U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao appoints new members and leaders to 2008 ERISA Advisory Council

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington – U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced the appointment of five new members to and new leadership for the 2008 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council.

The 15-member council provides advice on policies and regulations affecting employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Members are selected by the secretary of labor and appointed for staggered three-year terms.

The new appointees and their council positions are: David Evangelista of Stony Point, New York, representing the accounting industry; Sanford Koeppel of Iselin, New Jersey, representing the insurance industry; Mary Nell Billings of Memphis, Tennessee, representing employers; Marc LeBlanc of Alexandria, Virginia, representing employee organizations; and Kevin Wiggins of Clarksburg, West Virginia, representing the general public.

David Evangelista CPA is a principal with MSPC Certified Public Accountants and Advisors, where he manages and supervises audits, reviews and compilations, and represents employee benefit plan clients in the public and private sectors.

Sanford Koeppel is vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs at Prudential Financial with responsibility for all retirement security policy issues. Previously, he served as the lead attorney of the firm’s legal department dealing with employee benefits and the ERISA practice.

Mary Nell Billings is manager of retirement plans, governance and strategic planning at FedEx Corp., where she is responsible for governance, compliance, strategic design and employee communications for all FedEx domestic qualified and nonqualified retirement plans.

Marc LeBlanc, the fund administrator and general counsel of the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund, oversees the management of the investment portfolio, supervises service providers, and directs compliance with reporting, disclosure and other legal requirements.

Kevin Wiggins is an ERISA attorney at the law firm of Jackson Kelly PLLC. He has represented employers and individual beneficiaries in ERISA litigation, and has authored numerous articles on retirement and health benefits under ERISA.

The 2008 council chair is William L. Scogland, a senior partner at the law firm of Jenner & Block in Chicago. Patricia Brambley, founder and president of Resources for Retirement in Newtown, Pennsylvania, will serve as the council’s vice chair.

Additional information about the ERISA Advisory Council is available at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.