Robert Berenson, Renée Landers, William Rodgers III, and Gerald Shea Elected to NASI Board of Directors

WASHINGTON, DC –The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) has elected Robert Berenson, Renée Landers, William Rodgers III, and Gerald Shea to its Board of Directors.

“We are pleased to add the vision and expertise of Bob Berenson, Renée Landers, and Bill Rodgers to the NASI Board,” said Board Chair Lisa Mensah. “We are appreciative of Gerry Shea’s willingness to continue to serve. Together these new and ongoing members bring a wide range of knowledge, insight, and experience to the board.”

Robert A. Berenson, M.D. is an Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute and on the faculties of Duke University School of Business and the George Washington University School of Public Health. He is a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and effective 2010 became the Vice-chair. From 1998 to 2001, he was a senior official in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Before that he had a nine-year tenure as medical director of the National Capital Preferred Provider Organization, which he also founded. He practiced for twelve years in an internal medicine group practice in Washington, D.C.  Dr. Berenson served on the NASI’s study panel on Medicare Capitation and Choice and as co-chair of its study panel on Administrative Issues in Expanding Coverage in Health Care Reform. Previously, Dr. Berenson was Assistant Director of the Domestic Policy Staff at the White House (1979–1980), and a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar (1977–1979). He has written extensively on issues related to physician practice in managed care, physician payment policy, and the politics of health care. With Rick Mayes he co-authored Medicare Payment Policy and the Shaping of U.S. Health Care in 2006. A founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, Dr. Berenson received his medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Renée M. Landers is a Professor at Suffolk University Law School and Faculty Director of the school’s Health and Biomedical Law Concentration. President of the Boston Bar Association from 2003-2004, she was the first woman of color and the first law professor to serve in that role. In October 2010 Landers completed service as a member of the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct, having served as Vice Chair beginning in 2009. She currently teaches health law, constitutional law and administrative law. Before joining the Suffolk University Law School faculty in 2002, Landers served as counsel in the health law group at the Boston law firm of Ropes & Gray for five years. Prior to entering private practice, she served as deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From 1993 until 1996, she was Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before entering government service, Landers taught at Boston College Law School. Ms. Landers was a member of NASI’s study panel on Strengthening Medicare’s Role in Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities and co-chaired the 21st NASI Conference on ”Social Insurance, Fiscal Responsibility, and Economic Growth”. She now serves on NASI’s Study Panel on State Health Insurance exchanges. A member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 2008, Ms. Landers received her J.D. from Boston College Law School.

William M. Rodgers III is Professor of Public Policy at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and Chief Economist at John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. His research examines issues in labor economics and the economics of social problems. In 2010, he received the Presidential Pyramid Award, the highest award of the National Association of Black Social Workers. His edited volume, The Handbook on the Economics of Discrimination, was selected by Choice, the review journal of the American Library Association, as an “Outstanding Academic Book” for 2006. Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers, Rodgers served as Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2000 to 2001 and he was the Frances L. and Edwin L. Professor Cummings of Economics at the College of William and Mary. Rodgers also served on Governor Corzine’s New Jersey Commission on Government Efficiency and Reform. He has appointments as a member of the Graduate Faculty at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations and senior research affiliate at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. He directed the American Economic Association’s Pipeline Project and served as Chair of the Association’s Committee on the Status of Minorities in the Economics Profession. He served on President Obama’s U.S. Department of Labor Transition Team. Rodgers is a member of the National Urban League’s Council of Economic Advisors and a U.S. Trustee of United Way World Wide. A member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 2006, Rodgers serves on the NASI Internship selection committee and was Co-Chair of the National Academy of Social Insurance’s 2010 Conference, “Lessons from a Bad Economy for Jobs, Retirement, and Health Security.” Rodgers received his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Gerald M. Shea is Assistant to the President for External Affairs at the AFL-CIO, a position he has held since 1995. His work covers issues such as health care and retirement security as well as relations with allied organizations and government entities. Through his work, he represents the experience and perspective of workers as health care consumers in various policy organizations and health events.  Mr. Shea serves on the boards of the National Quality Forum (NQF), the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO), the Hospital Quality Alliance, and the Quality Alliance Steering Committee. He was a founding board member of the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT), Health Care for America NOW, and the RxHealthValue Project. He is a past member of the Social Security Advisory Board, and the Medicare Prospective Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and its predecessor, the Prospective Payment Advisory Commission.  Prior to joining the AFL-CIO, Mr. Shea spent 21 years with the Service Employees International Union as an organizer and local union official in Massachusetts and as a member of SEIU’s senior staff in Washington, D.C. A member of NASI since 1994, Mr. Shea is a native of Massachusetts and a graduate of Boston College.

For interviews or additional information, contact Jill Braunstein at the National Academy of Social Insurance at (202) 452-8097 or by e-mail at jillbraun@nasi.org.

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