As assistant to the president at the AFL-CIO since 1995, Gerald M. Shea’s work covers issues such as health care and retirement security as well as relations with allied organizations and government entities.  Previously, Mr. Shea held various positions at the AFL-CIO from August 1993 through October 1995; first serving as director of the policy office with responsibility for health care and pensions and then in several executive staff positions.  Prior to joining the AFL-CIO, Mr. Shea spent 21 years with the Service Employees International Union as an organizer and local union official in Massachusetts and as senior staff member of the national union.

Mr. Shea serves as a public representative on the Board of Commissioners of The Joint Commission, where he chaired the Information Dissemination Strategic Issues Workgroup that developed the Joint Commission’s Quality Reports. He is also a member of the National Quality Forum (NQF) Board, the HHS Quality Alliance Steering Committee, and the principals group of the Hospital Quality Alliance.  He is a founding board member of the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT) and chairs the RxHealthValue Project.  He is a past member of the Social Security Advisory Board, the Medicare Prospective Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and its predecessor, the Prospective Payment Advisory Commission, as well as the Institute of Medicine’s Quality in Health Care Committee’s Subcommittee on the External Environment.

Mr. Shea earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston College, Massachusetts.