PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION - Key Persons
Alicia H. Munnell, Peter F. Drucker Professor in Management Science at Boston College, is the Director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. She has served as a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy, Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and Member of the President's Council of Economic Advisors.
Job Titles:
- Vice - Chair, Vice Chair of the PRC 's Board of Directors
Scott Macey, former president and CEO of the ERISA Industry Committee, and former Senior Vice President and Director of Government Affairs for Aon Consulting
Daniel I. Halperin, Vice-Chair, Vice Chair of the PRC's Board of Directors, recently retired as Stanley S. Surrey Professor at Harvard Law School. He also held the Marin D. Ginsburg Chair in Taxation at Georgetown Law Center. He was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy in the Department of the Treasury during the Carter Administration.
Job Titles:
- Senior Communications Consultant
David Brandolph is the Pension Rights Center's senior communications consultant. He writes and edits articles for publication, informs the media of important issues affecting pension plans and their members and helps policymakers get the information they need to make better decisions. Previously, he served as an award-winning editor and journalist for Bloomberg BNA, where he covered and reported on retirement plan issues to a national audience. He has a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.
Job Titles:
- AARP 's Executive Vice President, Policy
Debra B. Whitman, is AARP's Executive Vice President, Policy, Strategy and International Affairs. An economist and authority on aging policy issues, she was formerly Staff Director of the Senate Aging Committee. Previously, she worked for the Congressional Research Service, the Social Security Administration, and as an adviser to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Job Titles:
- Author of the Original Bill That Became the Private Pension Law and Former Partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & McCrae
Frank Cummings, author of the original bill that became the private pension law and former partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & McCrae
Ian D. Lanoff, a sole practitioner with an employee benefits law practice, served as Department of Labor Administrator for Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs during the Carter Administration. He was also Counsel to the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare and General Counsel to the United Mine Workers of American Health and Retirement Plans.
Jane Smith, the Pension Rights Center's policy analyst, conducts analyses of policies, proposals and studies and translates these into plain-English for the general public. Previously, Jane worked for the Labor Department's Division of Technical Assistance of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). Prior to working at the Labor Department, she was a volunteer research economist for the PRC. She is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and has a Master's degree in Economics from George Mason University.
In Memoriam: Karen Ferguson founded the Pension Rights Center in 1976 and served as director and president from 1976 to 2021. Read our statement on Karen's death on December 23, 2021.
Karen Friedman is the Pension Rights Center's Executive Director. She develops solutions and implements strategies to protect and promote the rights of consumers, and for more than 20 years has represented their interests in the media and before congressional committees. Karen coordinates Retirement USA and the Conversation on Coverage and is responsible for the Center's day-to-day operations. A graduate of Georgetown University, she previously worked for human rights organizations.
Job Titles:
- Communications and Program Associate
Kate Pixley is the Pension Rights Center's Communications and Program Associate. She oversees the PRC's communications activities and helps organize policy, legal, and fundraising activities. She is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a background in marketing and public relations.
Kyle Garrett, the Pension Rights Center's Chief Operations Officer, oversees provision of information and assistance to individuals contacting the Center and handles all Center finances in coordination with the Center's accounting consultant. He also writes material for website publications, coordinates IT support and web support for Center staff, and provides logistical support for meetings. Kyle has worked with the Center since 2005, and is a graduate of Roanoke College.
Lisle C. Carter (1926-2009), a former member of the President's Commission on Pension Policy, was the first President of the University of the District of Columbia. He also served as Assistant Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, General Counsel of the United Way of America and Vice President and Professor of Public Policy at Cornell University. Lisle Carter was an Emeritus member of the PRC Board of Directors.
Job Titles:
- Retired Pension Professionals Who Work With the Pension Rights Center on Projects Within Their Areas of Expertise
Michael S. Gordon Fellows are retired pension professionals who work with the Pension Rights Center on projects within their areas of expertise
The Fellows Program was launched at the Pension Rights Center's 35th anniversary celebration in honor of Michael S. Gordon, the chief architect of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the nation's private pension law, who served as Chair of the Center's Board of Directors for more than two decades.
The photo to the right of the inaugural class of Fellows was taken by Kristian Whipple at the Pension Rights Center's 35th Anniversary celebration.
Job Titles:
- Chairman, Chair of the PRC 's Board of Directors
Nancy J. Altman, Chair, Chair of the PRC's Board of Directors, is the author of the Battle for Social Security and a co-director of Social Security Works. A founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, she has taught pension law at the Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School.
Job Titles:
- Senior Policy Counsel and Acting Legal Director
Norman Stein is Senior Policy Counsel and Acting Legal Director for the Pension Rights Center. He provides legal guidance on many pension issues, authors legal briefs on behalf of the Center, and represents the Center before congressional panels. Previously, he was a professor of law at Drexel University, where he taught in the areas of pensions, other employee benefits, social insurance, federal business and individual taxation.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Law at the Catholic University Columbus School of Law
Regina T. Jefferson, Professor of Law at the Catholic University Columbus School of Law, previously served as a Tax Law Specialist in the Employee Plans Division of the Internal Revenue Service. She is the author of numerous articles on retirement and tax policy and is a member of the Bloomber BNA Pension & Benefits Reporter Advisory Board.
Robert M. Ball (1914-2008), Commissioner of Social Security from 1962 to 1973 was a Member of the 1983 Commission on Social Security and the 1994 Social Security Advisory Council. Bob founded the National Academy of Social Insurance and was the author of Social Security: Today and Tomorrow as well as numerous other books and articles. Robert Ball was an Emeritus member of the PRC Board of Directors.
Robert Nagle, served as a Michael S. Gordon Fellow from 2011-2014. As Chief Counsel of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee he took the lead in securing the enactment of the private pension law. He then served as Executive Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Bob died in 2014. Read our tribute to him.
Job Titles:
- President of the Alliance of Retired Americans
Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance of Retired Americans, was formerly General Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), and co-chair and trustee of the IAM National Pension Fund.
Tom Reeder, is the former Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Previously, he served as Senior Benefits Counsel to the Senate Finance Committee. Tom was also Benefits Tax Counsel to the Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy and Health Care Counsel at the IRS. Before his government service, he was a partner at a large law firm.