The Social Security Speakers Bureau brings together a diverse array of trusted experts on Social Security from the Academy’s membership.
Members of the Bureau are available to provide context, data, and analysis to journalists covering issues related to the Social Security system and the people it serves. Our Bureau Members have been featured in over 500 articles since the launch of the Bureau in February 2025.
To connect with an expert or schedule an interview, please contact sabrina@siddiquiadvisory.com.
Nancy Altman
President, Social Security Works
Nancy J. Altman has a fifty-year background in the areas of Social Security, Medicare, private pensions, and related programs. She is president of Social Security Works and chair of the Strengthen Social Security coalition.
Andrew Biggs
Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Andrew G. Biggs is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits.
Chad Bolt
Senior Vice President, Economic Security, First Focus on Children
Chad Bolt has more than 17 years experience in public policy, both on Capitol Hill and in the non-profit sector. He leads First Focus’ work on building economic opportunity for children and families through better tax and social insurance policy.
Tyler Bond
Research Director, National Institute on Retirement Security
Tyler Bond is the Research Director for the National Institute on Retirement Security. Since joining NIRS, Bond has authored or co-authored numerous research reports, issue briefs, and fact sheets on a wide range of topics relating to retirement security.
Jen Burdick
Divisional Supervising Attorney, SSI Unit, Community Legal Services
Jennifer Burdick represents adults and children facing issues both attaining and maintaining Supplemental Security Income benefits. She also advocates nationally for important systemic reforms to stabilize and improve the lives of individuals with disabilities.
Kristen Dama
Managing Attorney, SSI and Medical-Legal Partnership, Community Legal Services
Kristen Dama oversees Community Legal Services’ work connecting disabled people and their families to federal income supports and fighting for federal policies that promote disability economic justice.
Indivar Dutta-Gupta
Distinguished Visiting Fellow and Senior Advisor, National Academy of Social Insurance
With two decades of experience on Capitol Hill and in the nonprofit sector, Indivar Dutta-Gupta is a nationally recognized researcher, analyst, advocate and policy influencer on U.S. economic policy.
Kathryn Anne Edwards
Senior Fellow, National Academy of Social Insurance
Kathryn Anne Edwards is a labor economist, opinion writer, public speaker, podcast host, influencer, and freelance economic policy consultant. She has authored numerous reports on Social Security.
Joel Eskovitz
Senior Director, Social Security and Savings, AARP Public Policy Institute
Joel Eskovitz oversees retirement security and Social Security policy at AARP. Much of his work focuses on the need to modernize Social Security to ensure its solvency for future generations while continuing to provide adequate benefits to recipients.
Michele Evermore
Senior Fellow, National Academy of Social Insurance
Michele Evermore is a Senior Fellow at the Academy. She brings over twenty-five years of experience on Capitol Hill and in the nonprofit sector, including many years working on Social Security for Senator Harkin.
Jason J. Fichtner
Senior Fellow, National Academy of Social Insurance
With several decades of experience at SSA and in the nonprofit and private sectors, Jason J. Fichtner has expertise in Social Security, federal tax policy, federal budget policy, retirement security, and policy proposals to increase saving and investment.
Robyn Griffin
Senior Legal Aid Attorney, Legal Counsel for the Elderly
Robyn R. Griffin assists DC older adults with obtaining public benefits including Social Security, Medicaid and Home and Community Based Waivers services. She works to ensure LCE clients receive the income, benefits, and services to which they are entitled.
Tracey Gronniger
Managing Director, Economic Security and Housing, Justice in Aging
Tracey Gronniger leads JIA’s efforts to ensure that low-income older adults can fulfill their basic needs as they age. She and her team focus on income-based programs like Social Security and Supplemental Security Incomes.
Kate Lang
Director, Federal Income Security, Justice in Aging
Kate Lang focuses on improving access to Supplemental Security Income and Social Security benefits for older adults. She provides extensive training and case consultation support to aging service providers and legal advocates on all types of SSA benefits.
Darcy Milburn
Social Security and Healthcare Policy Director, The Arc of the United States
With many years of experience on Capitol Hill and across the disability community, Darcy Milburn manages Social Security for The Arc of the United States, a leading advocacy organization representing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Devin O'Connor
Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Devin O’Connor is a Senior Fellow on the Federal Fiscal Policy team at CBPP, specializing in U.S. federal budget issues including Social Security.
Jim Palmieri
Senior Strategic Policy Advisor, AARP Public Policy Institute
Jim Palmieri focuses on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) policy issues, and financial security more broadly at AARP. His work includes a focus on how Social Security and SSI impact low-income people.
Wendell Primus
Visiting Fellow, Brookings
Wendell Primus was the Senior Policy Advisor on Health and Budget issues to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for 18 years. Now a Visiting Fellow at Brookings, he writes about Social Security and Supplemental Security Income among other issues, with a particular interest in solvency.
Kathleen Romig
Director of Social Security and Disability Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Kathleen Romig leads CBPP’s work on Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, paid leave, disability policy, and other budget issues. Also a former SSA official, she is a leading voice on Social Security.
Katie Savin
Assistant Professor of Social Work, California State University, Sacramento
As a leading qualitative researcher and the Academy’s Ford Fellow in Disability Policy Research, Katie Savin focuses their research on Social Security disability benefits, with a particular focus on the administrative burden that outdated rules place on beneficiaries.
Jack Smalligan
Senior Policy Fellow, Urban Institute
Jack Smalligan analyzes Social Security and the interactions across disability, retirement, and paid leave policy. Previously, he was deputy associate director at the Office of Management and Budget.
Molly Weston Williamson
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Molly Weston Williamson is a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress, where her work includes analysis on Social Security and its disability programs. She is also an expert on paid leave policy.
Swapna
Yeluri-Ricks
Senior Staff Attorney, Legal Counsel for the Elderly
Swapna Yeluri-Ricks is a Senior Staff Attorney in the Economic and Healthcare Security Practice of the LCE, where she represents low-income older adults struggling to access Social Security, veterans’ benefits, and Medicaid.