E. James Brennan
Jim Brennan is Senior Associate of ERI Economic Research Institute. As CEO of the compensation consulting firm Brennan, Thomsen Associates, Inc., he designed reward systems for clients in almost every industry, ranging from national governments and major conglomerates to small employers, public service agencies, and nonprofit associations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Jim has been retained by numerous federal agencies as a pre-trial consultant and in-court expert witness on personnel management and pay practices, particularly in the area of executive compensation. He prepared hundreds of reports on reasonable compensation for the IRS, gave expert testimony in dozens of trials, and also assisted law firms and CPAs in pay cases. Jim has worked in virtually every area of corporate Human Resource Management at the headquarters of Mallinckrodt, Dart Industries, and Rexall. The former Compensation Editor of the Personnel Journal and author of the Performance Management Workbook (Prentice-Hall, 1989), Jim has scores of articles and speeches to his name. He holds a BA in Management from Webster University.

Marvin Dertien
As Research Manager for ERI Economic Research Institute, Marv has overseen data collection, analyses and development of compensation data sets and geographical pay differences for over 800 corporate clients over the past decade. His previous experience includes managing compensation and benefits for Pacific Telecom Inc., an international telecommunications company headquartered in Washington state. A pioneer in multiple regression studies, Marv served as a Compensation Manager of the Salt River Project, where he helped develop a market-based job classification system that was nondiscriminatory. Marv is trained in multiple programming code languages and has published articles in Personnel Journal and Compensation and Benefit Review. He is a member of WorldatWork and a past member of the American Public Power Compensation Committee. Marv received his BS in Economics from the University of Nebraska.

Debbie Lambert, CCP, CBP, GRP
Debbie is Senior Compensation Researcher/Benefits Research Director for ERI Economic Research Institute. With more than 25 years of experience in compensation and benefits consulting, Ms. Lambert has designed and implemented a wide range of compensation programs in industries to include transportation, energy, managed care services, health care, and the public sector. Debbie pioneered the field of compensation by being the first compensation professional at organizations such as FedEx, Electronic Data Systems, and Kemper National Services. Experienced in all aspects of compensation and benefits design, Ms. Lambert holds the WorldatWork Society of Certified Professionals' Certified Compensation Professional, Certified Benefits Professional, and Global Remuneration Professional credentials. Prior to joining ERI, Debbie was an independent compensation and benefits consultant and was previously employed as the Senior Compensation Consultant/Manager for Harrah's Entertainment. She has been a member of the SHRM Consultant's Forum for the last seven years and has served on the boards of the South Florida Compensation & Benefits Association, as well as the Mid-South Compensation Association. Ms. Lambert holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Memphis.

Linda M. Lampkin
Linda Lampkin is Research Director of ERI Economic Research Institute and heads up the Washington, DC, office. As former Director of the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute, she was responsible for creating a database of the IRS Form 990 information filed annually by charities and managed research projects on the nonprofit sector. She worked closely with the IRS and state regulators to improve the quality of Form 990 reporting and implement electronic filing. She was also responsible for the classification system for nonprofits used by IRS and researchers in the field. Co-author of the New Nonprofit Almanac and Desk Reference, she has published articles and spoken extensively on the nonprofit sector, with particular emphasis on data sources, tracking outcomes and financial accounting. She served as a member of the IRS Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee and received the IRS Commissioner’s Award for her work on electronic filing of Form 990. With past experience in wage and benefit negotiations as research director for two large national labor unions, in compensation consulting at Pricewaterhouse Coopers and in executive recruitment at Korn/Ferry International, Linda brings both an understanding of the nonprofit sector and of compensation practices to ERI. She holds a BA in Economics and a BS in Labor Economics from Cornell University.

David J. Thomsen, PhD, ASA, CCP
Founder of ERI Economic Research Institute and a senior member of the American Society of Appraisers, David holds a CCP with WorldatWork and a PhD in Management Analysis. He has served as a Principal with William M. Mercer, Senior Vice President of American Stores, Manager of Compensation for Dart Industries, and Managing Director of Baker, Thomsen Associates (a West Coast benefits consulting firm). Today he leads ERI research efforts as they relate to Assessor Series software programs, the Geographic Reference Report^®, and ERI websites. He was the original author of both SHRM’s first accreditation test in compensation and benefits and ACA’s quantitative certification course and test. In addition, he has authored hundreds of articles, along with the novel, Merger, Takeover Conspiracy and ERI’s quarterly Update Newsletters.