community, these changes have not been abstract—they have been personal, professional, and often disruptive.

Yet as ERM professionals, we know that uncertainty does not diminish the value of our work—it reinforces it. ERM exists precisely because the environment is complex, dynamic, and unpredictable. Our role is to help leaders make better decisions, allocate resources wisely, and navigate uncertainty with discipline and foresight. As big changes continue to unfold across government, the need for strong, credible, and well-integrated risk management has never been clearer.

Looking Ahead: AFERM’s 2026 Vision

As we look to the future, my focus as President is to bring AFERM back to its roots while positioning the organization for its next chapter of growth and impact.

Our 2026 vision is clear:

To provide the leading public-sector forum for Enterprise Risk Management professionals across federal, state, and local government—fostering collaboration, advancing the profession, and strengthening risk-informed decision-making.

This vision reflects both continuity and evolution. While our federal foundation remains strong and essential, the challenges we face—and the solutions we develop—are increasingly shared across all levels of government. AFERM is uniquely positioned to serve as a bridge across the public sector, bringing practitioners together to learn from one another and elevate ERM as a strategic discipline.

Strategic Priorities for the Year Ahead

To achieve this vision, we will focus on six strategic priorities:

1. Expanding the Mission
   We will maintain a strong federal core while intentionally expanding engagement with state and local governments. Our goal is to create a unified ERM community that shares challenges, solutions, and best practices across the public sector.
2. Strengthening the ERM Community
   AFERM will support professionals at all stages of ERM maturity. We will continue to promote ERM as a strategic leadership function—not merely a compliance activity—while encouraging mentorship, peer learning, and professional growth.
3. Increasing Advocacy
   We will elevate awareness of ERM’s value to senior leaders and key stakeholders by sharing success stories that demonstrate how effective risk management improves mission outcomes, resilience, and performance.
4. Enhancing Content and Engagement
   Members can expect more frequent, relevant, and actionable content, along with increased opportunities for interactive, practitioner-driven engagement.
5. Improving Communication
   Clear, consistent communication is essential. We will strengthen both internal and external communication to ensure transparency, alignment, and trust across leadership, committees, and membership.
6. Building Meaningful Partnerships
   We will engage sponsors and industry experts in ways that are educational, mission-aligned, and member-focused—bringing forward innovation and emerging practices that benefit the ERM community.

Important Organizational Changes Ahead

As part of this evolution, I want to acknowledge that big changes are coming. Effective April 1, 2026, AFERM will no longer be using our administrative management firm, MHQ. This decision was made thoughtfully and deliberately, with the long-term health of the organization and the needs of our members at the forefront.

We are taking this step to re-energize our membership base, improve service delivery, and provide higher-quality content and engagement. To support this transition, we have identified a partner association that will help AFERM realign with its mission and deliver more robust resources, improved operations, and enhanced value to each of you. We will share additional details as this transition progresses and remain committed to transparency throughout the process.

Moving Forward—Together

AFERM’s strength has always been its people: dedicated professionals who believe that better risk management leads to better outcomes for the public we serve. As we navigate change together, I ask for your engagement, your ideas, and your partnership. This is a moment to reaffirm who we are, why we exist, and the critical role ERM plays across government.

Thank you for your continued commitment to AFERM and to the profession. I look forward to working alongside you in the year ahead as we bring risk management back to the forefront—where it belongs.

With appreciation and resolve,

Sam Twyman
President, AFERM