ERIC Policy Conference Past Speakers

ERIC Policy Conferences feature a mix of speakers, including Members of Congress, top agency officials, senior advisors, and policy experts. The conferences also features large employer plan sponsors.

Here is a partial list of notable speakers from recent conferences:

Members of Congress and Public Officials

U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)

U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN)

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD)

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)

U.S. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND)

U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT)

U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC)

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

U.S. Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY)

U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

U.S. Senator Jim Lankford (R-OK)

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT)

U.S. Congressman Greg Murphy (R-NC)

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)

U.S. Congresswoman Donna Shalala (D-FL)

U.S. Congressman Tim Walberg (R-MI)

René Garcia, Miami-Dade County Commissioner (R-District 13)

Virginia State Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-31) – General Assembly Committee on Labor and Commerce Member; General Assembly Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions Member

California State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-19) – Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management Vice Chair; Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee Member

Mike Kreidler, Washington State Insurance Commissioner

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Maryland’s first female Lt. Governor and founder of the Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives 

Colorado State Senator Faith Winter (D-24) – Majority Caucus Chair; Senate Health and Human Services Committee Vice-Chair

Federal Regulatory Agency Officials

Jeffrey Anderson, Director, Office of Health Reform, U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services 
Phyllis Borzi, Assistant Secretary of Labor at the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
Kyle Brown, Division Counsel for the IRS
Katika Floyd, Senior Human Resources Specialist, U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Nicholas Geale, Acting Solicitor for the Department of Labor and Chief of Staff, Secretary Acosta, U.S. Department of Labor
Mark Irwy, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Retirement and Health Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department
Judy Mares, Employee Benefits Security Administration Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Labor
Rob Neis, Benefits Tax Counsel, Department of Treasury
Karen Onyeije, Associate General Counsel, Federal Communications Commission
Jim Paretti, Special Assistant to Commissioner Victoria A. Lipnic, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Tom Reeder, PBGC Director
Amber Rivers, Office Director of the Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance, Department of Labor
Preston Rutledge, Assistant Secretary of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), United States Department of Labor
Carol Weiser, Acting Benefits Tax Counsel, U.S. Treasury Department

Congressional Staff

Nolan Ahern, Professional Staff Member, House Committee on Ways and Means Chris Allen, Senior Advisor for Benefits and Exempt Organizations, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Casey Badmington, Senior Policy Advisor, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
George Callas, Senior Tax Counsel to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Kate Cassling, Legislative Assistant, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV)
Melanie Anne Egorin, Democratic Deputy Staff Director, Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives Jamie Cummins, Tax Counsel, Senate Finance Committee Minority
Elizabeth Darnall, Health Policy Advisor, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) Drew Crouch, Senior Counsel, Tax and ERISA, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Democratic Staff 
Kara Getz, Chief Counsel, House Ways and Means Committee Colin Goldfinch, Democrat Deputy Health Policy Director, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Amy Hall, Majority Staff Director, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, Health Subcommittee  Taylor Hittle, Minority Professional Staff Member, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor  
Carries Hughes, Director of Health Policy, House Education and Labor Committee
Reily Inman, Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Mike Braun (R-IN)
Kendra Isaacson, Senior Pensions Counsel, Senate Health Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, Minority Staff
Danielle Janowski, Legislative Assistant, Senator John Thune (R-SD)
Matt Kazan, Senior Health Advisor, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) Dr. Nimit Jindal, PharmD,, Legislative Assistant, Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-NY-25) Edward Kim, Legislative Director, Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI-4) Ryan Long, Senior Policy Advisor and Counsel to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy Dr. Martin Makary, M.D., M.P.H., Surgeon, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Professor of Health Policy, Author The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care and How to Fix It 
Hazen Marshall, Policy Director, Office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Ted McCann, Assistant to the Speaker for Policy, Office of House Majority Leader Paul Ryan (R-WI)
Aisling McDonough, Health Legislative Assistant, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI)
Kevin McDermott, Senior Labor Policy Advisor, House Committee on Education and Labor
Katherine Monge, Tax Policy Advisor, Office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Mary Moody, Health Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) Ven Neralla, Chief of Staff, Rep. Andy Levin
Payson Peabody, Tax Counsel, House Ways and Means Committee
Julia Prus, Tax Legislative Assistant, U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) Tom Reeder, Former Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; and Former Senior Benefits Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
Martin Reiser, Legislative Counsel, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) Ben Ridder, Republican Professional Staff Member, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor Amber Rivers, Office Director of the Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliane Assistance, Department of Labor   Lindsey Seidman, Deputy Staff Director, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Minority
Ron Storhaug, Tax and Economic Policy Advisor, Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee
Dr. Karen Summar, Health Policy Director, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Landon Zinda, Staff Co-Chair Congressional Blockchain Caucus, Deputy Legislative Director for Representative Tom Emmer (R-MN)

