Photo: Pension Rights Center

"Karen Ferguson ... president and founder [of the Pension Rights Center in Washington, D.C.] ... died on December 23rd from cancer.... Through her brilliance and determination, [in 1976, ten years after her 1966 graduation from Harvard Law School,] Karen created the leading organization fighting for pension beneficiaries and their families.... For 45 years, Karen was involved in virtually every piece of pension legislation [including the Retirement Equity Act of 1984] ... Karen also founded the Center's legal program [of approximately 570 registered lawyers], which serves as the resource center to six pension counseling and information programs ... [which] have helped tens of thousands of people obtain the pensions they have earned.... Over her career, Karen testified at scores of congressional and regulatory hearings, was quoted in hundreds of articles and co-authored, with Kate Blackwell, an acclaimed book on pensions, Pensions in Crisis: Why the System is Failing America and How You Can Protect Your Future.... Ralph Nader, who inspired Karen and provided her with the initial donation to create the Center, remarked '... Unassuming and unsung, she was both the brains and the national networker of efforts behind pension law reform. Her quiet, authoritative influence was felt on Capitol Hill, in executive suites, on the shop floors, and among specific pensioners needing immediate help.' ... In lieu of flowers, Karen's family has asked that donations be made to the Pension Rights Center."  MORE >>