STAFF

James B. Bryan

James B. Bryan, Associate Professor of Economics at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY, is a Senior Economist at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies. His research interests include the microeconomic analysis of public policy. He is currently engaged, with other Institute staff, in research regarding the ISES proposal for a National Tax Rebate, as well as a separate ISES proposal for catastrophic national health insurance. He was instrumental in organizing the recent Conference on the Long-Term Care Crisis jointly sponsored by the Institute and Manhattanville. In addition to teaching at Manhattanville since 1984, Professor Bryan spent ten years in administration there, including more than six years as Provost and Dean of Faculty. During the spring of 1998, he was Scholar-in-Residence at the Faculty Resource Network at New York University. There he pursued another research interest: an examination of the implications of recent research in cognitive psychology for economic pedagogy. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia and his A.B. (in a great books program in the humanities) from the University of Notre Dame.

Thomas Cassidy

Thomas Cassidy is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies, where he conducts research and analysis on Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care and health care financing issues. Prior to joining the Institute, Cassidy worked for almost 20 years as a senior special investigator for the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. His book, Elder Care/ What to Look For/ What to Look Out For!, (New Horizon Press, 1997) is now in its second printing, which includes new chapters on Medicare and Social Security. He is also the author of a monograph in the Institute Perspective series, Long-Term Care Problems and Solutions: A Prescription for Change. Mr. Cassidy has appeared on CNN, Fox Network News, "The Today Show," USA Radio Network, and other television and radio programs across the country. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Investors’ Business Daily, Bridge News, The Star-Ledger, Journal News, Insight Magazine, and Personal Finance Planning. His expertise has been cited in Kiplingers’ Retirement Report, the Christian Science Monitor, and in Jane Bryant Quinn’s nationally syndicated column. Recent speaking engagements include the Third International Conference on Gerontechnology in Munich, Germany, and a conference on "The Long-Term Care Crisis" jointly sponsored by the Institute and Manhattanville College. Cassidy holds a B.A. in history and an M.A. in economic policy analysis, both from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook.

Helen Gibbs

Helen Gibbs is Communications Director at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies, and editor of the Institute’s newsletter, socioeconomic INTELLIGENCE. She came to the Institute with 20 years experience managing corporate communications and media relations in the private sector. Areas of expertise include speech writing, event management, and strategic planning. Previously, Gibbs did preliminary editing on The Journals and Miscellaneous Notebooks of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harvard University Press, 1964, and helped design and edit a programmed method of teaching and learning Latin, published as Latin: A Structural Approach, University of Michigan Press, 1966. She also edited papers in the field of neurobiology-and-behavior and performed independent research on the history of psychiatry. While at the Institute, she has published letters-to-the-editor on socioeconomic issues in the New York Times. Gibbs attended Mount Holyoke College.

Frederick S. Gurzeler

Frederick Gurzeler is a Research Assistant at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies, and also provides general staff support. He has written numerous op-eds and letters-to-the-editor on social and economic issues, with publication in the Gannett Journal News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The Washington Post, among others. He develops databases for Institute initiatives, coordinates correspondence, conducts research on public policy issues, maintains the Institute’s library, line-edits many of his co-workers research papers, and participates in Institute planning meetings. Gurzeler has written poetry and short stories. He is a former president of the Westchester Chess Club.

Birgit Hazlin

Birgit Hazlin is an Economist at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies. Before joining the Institute, she conducted extensive studies of the challenges to Western Europe’s labor market for the Club of Rome, based in Paris. For the European Commission based in Brussels, Ms. Hazlin also participated in meetings with delegates to the United Nations concerning socioeconomic issues, and provided in-depth analyses based on her findings. Recently, she has written for the Gannett Journal News and The Miami Herald. She is fluent in German, French, and Italian and has studied in both Europe and Asia. Ms. Hazlin earned an M.A. in economics from the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

Thomas Campbell Jackson

Thomas Campbell Jackson is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies, where he performs research for the Institute’s health care initiatives. Mr. Jackson has extensive experience with employer-sponsored large group health benefits. Before joining the Institute, he was Director of the City of New York’s Employee Health Benefits Program, which purchases health insurance coverage for over a million City employees, retirees, and their families at a cost of over $1.5 billion per year. Previously, he held the post of Assistant Director, Research and Evaluation, with that office. He has also served as Special Assistant to the Director for the City of Boston’s Health Benefit and Insurance Division, and worked in Professional Relations for a non-profit insurance company. Jackson is co-author of an original research article, “Effect of Utilization Review in a Fee-for-Service Health Insurance Plan,” published in the New England Journal of Medicine. His article, “Shop for Your Health Yourself,” appeared in the San Jose-Mercury News, the Tallahassee Democrat, and other newspapers, and a recent Letter to the Editor promoting a catastrophic approach to health insurance was printed in the New York Times. He is a member, and twice Fellow, of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists. He has also published children’s books. Jackson holds a BA in Economics and German from Tufts University, and a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Management from the Columbia University School of Public Health.

Allan Ostergren

Allan Ostergren is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies. Over the past 20 years, he has been a contributing editor for the Institute’s publications, The SocioEconomic Newsletter (now socioeconomic INTELLIEGENCE) and The Journal/The Institute for SocioEconomic Studies. Ostergren has conducted research and analysis on welfare issues, including utilities and weatherization assistance. He has also received national recognition for newsletter design and publishing, and for computer services on behalf of the disabled. A resident of Connecticut, he has been published in several Connecticut newspapers, including The Hartford Courant and The Stamford Advocate. Ostergren holds a B.A. in history and political science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and an M.A. in history from Western Connecticut State University.

Heather A. Rubeo

Heather Rubeo is a Research Associate at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies and is responsible for designing and maintaining the Institute’s new website. Before joining the Institute, she conducted research and helped lobby the New York State Board of Regents on public education issues including charter schools and teacher quality initiatives for the New York State School Boards Association, based in Albany, New York. While pursuing her graduate degree, Ms. Rubeo provided legislative support to the New York State Association of Counties and contributed to an in-depth analysis of New York’s food stamp program that was presented to members of the State Legislature. She has been published in The Albany Times Union and Newsday. Rubeo holds a B.A. in government from St. Lawrence University and an M.A. in political science from the State University of New York at Albany.

Donald Sutherland

Donald Sutherland is a Fellow at the Institute for SocioEconomic Studies. He has conducted research on tax, economic, trade, health care, and immigration policy. His writings have appeared in such publications as The Economist, The Journal of Commerce, Investors’ Business Daily, The Montreal Gazette, and Bridge News. He has been a guest on numerous radio programs. He previously worked for Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) in New York City and for U.S. Congressman Toby Roth. While in Washington, D.C. he was primarily responsible for economic and tax policy. Sutherland has an MBA in Finance and Management from McGill University.