White House 'compensation czar' will appear in Martha's Vineyard Times Newsmakers series on August 16
Published: July 23, 2009
Kenneth R. Feinberg, a frequent Vineyard visitor and a native of Brockton, will participate in a Martha's Vineyard Times-sponsored discussion of his latest challenge, as the Obama administration's so-called compensation czar. Mr. Feinberg will appear on August 16, at 7 pm, at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury,
Mr. Feinberg was appointed by the Obama administration on June 10, as compensation overseer with broad discretion to set the pay for 175 top executives at seven of the nation's largest companies, which have received hundreds of billions of dollars in federal assistance to survive. Mr. Feinberg will discuss what he does and his views of the news coverage that follows these issues.
Annually, The Times sponsors public discussions with public officials, policy makers, journalists, and other newsmakers. One goal is to invite Islanders and their visitors to learn more about the work, often well known but little understood, that these public figures, including working journalists, do. Another is to invite instructive commentary from the newsmaker on the roll of the press in describing and analyzing the issues that the newsmaker confronts.
This year's program, the fourth in The Times' "Newsmakers - People and Issues in the News" series, is co-sponsored by the Martha's Vineyard Preservation Trust, owners and protectors of such properties as the Grange Hall.
Mr. Feinberg served as special master of the federal September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, a job to which he was appointed by the Attorney General of the United States. In this capacity, Mr. Feinberg developed and promulgated the regulations governing the administration of the fund and administered all aspects of the program, including evaluating applications, determining appropriate compensation, and disseminating awards that totaled nearly $7 billion, to more than 5,000 families and victims of 9/11. In addition, Mr. Feinberg was the Fund Administrator responsible for the design, implementation and administration of the claims process for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, following the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech University in April 2007. Mr. Feinberg was also retained by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and Zurich Insurance Company to design, implement and administer an Alternative Dispute Resolution Program for resolving insurance claims arising out of Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes in the Gulf region.
There will be no charge for the two-hour program.
