Event Overview
In 2026, the Academy celebrates 40 years of advancing understanding and collaboration around social insurance. As we mark this milestone during a time of profound change and debate about the future of our social contract, we brought together Members, thought leaders, and changemakers for our annual Policy Summit.
Program
Opening Plenary: The Future of Benefits in a Time of Change
- Alice Aluoch, Aspen Financial Security Program’s Person-Centered Community of Practice
- Megan Curran, Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University
- Tim Shaw, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
- Katie Savin, National Academy of Social Insurance, Ford Fellow in Disability Policy Research, and Benefits Futures Studio
- Moderator: Rebecca Vallas, National Academy of Social Insurance
The Future of Health and Long-Term Care
- Alison Barkoff, National Academy of Social Insurance and GWU Milken Institute for Public Health
- Tim Engelhardt, Aging and Disability Health Policy Lab
- Narda Ipakchi, The SCAN Foundation
- Nicole Jorwic, Caring Across Generations
- Moderator: Kathy Hempstead, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation & Academy Board of Directors
Paid Leave: Unfinished Business from the New Deal
- Sharita Gruberg, National Partnership for Women and Families
- Nancy Altman, Social Security Works
- Molly Weston Williamson, Benefits Futures Studio
- Joshua McCabe, Niskanen Center
- Moderator: Indivar Dutta-Gupta, Academy
Building Unemployment Protections and Workforce Development for the AI Economy
- Rebecca Dixon, National Employment Law Project
- Michele Evermore, National Academy of Social Insurance
- Michael Graetz, Yale University
- Angela Hanks, The Century Foundation
- Moderator: Maritza Silva-Farrell, Ford Foundation
Closing Plenary: Meeting the Moment When Insecurity is the New Inequality
- Alissa Quart, Columnist, Time Magazine; Economic Hardship Reporting Project
- Elizabeth Wilkins, Roosevelt Institute
- Moderator: Rebecca Vallas, National Academy of Social Insurance
Armchair Conversation: How Do We Meet the Moment?
- Rebecca Cokley, Ford Foundation
- Narda Ipakchi, The SCAN Foundation
- Moderator: Rebecca Vallas, National Academy of Social Insurance
“The People Say”: Centering People in the Future of Aging & Disability Policy
- Chelsea Mauldin, Public Policy Lab and “The People Say”
- Katie Savin, National Academy of Social Insurance, Ford Fellow in Disability Policy Research and Benefits Futures Studio
- Kathleen Romig, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Kevin Prindiville, Justice in Aging
- Joel Eskovitz, AARP
- Moderator: Indivar Dutta-Gupta, National Academy of Social Insurance
Understanding Social Security’s Role in the U.S. Economy
- Chad Bolt, First Focus on Children; Academy Board of Directors
- Tyler Bond, National Academy of Social Insurance
- Jason Fichtner, National Academy of Social Insurance
- Stephen Nuñez, Roosevelt Institute
- Chantel Sheaks, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Moderator: Lorie Konish, CNBC
Bringing SSI Into the 21st Century: Bipartisan Momentum for Reform
- Andrew Biggs, American Enterprise Institute
- Mia Ives-Rublee, Center for American Progress Disability Justice Initiative
- Wendell Primus, Brookings Institution
- Darren Webb, Mindset Care; Benefits Futures Studio
- Moderator: Tracey Gronniger, Justice in Aging; Academy Board of Directors
Integenerational by Design: What Gen Z Wants for the Future of Social Security
- Sabrina Davis, Social Security Works
- Jacob Moore, Carnegie
- Casey Doherty, Center for American Progress Disability Justice Initiative
- Zane Snyder Cox, National Academy of Social Insurance
- Moderator: Kathryn Edwards, National Academy of Social Insurance; Benefits Futures Studio; Host of the Optimist Economy Podcast