Bridget Bearden

Bridget Ayn Bearden is a senior policy and research executive serving on the leadership team of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), a national, nonpartisan organization focused on employee benefits and retirement security. She leads enterprise strategy across research, partnerships, and institutional growth, translating rigorous empirical analysis into actionable insights for policymakers, employers, and financial institutions shaping the U.S. benefits system.

At EBRI, Ms. Bearden has built and governed large-scale research initiatives addressing retirement spending, long-term care, caregiving, disability, mental health, and voluntary benefits. She oversees complex survey research operations and data governance processes, ensuring methodological rigor and policy relevance. Her portfolio includes leadership of EBRI’s biannual Spending in Retirement Survey and research examining workforce benefits that strengthen financial security, particularly for women and multi-generational households.

Prior to joining EBRI, she developed research and thought leadership for investment and sustainability-focused organizations including Edelman Financial Engines, Ceres, and the Defined Contribution Institutional Investors Association.

Dr. Bearden holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Boston, with research on sustainable investing in workplace retirement plans, as well as an MBA in Finance and an M.S. in Public Policy. She is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Women in Pensions Network.