Pam Hess is the Executive Director at the DCIIA Retirement Research Center. Previously, she was with Aon Hewitt and served as their Director of Retirement Research. Earlier in her career Pam worked on the investment side at Aon Hewitt and with other firms in the financial services industry, including Smith Barney. Pam received a bachelor’s degree in finance from The University of Illinois, at Chicago. She earned her master’s in business administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in accounting, finance and managerial & organizational behavior. Pam is also a CFA Charterholder since 2002. She is based in Charlotte, NC.

Monica De Agostino is an HR Leader with over 16 years of experience leading Benefits and Total Rewards. She has worked in industries where people and innovation are the keys to success. Monica believes in empowering individuals and fostering a sense of humanity and connection in the workplace. She has led MRIGlobal to win PLANSPONSOR’s 2022 Nonprofit DC Plan Sponsor of the Year and be a finalist in 2020 and 2021 Business Journal’s Healthiest Employer.

Growing up in South America, raised in multiple countries, and comfortable everywhere, Monica believes education transforms generations. Monica has a Bachelor’s in International Business and an MBA in Management. She holds Senior HR Professional Certifications from SHRM and HRCI Institutes.

Lisa K. Loesel is a partner in McDermott Will & Emery’s Chicago office. Lisa focuses her practice on employee benefits matters, including the design, amendment and administration of 401(k), 403(b) and pension plans, as well as nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements and employee stock ownership plans. She counsels privately and publicly held corporations regarding the employee benefits design and transition matters arising from corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. She also advises clients regarding fiduciary and plan investment issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Lisa also has experience counseling plan fiduciaries with respect to the claims and appeals procedures under ERISA.

Jacob M. Mattinson is a partner in McDermott Will & Emery’s Chicago office. His practice focuses on employee benefits matters related to health and welfare plans, retirement plans, and executive compensation issues. He frequently counsels privately and publicly held corporations and tax-exempt entities on a variety of benefits and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) issues, including ERISA fiduciary issues, compliance with the Affordable Care Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), ERISA implications in corporate transactions, ERISA administrative claims and appeals, and executive compensation matters.

Brent Sheppard is Partner, Financial Adviser and Director of Corporate Retirement Plan Consulting at Cadence Financial Management. Brent has earned the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist, Retirement Income Certified Professional, and Accredited Investment Fiduciary designations. He helps companies design and manage innovative retirement benefit plans, financial wellness programs and customized executive services. What he is most proud of is seeing his clients, their organizations, and their employees achieving their financial goals. Brent is frequently invited to speak at industry conferences such as those hosted by PLANSPONSOR, SPARK Institute and SHRM. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware and has his Series 7, 63, and 66 securities licenses.

Rosie Zaklad is a principal at Groom Law Group, Chartered and co-leader of the firm’s tax practice. Her day-to-day practice involves the design, implementation and ongoing administration of retirement plans, including defined benefit, defined contribution, and tax-deferred annuity plans. She focuses on tax-qualified plan compliance issues, including Internal Revenue Service audits, rulings, and corrections. Rosie has extensive experience assisting plan sponsors in navigating the plan termination process, including preparing employee communications, obtaining agency approvals, and responding to post-termination audits. She has also represented clients in responding to Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation inquiries, investigations, and audits.

During her tenure at Groom, Rosie has counseled clients on a wide range of retirement plan issues in connection with corporate transactions and spinoffs, including distributions, plan loans, company stock, record retention, and treatment of transferring employees. She has also advised on tax and ERISA issues in connection with the post-merger integration of retirement plans.

Viv Hunter Turner advises employer-sponsored welfare plans on employee benefit compliance issues under the Affordable Care Act, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), ERISA, and COBRA. Additionally, she counsels clients on implementing wellness programs that comply with applicable regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, and the HIPAA wellness rules. Higher education institutions and affiliated organizations turn to Viv for a range of issues such as plan governance structure, contracts, wellness initiatives and providing benefits to both union and non-union populations. Other industries served include Fortune 50 mass media and retail, Fortune 100 entertainment and transportation, health insurance issuers, and the industrial engineering industry.

George Sepsakos is a principal at Groom Law Group, Chartered who represents clients on a broad range of ERISA, federal tax and securities law matters. His practice is primarily focused on issues related to Title I of ERISA, including fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction issues.  George’s practice includes:

• Regularly defending plan trustees, fiduciaries, and service providers in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the Department of Labor.
• Representing clients in front of the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking advisory opinions, prohibited transaction exemptions, no action letters, and other guidance.
• Counseling banks, broker-dealers, recordkeepers, investment managers and advisers and other financial services companies on the structuring and marketing of retirement plan services and products.
• Advising clients on compliance with DOL’s final regulation defining the term “fiduciary.”
• Regularly counseling large employers and plan committees to develop processes and best practices regarding plan investments, including the acquisition and management of employer securities, and plan governance matters.
• Conducting reviews and internal audits of plan governance and administrative practices.