Non-Resident Scholars
Adam Bloomfield
Adam Bloomfield is a Senior Economic Policy Advisor in the Policy Analysis Section of the Systemic Risk Branch at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Previously he served as an economist at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where he worked on financial stability policy, financial market structure, and the use of advanced data analytics in financial regulation.
With expertise in applied microeconomics, his primary research interest focuses on household/consumer finance, particularly the areas of retirement savings and investor behavior. Adam’s recent research has examined the economic relationships between these household finance topics and labor market dynamics. He is a special sworn researcher at the U.S. Census Bureau and former economic advisor to both the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) and U.S. Interagency Elder Justice Working Group (EJWG).
Dr. Bloomfield holds a Ph.D. in applied economics, M.A. in statistics, and M.S. in health economics, all from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to his doctoral studies, Adam worked for several years in policy economic analysis at the Lewin Group and in retail finance for firms in the financial services industry. He received a B.S. in Decision Theory and Ethics from Duke University.
Kevin Crain
Kevin Crain is an accomplished and highly respected Retirement Services and Financial Wellness Expert with more than 40 years of experience in roles of progressively greater influence and impact in the Retirement Services industry, driving strategic growth, enhancing client engagement, and delivering top-tier retirement research solutions. With broad leadership experience across all areas of a business, he is an influential thought leader, industry events speaker, and public policy advocate in the fields of employee financial wellness, retirement savings, retirement public policy, employee benefits utilization trends, and longevity.
The former Chair of the Age Friendly NYC Commission, Kevin is currently an Advisory Council Member with the Global Coalition on Aging Advisory Council and a Visiting Executive for the Gerontological Society of America. He is also an Honorary Member of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) and Member of their Public Policy committee.
Until August 2023, Kevin was with Bank of America Merrill Lynch for nearly 20 years in senior leadership positions in the Retirement Services sector, culminating in the role of Head of Retirement Research, leading a team of thought leaders and public policy experts focused on retirement and longevity research. The team published many reports including Workplace Benefits, Participant Pulse, Financial Life Benefits Impact, Caregiving briefs, the Longevity Economy, and Retirement Benefits Gender Lens studies. They also championed diversity and inclusion by publishing highly progressive studies such as Menopause & the Workplace, Women’s Financial Well-Being, Financial Wellness of Caregivers, Mental Health & the Workplace, and Neurodiversity in the Workplace.
Prior to this, Kevin was Head of Enterprise Financial Solutions where he spearheaded a team of Enterprise Specialists focused on delivering Bank of America solutions to corporate plan sponsors and employees, working closely with Bankers, Advisors, and local Bank Market Presidents. Solutions included benefits plans, financial wellness programs, banking products, wealth management services and employee education programs. As Head of Workplace Solutions, he created and led a new team of Specialists to partner with Commercial Bankers to deliver retirement benefits and financial wellness to companies and their employees.
Previously, Kevin was Head of Institutional Retirement, leading the Institutional Retirement business for corporate retirement services offered including 401(k), Defined Benefit, Equity Compensation, Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation and Healthcare Savings, servicing over 1,500 corporate clients totaling close to 5 million employees.
A public speaker and panel moderator at industry conferences, and with significant media visibility, having given numerous media interviews to major outlets, Kevin’s career started as an Analyst at Chase Manhattan bank and then Client Relationship Management with Bankers Trust, entering the retirement sector with Fidelity Investments before becoming Head of 401(k) Operations with Putnam Investments.
John Mitchem
John Mitchem is Principal of JM3 Projects – a global consultancy providing intelligence, market analysis and thought leadership projects for global financial stakeholders.
Prior to this, at State Street Corporation in Boston and London, he served for 15 years in industry affairs, public policy, executive communications and thought leadership positions. Earlier in his career, John served as a senior staffer at the United Nations headquarters in New York, researching and writing about development economics, security issues and diplomatic negotiations.
In 2022, together with Jorik van Zanden of Utrecht University, Netherlands, he founded Jasper Forum – a global retirement finance discussion that has organized more than 25 online and live sessions with more than 2,000 discussants. John collaborated with Bob Reynolds, CEO of Putnam Investments on his book, “From Here to Security: How Workplace Savings Can Keep America’s Promise (McGraw-Hill Professional).
Manita Rao
Dr. Manita Rao is a Senior Strategic Policy Advisor in financial security at the AARP Public Policy Institute, specializing in pensions and retirement policy, public finance, and urban economics. Before joining AARP, she was an assistant professor of public policy where she designed and taught courses on policy analysis, empirical research, and public finance. She has also been a senior research associate in international development, where she helped expand access to banking services.
Dr. Rao has published academic research in several peer-reviewed journals on issues of fiscal policy, pensions, economic development, and urban growth. She is a member of the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management, and the National Association of Business Economists.
She holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Southern California, a master’s in policy and evaluation from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a master’s in social policy from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India.
Catherine Reilly
Catherine Reilly is an investment and retirement expert, with a particular focus on retirement income, global retirement systems, and emerging financial technologies. She has worked in both the U.S. and Europe, designing investment products and the technology to implement advice and income solutions for retirement. She has also worked actively with policymakers to help expand access to retirement savings, particularly for small businesses.
Her work experience includes State Street Global Advisors, where she was Global Head of Research for the Defined Contribution team; Chief Economist for Pohjola Asset Management in Finland; and Management Consultant for McKinsey & Co. Inc. Most recently, she was employed at Smart, a leading provider of global retirement technology. She is currently Principal of CM Reilly Associates, LLC, a strategy advisory firm.
Catherine is a CFA Charterholder. She has a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard and an M.Sc. in Economics from Aalto University in Finland.