Pension Action Center

at the University of Massachusetts Boston

Staff

Pension Counselors

 

Ellen A. Bruce, JD
Director, Pension Action Center
Director, Gerontology Institute
Associate Professor, Gerontology PhD Program
617-287-7315 ; Ellen.Bruce@umb.edu

Ellen A. Bruce directs the Pension Action Center and is an Associate Professor in the Gerontology Department, teaching law and public policy courses in the Gerontology Graduate Program. Her primary areas of interest are income security for older adults, pensions and retirement income, older women, and elder law.

In 1993 she founded the Pension Action Center, which houses the New England Pension Assistance Project and the National Pension Lawyers Project, as well as serves as a base for pension and retirement income research. The Center brings together services for participants, retirement income research, and policy work. Professor Bruce's work focuses on participant-related problems, including lost pensions, diminishing plan participation and survivor benefits as well as more general research on income security for older adults.

To read complete bio, please visit her faculty listing.

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Jeanne M. Medeiros, JD
Managing Attorney, New England Pension Assistance
617-287-7332 ; Jeanne.Medeiros@umb.edu

Attorney Medeiros manages the operations of the New England Pension Assistance Project, including supervising the case handling staff . Jeanne has been with the Project since 1998, working exclusively in the area of private and public pension law, and is an expert on ERISA and retirement benefit issues. She develops and presents trainings on pension law and policy for Project staff, as well as outreach presentations to attorneys, elder service groups and community organizations.

For over twenty years Jeanne has worked as an advocate for low-income clients. Her previous experience includes her work as Deputy Counsel for Cambridge Rent Control Board, Staff Attorney for Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services and for Rhode Island Legal Services. She completed her JD at Boston College and holds a BA in History from Brown University.

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Mia Midenjak, JD
Legal Fellow, New England Pension Assistance Project
617-287-7309; Mia.Midenjak@umb.edu

Ms. Midenjak, a 2011 graduate of the Boston University School of Law, has been awarded a fellowship from her Law School to work at the Pension Action Center through June 2012.  In her role, Mia will continue to help clients of the New England Pension Assistance Project, where she previously served as a legal intern. Having Mia as a Legal Fellow will enable the Project to represent more clients in this complex field with a high degree of professionalism, to handle more complex cases, and to remain current in the rapidly-changing field of pension law and regulation.

During law school, Mia worked as a research assistant to Professor Maria Hylton, conducting research on pension benefit plans and wrote legal memoranda on pension plan terminations and discretionary clauses in ERISA-governed employee benefit plans.  She also taught law students to conduct legal research on LexisNexis. Mia graduated from Harvard College in 2007 and is fluent in four languages.

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Michele Tolson
Administrative Assistant, New England Pension Assistance Project
Coordinator, National Pension Lawyers Network
617-287-7305 ; michele.tolson@umb.edu

Michele Tolson joined the Pension Action Center in December, 2011.  As the Coordinator for the National Pension Lawyers Network, Ms. Tolson helps workers and retirees connect with attorneys who have an expertise in pension law.  She also acts as an Administrative Assistant for the New England Pension Assistance Project, providing a wide range of support for the Project and its staff.  She received her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she double majored in Ethics, Social, and Political Philosophy and Economics and received an award of Distinction from both departments.

Before joining the Pension Action Center, Ms. Tolson was a research assistant intern for the Gerontology Institute.  Her past experience also includes internships with the Massachusetts Recovery and Reinvestment Office and the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group.

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