SPEAKERS
Since 1996 Pension Focus has had the industry's best speakers...
2009 Speaker Bios
Steve Eischen
Regional Director
Department of Labor/EBSA
Kansas City, Missouri
Steven R. Eischen was appointed as Director of the Kansas City Regional Office of the Department’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) effective June 12, 2004. In that capacity, he is responsible of the administration and enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act as it relates to private sector employee benefit plans in 11 states.
From November 2001, he served as Regional Director of the U. S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration office in Dallas, Texas. There, he supervised the Enron investigation, one of the largest and most significant cases ever undertaken by the agency.
During his long service with EBSA, Mr. Eischen has frequently been called upon for special assignments. For example, he provided technical assistance on enforcement issues to the governments of Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia as those countries worked to establish private pension systems. He also made a presentation on enforcement issues to representatives of 17 countries at a pension reform seminar sponsored by the World Bank in Budapest, Hungary. For six years, he served as a fiduciary law instructor for EBSA’s basic training course for new investigators.
Andrew Zuckerman
Director EP Rulings and Agreements
Internal Revenue Service
Washington, D.C.
Andy is Director of Rulings and Agreements in IRS Employee Plans. With his selection in October 2006, he brings to his new position a wealth of pension experience. He worked in IRS Employee Plans Technical during the early years after ERISA and then returned to Employee Plans after 19 years as an attorney and consultant in the private sector. While in the private sector he specialized in tax, ERISA, employee benefits, executive compensation and employment tax law. He also served as the Director of TE/GE Federal, State and Local Governments before he went into the IRS Executive Development (XD) program. After graduating from XD, Andy served in IRS Wage & Investment Division as the Field Director for Accounts Management for the IRS Philadelphia Campus, and the Assistant to the Director of Pre-Filing and Technical Guidance in IRS Large & Mid-Size Business Division.
Sal L. Tripodi, APM, J.D., LL.M.
Founder, Tri Pension Services
Highlands Ranch, CO
Sal L. Tripodi currently maintains a nationally-based consulting practice in the employee benefits area, TRI Pension Services. TRI Pension Services provides technical training in ERISA-related areas, presenting seminars around the country, and authors a six-volume reference guide, The ERISA Outline Book, and two electronic quarterly newsletters, ERISA Views and eRISA Update. He does ERISA-related seminars for major financial institutions, trade and professional associations, and consulting firms all over the United States. The ERISA Outline Book is used by over 2,000 firms. For more information about TRI Pension Services, visit the website at www.cybERISA.com.
Mr. Tripodi served as the President of the American Society of Pension Professional and actuaries (ASPPA) for the 2007-2008 term. He has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver Graduate Tax Program. Mr. Tripodi started his employee benefits career with the Internal Revenue Service, as a Tax Law Specialist with the IRS National Office (1979-1983). Since 1983, Mr. Tripodi has been in the private sector, consulting on employee benefit matters, writing reference materials concerning employee benefit plans, and conducting numerous seminars. In 2001, Mr. Tripodi received ASPPA’s Educator Award. In 2007, he was inducted into the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Mr. Tripodi received a J.D. at Catholic University of America Law School (1979) and an LL.M. at Georgetown University Law School (1983). He can be reached at TRI Pension Services, PMB 120, 9457 S. University Blvd., Highlands Ranch, CO 80126-4976, (303) 470-7964, or at cyberisa@aol.com.
Craig P. Hoffman, J.D., LL.M.
Vice President and General Counsel
SunGard Relius LLC
Jacksonville, Florida
Craig Hoffman is Vice President and General Counsel of SunGard Relius LLC. Prior to joining SunGard, Mr. Hoffman was in private practice, specializing in the areas of taxation, ERISA, and employee benefits. He received both his Juris Doctor degree and his Master of Laws degree in Taxation from the University of Florida.
Mr. Hoffman has spoken at numerous meetings on the subject of qualified pension and retirement plans, including: the Annual Forum of the National Institute of Pension Administrators; the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries Annual Meeting; the Society of Actuaries Annual Meeting; the Enrolled Actuaries Annual Conference; the American Law Institute/American Bar Association seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona; the New York Employee Benefits Conference; the Creative Pension Seminar sponsored by the Ohio State University College of Law; the UMKC Law School Annual Employee Benefits Institute; and various IRS sponsored conferences. Mr. Hoffman is a featured speaker at SunGard sponsored seminars held each year throughout the United States. In addition, he was an expert speaker at the first Saver Summit, jointly sponsored by the White House and Congress.
Mr. Hoffman is a member of the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA). NIPA is a national association representing the retirement and employee benefit plan administration profession. Mr. Hoffman was the recipient of NIPA’s 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the association and to the employee benefits industry.
Mr. Hoffman is a Past President of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA). ASPPA is a national organization made up of members who provide actuarial, consulting, administrative, legal and other professional services for qualified plans and tax-sheltered annuities. Mr. Hoffman is presently Co-Chair of the ASPPA Political Action Committee and has previously served as Co-Chair of the Government Affairs Committee, and as a member of the Board of Directors.
Presently, Mr. Hoffman serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Pension Benefits (Panel Publishers) and the Journal of Pensions Management (Henry Stewart Publications). He was a charter member of the first IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Governmental Entities. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.
Mr. Hoffman's articles have been featured in numerous publications, including The Pension Actuary, Journal of Compensation and Benefits, Journal of Pension Benefits, Pension and Benefits Week, Pension World, and RIA Pension Alert.
Craig Westbrook, J.D.
Attorney at Law
Overbey, Graham Strigel & Westbrook, PLC
Little Rock, AR
Craig Westbrook is a member of the Little Rock law firm of Overbey, Graham, Strigel & Westbrook, PLC. Mr. Westbrook practices primarily in the areas of retirement plans, employee benefits and estate planning. He is a certified public accountant (inactive) and has published articles on taxation and employee benefits in the Journal of Taxation, The Arkansas Lawyer, UALR Law Journal, The Journal of Pension Planning and Compliance, Issues and Trends in Benefits Planning and The Pension Actuary. He is a past chairman of the Tax Section of the Arkansas Bar Association, the Central Arkansas Estate Council and Southeast Region EP/EO Liaison Committee. He is currently a member of the Gulf States TE/GE Employee Plans Council. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America in the Employee Benefits category from 1989 – current.
Joan C. McDonagh
Senior Director, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs
Great-West Retirement Services
Glendale, Wisconsin
Joan received a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law, in 1985 and has subsequently practiced law in the employee benefits area. She has worked with Great-West Retirement Services® since 2004 and with its wholly owned subsidiary, EMJAY Corporation, since 1988. Joan’s areas of expertise include ERISA compliance, with an emphasis on fiduciary requirements.
Joan is a member of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin and American Bar Associations. She is on the Government Relations Committee and the Legislative and Regulatory Task Force of SPARK and currently chairs its Fee Disclosure Task Force. She is a member and past Vice-President of Wisconsin Retirement Plan Professionals, Ltd. She has written numerous articles and presented a variety of seminars on issues related to qualified plan operation. She is a co-author of the 401(k) Answer Book in the Aspen Publishers Answer Book Series.
