ISFS Staff

LOIS A. VITT, Ph.D. , is Chair and Founding Director of the Institute for Socio-Financial Studies (ISFS) in Charlottesville , Virginia . Dr. Vitt conducts research on consumer decision making, financial literacy education, consumer health finances, the finances of retirement and aging, and financial instruments and organizations. She has an executive background in business and finance, and she is a consultant to financial services companies and community organizations. She is Editor-in-Chief of the 2-volume Encyclopedia of Retirement and Finance , and the author of articles and books about the social psychology of consumer financial decision making. Dr. Vitt pioneered the development of real estate financing vehicles for the capital markets, and her research on the beneficial social and personal effects of homeownership has been presented to audiences around the world. She received an Executive M.B.A. from Pace University , New York , and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Sociology at the American University in Washington , D.C.    E-mail: lvitt@isfs.org .

JURG K. SIEGENTHALER, Ph.D., is a is a Consulting Research Director and the former Executive Director of the Institute for Socio-Financial Studies. Dr. Siegenthaler is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at American University. His research and teaching earlier at Cornell, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and Rutgers have encompassed the sociology of work and organizations as well as social policy analysis. Interests in work and retirement issues connected his previous specializations with social-gerontological topics. Among his studies in recent years are an international comparison of rights of older adults, a review of innovations in different social security systems in response to population aging and other social changes, an examination of how systems of social protection provide for older single women, and a review of flexible work schedules and older workers. He has been a visiting researcher with the International Social Security Association and the U.S. Social Security Administration. A special interest of his is the relationship between aging research, policy, and professional practice as the field of financial gerontology develops.   E-mail: jsieg@american.edu.

JEAN M. LANDIS is a Senior Research Associate with ISFS. She is an experienced social service program administrator, teacher, and published author. Her work has involved a wide range of substantive domestic and international topics and social issues, and she is knowledgeable about and active in community affairs. She has been an integral member of research teams and senior-level organizational staff. For Family Service of Lancaster, PA, she completed a major grant-funded research effort on the needs of adoptive families and authored the final evaluation report that was submitted to the Administration of Children, Youth and Families. While working on this project, she spearhearded the development of a regional, multi-agency task force that created a new model of post-adoption service delivery, and she assisted in developing statewide post-adoption benchmarks. She holds a BA in Social Welfare and MS in Community Systems Planning and Development from The Pennsylvania State University and she is A.B.D. in Sociology: Justice, Law and Society at The American University,
Washington, D.C.   Email: JeanLandis@gmail.com

NANCY EVANS STUCKWISCH is Director of the ISFS Environmental and Financial Performance Program. Ms. Stuckwisch is also Principal, TECHNE Environmental Consulting, has worked with non-profit organizations on a range of issues, including environmental management systems, stakeholder communication, and other issues related to the business/environment interface. She has published articles and spoken in many forums about environmental management systems and stakeholder issues. Prior to establishing TECHNE, she worked at the National Wildlife Federation as a staff member for the Corporate Conservation Council. Her professional affiliations include a Fellowship at the Institute for Environmental Research and Education and membership in the US Technical Advisory Group to Technical Committee 207 (developing the ISO 14000 standards). From 1995-1999 she was a member of the American National Standards Institute-Registrar Accreditation Board National Accreditation Program Environmental Management Systems Council. Ms. Stuckwisch has an M.Sc. in Environmental Policy from the London School of Economics, and an M.A. in War Studies from King's College, London.    E-mail: Nancy@techne-environmental.com.

JAMIE L. KENT is a Senior Research Associate and Administrative Officer with the Institute for Socio-Financial Studies. She is a contributing researcher and author of the study Personal Finance and the Rush to Competence: Financial Literacy Education in the U.S. (2000), published by the Fannie Mae Foundation, and Consumer Health Care Finances and Education: Matters of Values (2000), published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Ms. Losikoff-Kent has over 20 years of experience in project administration, planning, and resource development with local governments, regional agencies, and nonprofit organizations in the areas of community and economic development. Ms. Losikoff-Kent has a special interest and expertise in community and housing development issues, having worked as Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Charleston, South Carolina, and in Virginia and as Senior Project Director for the Christmas in April Program of Northern Virginia. Ms. Losikoff-Kent received her undergraduate degree from Antioch University. She earned her M.A. at the Danish National School of Design in Kolding, Denmark.    E-mail: jrlkent@aol.com.