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| Paul Nathanson |
A leading legal advocate for the elderly is retiring. Paul Nathanson, the executive director of the National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC), has announced he will be stepping down at the end of the year after 40 years of association with the organization.
Nathanson was the founding executive director of the NSCLC from 1972 to 1980 and returned to the position in 2008. In between, he was an active board member while serving as director of the University of New Mexico's Institute of Public Law. In his retirement letter, Nathanson says that while he is officially retiring, he "will remain actively involved in the work of NSCLC and will remain dedicated to the continuing struggle to secure and protect the rights of the elderly poor."
Nathanson’s retirement letter begins: “Forty years ago, at the age of 29, I came to the NSCLC to advocate for the rights of low-income older adults. My mother did not understand why I would leave a large private law firm and give up the commensurate salary to work in a poverty law program. I have never once regretted that decision in all these years!”
Under Nathanson's leadership the NSCLC has worked to improve seniors’ access to affordable health care; to strengthen, improve, and expand access to Social Security, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income; and to ensure access to the federal courts for low-income seniors.
“Paul’s leaving NSCLC is a sad day that evokes many positive moments in the fight for the rights of the elderly,” said Gill Deford, Director of Litigation at the Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc., whom Nathanson hired at NSCLC in 1976. “I had the great pleasure and privilege of working with Paul for several years, and he was full-time dedicated to his work on behalf of the elderly. We stayed in touch after he left NSCLC, and it was really exciting to hear that he had returned to the helm. He will be greatly missed by colleagues around the country, but, I suspect he will keep his finger in the pie and continue to work tirelessly for his constituency.”
Added the Center’s Executive Director, Judith Stein: “All of his colleagues at the Center for Medicare Advocacy and in the elder rights community will miss Paul. His intelligence, dedication and concern for a better society are unsurpassed. We honor his leadership, vision and determination. Personally, I thank Paul for always being a ready partner and friend.”
To read Nathanson's entire letter, click here.
For the NSCLC's description of its Executive Director position, click here.
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