Regina T. Jefferson

Regina T. Jefferson is Professor of Law at The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, where she has served on the faculty since 1992 and as Dean from 2018-2019. A nationally recognized authority on pension law, employee benefits, and tax law, she has testified before Congress, served as a delegate to the First White House Summit on Retirement Income Savings, and was appointed by the President to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Advisory Committee for consecutive terms (2015-2021).

Her educational background includes:

• B.S. in Mathematics from Howard University
• J.D. from George Washington University
• LL.M. from Georgetown University

Professor Jefferson's research examines the redistributional impacts of retirement systems, risks in defined contribution plans, and intersections between pension and tax law. Her scholarship critically analyzes retirement security frameworks through lenses of economic justice and human rights, with recent work focusing on international human rights perspectives in U.S. retirement policy and coverage gaps in private retirement systems.

Her extensive publication record demonstrates consistent focus on retirement policy evolution, tax implications of benefit structures, and worker protection mechanisms. Recent scholarship shows increasing emphasis on human rights frameworks, coverage expansion, and equity considerations in retirement systems.

Her professional honors include:

• Election as Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits
• Election as Fellow of the National Academy of Social Insurance

Professor Jefferson actively shapes policy through service on the Pension Rights Center Board of Directors and Institute on Retirement Security Academic Advisory Board. She chaired Catholic University's Sister Thea Bowman Committee (2020-2021) addressing racial equality, and currently serves as taxation expert to the Holy See's UN Permanent Observer Mission. Her congressional testimony and PBGC committee work directly influence national retirement security frameworks.

She maintains significant institutional leadership through board memberships and advisory roles focused on retirement policy reform and economic justice initiatives.