Policy Experts

Melinda Abrams, Vice President, Delivery System Reform, The Commonwealth Fund Loren Adler, Associate Director, USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy  Kimberly Afoakwah, Manager Federal Government Relations, The Home Depot, Inc.  Alexis Ahlstrom, Vice President, Head of Policy, UnitedHealth Group
Amy Bassano, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation David Blake, Senior Tax Counsel, ExxonMobil Corporation Vicki Blanton, Assistant Vice President – Senior Legal Counsel, Tax & Benefits, AT&T, Inc.  
Joanna Blotner, Campaign Manager, DC Paid Family Leave Campaign Megan Bourque, Vice President, Health and Welfare Benefits Consulting, Fidelity Investments 
Adam Brackemyre, Vice President of State Government Relations, Self-Insurance Institute of America, Inc.
Benjamin Brown, Founder & CEO, Association of Young Americans
Jennifer Bryant, Senior Vice President of Policy and Research, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Jeff Brody, Chief Human Resources Officer, ManTech International CorporationStates Megan Broderick, Senior Director, Global Retirement and Financial Wellness, PepsiCo, Inc. Glenn Butash, Managing Counsel, U.S. Compensation and Benefits, Nokia Corporation Julie Burbank, Senior Counsel, Chevron Corporation  
James Capretta, Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center; Visiting Fellow, American Enterprise Institute Jeni Chih, Senior Director, Global Health and Wellness, PepsiCo, Inc.  
Stan Collender, Leading Authority on the U.S. budget Harry Conaway, Executive Director, Policy Futures Network  Kate Coler, Vice President, Federal Government Relations, Albertsons Companies LLC  
Danielle Corley, Research Associate, Women’s Economic Policy, Center for American Progress (CAP) Kevin Covert, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Human Resources, Honeywell International Nicole Curtis, Global Benefits Design Manager, ExxonMobil Christina Cutlip, Senior Managing Director, Institutional Retirement & Head of Client Engagement & National Advocacy, TIAA   Lori DeVore, Partner, Ohio Retirement Practice Leader, AON Scott Daniels, Senior Director, Benefit Policy Intelligence, Comcast NBCUniversal  Stacey Dion, Managing Director and Global Head of Government Affairs, The Carlyle Group Connie Donovan, PBGC Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate, PBGC Claudia Duck Tucker, Vice President, Government Affairs, Teladoc Health Michele Eberle, Executive Director, Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Ed Egee, Director of Federal Policy, Xerox Corporation  Garrett Fenton, Senior Corporate Counsel, Compensation and Benefits, Microsoft Corporation  John Ferreira, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
Karen Friedman, Executive Vice President, Pension Rights Center Paul Fronstin, Ph.D., Director, Health Research and Education Program, Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI)  Judy Fennimore, Vice President, Benefits, Marriott Corporation 
Alexander Hendrie, Director of Tax Policy, Americans for Tax Reform René Garcia, Miami-Dade County Commissioner (R-District 13)  Marc Gerson, Member Chair, Tax Department, Miller & Chevalier Chartered  Ilene Grant, Vice President and Associate General Counsel – Litigation, Corporate Compliance and Employment, Alight Amy Gordon, Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP John Hickey, Vice President, Rewards & Recognition, Americas Region, Nokia Corporation 
Julian Hoffman, Senior Government Affairs Manager, National Safety Council Cheryl Hughes, Senior Principal, Law and Policy Group, Mercer Megan Humm, Director, Benefits, Comcast NBCUniversal  Steven Johnson, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP  Mary Jones, Director, Benefits Taxation, Microsoft Corporation 
Bret Jackson, President, Economic Alliance for Michigan
Chris Jennings, Health Policy Advisor to Hillary Clinton and Deputy Assistant to Presidents Obama and Clinton Alice Joe, Vice President, Government Relations, Fidelity Investments Benedic Ippolito, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute  Ed Kaleta, Group Vice President, U.S. Government Relations, Walgreens Michael Kiely, President U.S. Government Affairs, UPS 
Alex Khachaturian, Director, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Katie Keith, J.D., M.H.P, Visiting Professor, Georgetown University Law Center Robert Kennedy, Health and Welfare Practice Leader, Fidelity Investments Mike Kreidler, Washington State Insurance Commissioner  
