Get to Know The Presenters:
Elise Bean worked for Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), from 1985 to 2014, including 15 years at the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Appointed as his PSI staff director and chief counsel in 2003, Bean handled investigations into such matters as money laundering, offshore tax abuse, corruption, and corporate misconduct. After Levin retired in Jan. 2015, and the Levin Center at Wayne Law was established in his honor, Bean joined the center staff. In 2015 and 2016, Bean was included in the Global Tax 50, a list compiled by the International Tax Review of the year’s top 50 individuals and organizations influencing tax. In 2011 and 2013, the Washingtonian magazine named her one of Washington’s 100 most powerful women. Bean is a graduate of Wesleyan University and earned her law degree from the University of Michigan.
Jennifer Gaspar is deputy staff director and chief counsel for the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-SC). She joined the Select Subcommittee as chief investigative counsel in June 2020, from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform where she was counsel under Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and the late Chairman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD). Gaspar previously served as an associate at Sidley Austin LLP, where she handled a variety of investigations as well as civil and criminal litigation. She also worked as a prosecutor for both the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. She has an extensive background in political campaigns, including as the North Carolina Voter Protection director for President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012. She is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, the London School of Economics, and Johns Hopkins University.
Tim Stretton directs the Project On Government Oversight’s Congressional Oversight Initiative, which aims to improve and enhance Congress’s ability to do effective oversight by providing information, advice and other assistance. From 2013 to 2019, Stretton served under U.S. Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-ME) as an investigator and professional staff member on the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging. There he led investigations into international scams targeting seniors, financial exploitation and elder abuse, as well as prescription drug pricing. Based on these investigations, Tim drafted several pieces of legislation that became law. Tim earned his M.A. in Diplomacy at Norwich University. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Southern Maine.
John Strom is oversight and investigations counsel for Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) on the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions. Prior to joining the Committee, he was associate general counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services where he represented the Department and political leadership in investigations by Congress, the HHS Inspector General, Office of Special Counsel and other investigative entities. Before joining HHS, he served as senior counsel for oversight and investigations on the House Natural Resources Committee during the 115th and 116th Congress. Strom graduated undergraduate and law school from the University of South Carolina and worked as an appellate public defender before joining Congress.