Membership in the Academy

Over 1,200 of the nation’s leading experts on social insurance are members of the National Academy of Social Insurance. Members volunteer their time to Academy activities and pay nominal membership dues. Our members’ affiliations include universities, think tanks, business, labor, legislative and executive branches of the federal or state governments, and interest groups. Members include policy analysts in income security and health care financing, economists, political scientists, physicians, actuaries, administrators of public and private benefit programs, social workers, sociologists, historians, journalists, scholars and practitioners in related fields.

The Academy is committed to increasing diversity within our membership. Current Members are encouraged to nominate for Academy membership: persons of racial or ethnic minorities; individuals within the LGBTQ community; and persons with disabilities. As we work to increase diversity within our membership, we are also working to ensure that our Board of Directors, Board committees, and staff reflect this diversity.

Criteria for Membership

Membership is an honor for which individuals are nominated by at least three (or more) active Academy members. Individuals are considered for membership if they:

Demonstrate a sustained interest in social insurance and/or related fields. Social insurance includes broad-based systems for insuring workers and their families against economic insecurity caused by loss of income from work or the cost of health care. The Academy’s scope includes such social insurance systems as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and related social assistance and private employee benefits.
Distinguish themselves by improving the quality of research, teaching, policy making, administration or financing of the systems mentioned above; and
Are supportive of and willing to contribute to the Academy’s goals of furthering public education, developing new leaders, promoting research and providing forums for discussion among experts, stakeholders, policy makers, and administrators in the field.

Process for Selecting New Members

Prospective members are first nominated by three (or more) active members of the Academy. The lead nominator explains in writing how the individual meets the membership criteria, provides a resume of the nominee, and arranges for at least two co-nominators who are also members of the Academy. For information about how to nominate, contact Gloria Kim, Director of Member Relations, at memberservices@nasi.org.

The Membership Committee meets to review nominations in light of the membership criteria and make recommendations to the Academy’s Board of Directors. The Board acts on the Committee’s recommendations. Those approved by the Board are invited to join the Academy. Employees of the Academy and those who serve on its Board of Directors are not eligible to nominate or co-sponsor new member nominations.