Kathleen Buto, Joseph Quinn, William Spriggs, and Lawrence Thompson Elected to National Academy of Social Insurance Board of Directors

For Immediate Release: May 10, 2006
Contact: Jill Braunstein at (202) 452-8097

WASHINGTON, DC–The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) has elected Kathleen Buto, Joseph Quinn, William Spriggs, and Lawrence Thompson to four-year terms on its Board of Directors.

“We are pleased to have leaders of this caliber join our Board. Their achievements in social policy and perspectives on the future of U.S. social insurance add to the solid information and non-partisan credibility for which NASI is known.” said NASI President Marilyn Moon.

Kathleen Buto is the Vice President for Health Policy, Government Affairs at Johnson & Johnson. Previously, she served as Senior Health Adviser at the Congressional Budget Office. She served as Associate Administrator for Policy and Deputy Director of the Center for Health Plans and Providers in HCFA, Health Care Financing Administration (now, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services). Before joining HCFA, Buto served on the immediate staffs of three Secretaries of the Department of Health and Human Services. She co-chaired the NASI’s 2003 conference on “Strengthening Community: Social Insurance in a Diverse America,” and co-edited the book of proceedings. A member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 1996, Ms. Buto received her M.P.A. from Harvard University.

Joseph Quinn is Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Economics at Boston College. This will be his second Board term. Quinn co-chaired the Technical Panel on Trends and Issues in Retirement Savings for the 1995–1996 Social Security Advisory Council. A founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, Professor Quinn was first elected to the Board of Directors in 2002. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

William E. Spriggs is Chair of the Department of Economics at Howard University in Washington, DC and is a Senior Fellow with the Economic Policy Institute. He was formerly Executive Director of the National Urban League Institute for Opportunity and Equality. Previously, he served as Senior Advisor to the Associate Deputy Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development, Small Business Administration. Before that, he was an Economist and Special Advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce and held various other positions as a Congressional staffer, in government service, and in academia. Mr. Spriggs co-chaired NASI’s 2003 conference, “Strengthening Community: Social Insurance in a Diverse America,” and co-edited the book of proceedings. A member of the National Academy of Social Insurance since 1999, Mr. Spriggs received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Lawrence H. Thompson is a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. He serves as a consultant to the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Labor Office. A founding member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, Mr. Thompson served on its Board of Directors from 1986 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 2003. He chaired the Academy’s Third Annual Conference, “Social Insurance Issues for the Nineties,” in 1991, served as Secretary of the Board from 1997 to 1999 and as President of the Academy from 1999 through 2003. He received an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.

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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The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization 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 important ideas in the field.