National Academy of Social Insurance Elects New Members

For Immediate Release: July 27, 2000

Contact: Jill Braunstein at (202) 452-8097

WASHINGTON, DC — The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) announced 43 distinguished new members today, bringing the total membership to over 530 (see attached for a list of new members).

“We welcome these new members to the Academy. They are talented individuals who have made important contributions to the nation’s understanding of social insurance programs,” said Academy President Lawrence Thompson.

Academy members are recognized experts in Social Security, Medicare, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and related social assistance and private employee benefits. Those selected for membership have distinguished themselves by improving the quality of research, administration, or policymaking in these areas. They represent a variety of disciplines including actuarial science, economics, history, journalism, law, medicine, political science, public administration, social work, and sociology. Members of the Academy volunteer their time to work on study panels, committees, conferences and other Academy projects.

Prospective members are nominated by current members and screened by an eleven-person membership committee, which then makes recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Directors. The committee also proactively seeks individuals from under-represented fields and recommends them for membership.
New Members — July 2000
National Academy of Social Insurance

John Abraham Senior Associate Director of Research American Federation of Teachers

Ruth Antoniades
Executive Director, Center
for Health Care Initiatives

William Benson
President, The Benson Consulting Group, Inc.

David Blitzstein
Director, Negotiated Benefits
United Food and Commercial
Workers International Union

Leslie Boden
Professor of Health Policy and Management, Boston University, School of Management

Deborah Briceland-Betts
Executive Director,
Older Women’s League

Alan Cohen
Professor of Health Policy and Management, Boston University

David Colby
Senior Program Officer,
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

David Corum
Assistant Vice President,
American Insurance Association

Robert Crane
Senior Vice President and Director Health Policy Institute, Kaiser Permanente

Matthew Diller
Associate Professor of Law,
Fordham University School of Law

Marha Ford
Assistant Director,
The Arc of the United States

Paul Fronstin
Senior Research Associate,
Employee Benefit Research Institute

Beth Fuchs
Principal, Health Policy
Alternatives, Inc.

Nortin Hadler
Professor of Medicine,
University of North Carolina

Gary Hendricks
International Social Insurance Consultant

John F. Hoadley
Director, Division of Health Financing Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

Howell Jackson
Professor of Law,
Harvard Law School

Harriet Komisar
Assistant Professor, Georgetown University, Institute for Health Care Research and Policy

Larry Levitt
Director, Changing Health Care Market Place Project, Kaiser Family Foundation

Madonna Harrington Meyer
Associate Professor of Sociology Syracuse University, Center for Policy Research

David Michaels
Assistant Secretary
Environment, Safety and Health
U.S. Department of Energy

Paul Nannis
Director, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Legislation, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Patricia Neuman
Director
Medicare Policy Project
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Thomas Paine
Independent Consultant

Karen Pollitz
Project Director
Georgetown University, Institute for Health Care Research and Policy

Dianna Porter
Assistant Director-Legislation, National Council of Senior Citizens

Thomas Rice
Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health

William Ritchie
Supervisory Actuary
Social Security Administration

Karen Roberts
Associate Professor
Michigan State University, School of Labor and Industrial Relations

Eric Rodriguez
Senior Policy Analyst
National Council of La Raza

Jeffrey Rubin
Professor of Economics
Rutgers University

Rhoda Schulzinger
Consultant, Family Policy Associates

J. Patrick Skirvin
Lead Economist
Social Security Administration

David Smith
Director, Public Policy, AFL-CIO

Richard Sorian
Senior Reseacher/Project Director Georgetown University, Institute for Health Care Research and Policy

Jonathan Stein
General Counsel
Community Legal Services

Terry Thomason
Director
University of Rhode Island
Schmidt Labor Research Center

Eric Toder
Senior Fellow
The Urban Institute

Martin Tracy
Director and Professor
Southern Illinois University,
School of Social Work

Alice Wade
Actuary
Social Security Administration

David Wilcox
Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, U.S. Treasury Department

Ethel Zelenske
Director, Government Affairs,
National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives

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The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization comprised of the nation’s leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to conduct research and enhance public understanding of social insurance, develop new leaders, and provide a nonpartisan forum for the exchange of ideas in the field. For more information on the National Academy of Social Insurance visit www.nasi.org or call (202) 452-8097.