Charles (Chip) Kahn III, President & Chief Executive Officer, Federation of American Hospitals Eric Linzer, President & CEO, New York Health Plan Association Susan Long, North American Retirement Benefits Manager, Unilever United States Nick Louizos, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, California Association of Health Plans Matthew Magner, Director, State Government Affairs, National Community Pharmacists Association Geoff Manville, Partner, Senior Director of Government Relations, Mercer Samuel Marchio, Vice President of Federal and External Affairs, Anthem, Inc.    
Jackie McCarthy, Assistant Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA Jessica McNamara, Senior Counsel, IBM Corporation
Daniel Meuse, Deputy Director, State Health and Value Strategies Programs, Princeton University
David Mitchell, Associate Director for Policy and Market Solutions, The Aspen Institute Financial Security Program Susan Nash, Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP Michelle Neblett, Director, Health Care Policy, The Boeing Company Jonathan Price, Senior Vice President and Corporate Retirement Practice Leader, Segal Julia Prus, Tax Legislative Assistant, U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) Cynthia Radovich, Applied Materials, Managing Director, Global Benefits & Wellness    Erik Rasmussen, Vice President, American Hospital Association  Lisa Robin, Chief Advocacy Officer Federation of State Medical Boards
Stu Rothenberg, Policy Analyst Aliya Robinson, Senior Legal Counsel, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Inga Rubin, Tax Counsel, Lockheed Martin   Dr. Larry Sabato, political analyst, founder, and director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics
Meghan Scott, Executive Director, Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs (CAPD)
Michael Scott, Executive Director, National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans Jordan See, Director of Government Affairs, Teladoc Health, Inc. Alan Sefcik, Vice President, Corporate Total Rewards, L’Oréal USA  Mason Shea, Health Care Actuary, Mercer LLC Quinn Shean, Vice-Chair, Uniform Law Commission Committee on Telehealth Tony Shelley, Member, Miller & Chevalier Chartered  Bob Shepler, Director, Corporate Tax, Benefits and Government Affairs, Lockheed Martin Corporation  Jim Scheinberg, Managing Partner, North Pier Search Consulting
Vicki Shabo, Vice President for Workplace Policies and Strategies, National Partnership for Women & Families Cindy Silva, Head of Financial Wellness Strategy, Fidelity Investments Tami Simon, Senior Vice President, Commercial Consulting Leader, Segal
Christine Simmon, Senior Vice President, Policy & Strategic Alliances; Executive Director, Biosimilars Council, Association for Accessible Medicines
J. Walker Smith, Executive Chairman, Kantar Futures Erik Sossa, Board Chair, Vice President, Global Benefits, PepsiCo 
Andrew Sperling, Director, Legislative and Policy Advocacy, National Alliance on Mental Illness Melinda St. Louis, Director, Medicare for All Campaign, Public Citizen Ron Storhaug, Tax and Economic Policy Advisor, Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee 
Topher Spiro, Vice President for Health Policy and Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress Michael Stoyanovich, CDPSE,Vice President, Senior Consultant, Segal David Twardy, Vice President, UnitedHealth Group, Inc. 
Laurel Todd, Vice President of Healthcare Policy and Research, Biotechnology Innovation Organization Yelena Vaynberg, Governmental Programs Executive, IBM Corporation 
Ben Wakana, Executive Director, Patients for Affordable Drugs
Brian Webb, Assistant Director, Life and Health Policy and Legislation, National Association of Insurance Commissioners Caitlin Weaver, Group Vice President, Financial Well-Being, SunTrust Banks, Inc. Amber Wiseley, Vice President, Global Benefits, Intel 
Liz Weiss, Committee Director, DC Council Committee on Labor and Workforce Development
C. Grace Whiting, J.D., President and CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving Charletta Young, Assistant Vice President Benefit Consultant Senior, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Kyle Zebley, Vice President, Public Policy, The American Telemedicine Association Laura Zehr, Benefits Manager, General Dynamics Corporation