LOCATION

George Washington University School of Business
Duquès Hall, Room 652
2201 G Street NW (main entrance on 22nd Street between G and H Streets)

Bio: Jason J. Fitchner

Jason J. Fichtner is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Previously, he served in several positions at the Social Security Administration, including as Deputy Commissioner of Social Security (Acting), Chief Economist, and Associate Commissioner for Retirement Policy. Dr. Fichtner has also served as Senior Economist with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Dr. Fichtner’s primary research interests include Social Security, federal tax policy, federal budget policy, retirement security, and policy proposals to increase saving and investment. Before joining the JEC, he served as Senior Consultant with the Office of Federal Tax Services of Arthur Andersen in Washington, DC. He worked on transfer pricing issues for large multinational corporations to ensure compliance with U.S. and international tax regulations. Dr. Fichtner started his DC-based career as an Economist with the Research Division of the Internal Revenue Service, where he forecast return volumes and developed econometric models to assist tax compliance and administrative initiatives. Dr. Fichtner earned his BA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; his MPP from Georgetown University; and his PhD in Public Administration & Policy from Virginia Tech. His dissertation research focused on the use of tax distribution tables in the federal tax policy arena. Dr. Fichtner was elected by his fellow Georgetown alumni to serve a two-year term on the inaugural Georgetown Public Policy Institute Alumni Board starting in 2005. The other members of the Board subsequently elected him chairman. He continues to serve as a member of the GPPI Alumni Board. Dr. Fichtner was honored as the 2006 recipient of the Colin Campbell Award, which recognizes GPPI alumni for their support of the GPPI community. Dr. Fichtner also received Virginia Tech’s award for Outstanding Recent Alumnus of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies for 2009-2010. Dr. Fichtner serves on the Adjunct Faculty at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and the Virginia Tech Center for Public Administration & Policy where he teaches courses in Economics, Public Finance, Public Policy Process, Public Management, and Public Budgeting Processes.

Bio: Melissa A. Z. Knoll

Melissa Knoll is a Social Science Research Analyst at the Social Security Administration in Washington, DC. Dr. Knoll works in SSA’s Office of Retirement Policy, where she conducts research on the behavioral and psychological aspects of retirement-related decisions. Specifically, Dr. Knoll researches topics relating to why people retire when they do (the retirement decision), and how and why people do or do not save for retirement (the retirement savings decision). In addition, Dr. Knoll has used her expertise in behavioral decision making and psychology to assist policy makers in Congress and the Administration. Dr. Knoll received her B.A. in Spanish and Psychology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology and Judgment and Decision-Making from The Ohio State University. She has been with SSA since 2009.

Bio: Lisa G. Schneider

Lisa G. Schneider is a Research Director at Greenwald & Associates, a full-service market research firm that specializes in retirement, financial services and healthcare research. In combination with her degree in Sociology from George Washington University, Ms. Schneider has taken a particular interest in generational and publicly-released studies related to retirement and consumer finance. An experienced researcher, her work has included quantitative and qualitative research design and execution for such clients as AARP, John Hancock, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, New York Life, MetLife’s Mature Market Institute, and Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research. In 2008, Lisa worked with the American Savings Education Council and AARP to conduct an online survey of over 1,700 young adults, representing both Generation X and Generation Y. Preparing for Their Future: A Look at the Financial State of Gen X and Gen Y explored young adults’ financial attitudes and behaviors, including the extent to which young people are financially independent, their satisfaction with current circumstances, goals for the future, savings and debt levels, financial literacy, views and knowledge of Social Security and Medicare, and attitudes toward employers and workplace benefits. Since then, Lisa has managed an annual study sponsored by a consortium of financial services companies on younger consumers’ use of technology and social media as they engage with financial services companies and professionals. Lisa’s work has also included studies that examined the differences between older and younger workers’ preferences for workplace communication, perceptions of key financial products like disability and long-term care insurance, the unique retirement issues that impact women, and Americans’ understanding of the role of Social Security in their retirement income. Prior to joining Greenwald & Associates in 2003, Lisa was a Marketing Coordinator for the American Council of Life Insurers’ Membership and Development Department.