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1993.11.12 : Appointment of William Benson and David Garrison

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Contact: Press Office 
Friday, Nov. 12, 1993 
(202) 690-6343

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala has announced the appointments of
two new officials in the Department of Health and Human Services.
They are:

William F. Benson, 43, of Burtonsville, Md., as deputy assistant
secretary for aging/operations, Administration on Aging; and

David F. Garrison, 50, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, as senior
advisor to the director for intergovernmental affairs, Office of
Intergovernmental Affairs.

Benson, who was born in London, England, came to HHS from Spectrum
Management, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm where he
had served as vice president since January.

His professional career has been devoted largely to areas dealing
with aging and health issues in California and as a committee staff
member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.

From 1990-1993, Benson was staff director for the Subcommittee on
Aging, Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.  In 1989-
1990, he was chief of health and housing policy, Senate Special
committee on Aging.  During 1987-1989, he was staff director for
the House Select Committee on Aging, Subcommittee on Housing and
Consumer Interests.  Between 1985-1987, he was a staff member of
the Senate Special Committee on Aging.

In California, Benson served as California's state long-term care
ombudsman for the California Department of Aging, 1979-1985.  In
other California jobs he was director of the Sacramento senior
Citizens Center, director of the Sacramento Retired Senior
Volunteer program, was a consultant on aging with the California
Department of Aging; participated in a demonstration project to
train lay persons to address legal-related problems of the elderly;
and served as a consultant to various agencies and organizations.

Benson received his bachelor's degree in government and journalism
from California State University at Sacramento in 1973.  Before
taking his new position with HHS, David Garrison had served since
1981 as director of the urban center, College of Urban Affairs,
Cleveland State University.  At the university, he was also an
associate professor in the department of urban studies and an
associate in law in the Cleveland Marshall School of Law.

Garrison was born in New York City and reared in Lincoln, Mass.,
outside of Boston.  He received his bachelor's degree in political
science from Amherst College, 1965; the JD from George Washington
University National Law Center, 1968; and the LLM, from the Urban
Law Institute, George Washington University National Law Center,
1970.

Between March 1977 and February 1981, Garrison was with the
Department of Housing and Urban Development as deputy assistant
secretary for policy development and general deputy assistant
secretary.

During 1975-1977, he was a budget analyst with the House Committee
on the Budget.  From 1970-1975, he served as legislative counsel in
the Office of Federal Relations, National League of Cities and
United States Conference of Mayors.

Other positions he held, all in Washington, included assistant
director, Center City Community Corp., 1969-1970; VISTA volunteer
attorney, Urban Law Institute and Neighborhood Legal Services
Program, 1968-1969; and staff assistant to Congressman F. Bradford
Morse, 1965-1968.

His affiliations in Cleveland included membership on the Advisory
Committee on Urban University Programs for the Ohio Board of
Regents; member and past chairman of the Cleveland Heights City
Planning Commission; and chairman of the Liberty Bell Award
Committee of the Cleveland Bar Association.

Garrison's wife Lori also is an attorney.  They have two children.