Aspen Economic Strategy Group welcomes seven new members
New members replace outgoing Biden-Harris administration appointees and include Atlanta Fed President & CEO Raphael Bostic and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
The Aspen Economic Strategy Group (AESG) today announces seven new members to the sixty-five member, invitation-only group made up of distinguished leaders and thinkers who share the goal of promoting evidence-based solutions to significant challenges confronting the American economy. Established in 2017, the AESG is co-chaired by Henry M. Paulson, Jr., former secretary of the U.S. Treasury and chairman of Goldman Sachs, and Erskine Bowles, former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and president of the University of North Carolina system.
The bipartisan group fosters the exchange of economic policy ideas and seeks to clarify the lines of debate on emerging economic issues while promoting bipartisan relationship building among current and future generations of policy leaders. Members are drawn from the civic, business, academic, and public sectors and share a commitment to policy making based on facts and evidence, respectful disagreement, and principled compromise.
New members include:
Raphael W. Bostic
President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Susan M. Collins
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Michigan
Michael Froman
Vice Chairman and President, Strategic Growth, Mastercard
Vickee Jordan Adams
Partner, Finsbury Glover Hering, Financial Services Co-Leader
Jacob J. Lew
Managing Partner, Lindsay Goldberg; Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Matthew J. Slaughter
The Paul Danos Dean of the Tuck School of Business; Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business, Dartmouth College
Michael R. Strain
Director, Economic Policy Studies; Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy, American Enterprise Institute
Five members recently departed to serve in the Biden-Harris administration, including Deputy Treasury Secretary nominee Adewale Adeyemo, NEC Director Brian Deese, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Jeffrey Zients, who heads the White House COVID-19 response team.
“We are thrilled to welcome these new members, who bring a wide range of expertise and experience,” said Director Melissa S. Kearney who is also an AESG member and the Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland. “There is no shortage of economic challenges facing our country. In today’s hyperpolarized political climate, the AESG’s ability to convene a bipartisan group of leaders who share a commitment to evidence-based policy solutions is rare but essential for building a stronger and more equitable economy.”
The full list of Aspen Economic Strategy Group members may be viewed here.
New Member Biographies
Raphael W. Bostic
President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
RAPHAEL W. BOSTIC is the 15th president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District covering Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. He is responsible for all of the Bank’s activities, including monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and payment services. He is also a member of the Federal Open Market Committee.
Prior to the Atlanta Fed, Bostic served as the Judith and John Bedrosian Chair in Governance and the Public Enterprise at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California (USC). His research interests include home ownership, housing finance, neighborhood change, and the role of institutions in shaping policy effectiveness. While at USC, he served as director of the master of real estate development degree program and was the founding director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast. Bostic also served as interim director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and chaired the center’s Governance, Management, and Policy Process department.
Bostic has held a number of government and non-profit leadership roles, including as assistant secretary for policy development and research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Bostic holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and a doctorate in economics from Stanford University.
Susan M. Collins
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Michigan
SUSAN M. COLLINS is provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, and is the Edward M. Gramlich Collegiate Professor of Public Policy and professor of economics. She served as the Joan and Sanford Weill dean of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy from 2007 to 2017. Dr. Collins is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Board of Directors and a board member of the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. She has served as President of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, and as chair of the American Economic Association’s Committee on the Status of Minority Groups in the Economics Profession. Prior to joining Michigan’s faculty, Dr. Collins was professor of economics at Georgetown University and senior fellow in the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution. She received a B.A. in economics in 1980 from Harvard University (summa cum laude) and a Ph.D. in economics in 1984 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Michael Froman
Vice Chairman and President, Strategic Growth, Mastercard
MIKE FROMAN serves as vice chairman and president, Strategic Growth for Mastercard. In that role he is responsible for growing strategic partnerships, scaling new business opportunities, and advancing the company’s efforts to partner with governments and other institutions to address major societal and economic issues. He and his team drive financial inclusion and inclusive growth efforts and work to develop new businesses key to the company’s strategic growth. Mike is chairman of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and is a member of the company’s management committee.
Prior to joining Mastercard, Mike was affiliated with the Council on Foreign Relations and continues to serve as a distinguished fellow. In September 2018, Mike joined the Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company.
From 2013 to 2017, Mike served as the U.S. Trade Representative, President Barack Obama’s principal advisor and negotiator on international trade and investment issues. During his tenure, Mike worked to open foreign markets for U.S. goods and services, reach landmark trade agreements and enforce the rights of American workers, farmers and firms. From 2009-2013, he served at the White House as assistant to the President and deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs.
Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Mike held several executive positions at Citigroup, including CEO of its international insurance business, COO of its alternative investments business and head of its infrastructure and sustainable development investment business. He helped shape the company’s strategy in China, India, Brazil and other emerging markets. Earlier in his career, during the Clinton Administration, he worked at the White House and the Treasury Department.
Mike received a bachelor’s degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University, a doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Vickee Jordan Adams
Partner, Finsbury Glover Hering, Financial Services Co-Leader
VICKEE JORDAN is a Partner at Finsbury Glover Hering, with decades of experience in reputation and risk management. She is co-leader of Financial Services client engagements, navigating responses to shareholder demands, investigative reporting or events associated with public offerings. Whether brand building with integrated marketing campaigns or conducting advocacy events for underserved consumer needs, Vickee’s reputation for providing wise counsel and memorable feedback is highly regarded.
Prior to joining Finsbury Glover Hering, Vickee led national media relations for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and its Consumer and Small Business Banking division. She led Consumer Lending’s Responsibility Center for the LIBOR transition and increased awareness for housing policy reform by enhancing the bank’s relationships with real estate trade groups and federal housing authorities. Her team navigated and placed numerous national media inquiries.
Previously at H&K and Ketchum, Vickee counseled financial services teams at J.P. Morgan Chase, Standard & Poor’s, Citi, AIG and The Federal Reserve, offering guidance on congressional testimony and quarterly reporting. Known for her attention to confidentiality, Vickee advised highly placed executives and offered insight into sensitive, complex transactions. As Director of Communications for Dow Jones & Company, Vickee was the spokesperson for the Wall Street Journal.
A frequent diversity and inclusion moderator or panelist, Vickee is a University of Pennsylvania graduate, and a founding member of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence and served as a board Trustee for Granite Broadcasting, WNYC and Iowa Public Radio.
Jacob J. Lew
Managing Partner, Lindsay Goldberg; Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
JACK LEW served as the 76th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2013 to 2017. Previously, he served as White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama and Director of the Office of Management and Budget in both the Obama and Clinton Administrations. He has also served as Deputy Secretary of State and as principal domestic policy advisor to House Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr, in addition to holding a variety of private sector and nonprofit roles. Jack is currently a Managing Partner at Lindsay Goldberg and a member of the faculty at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.
Matthew J. Slaughter
The Paul Danos Dean of the Tuck School of Business; Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business, Dartmouth College
MATTHEW J. SLAUGHTER is the Paul Danos Dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where in addition he is the Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a member of the academic advisory board of the International Tax Policy Forum, and an academic advisor to the McKinsey Global Institute.
From 2005 to 2007, Dean Slaughter served as a Member on the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President. In this Senate-confirmed position he held the international portfolio, advising the President, the Cabinet, and many others on issues including international trade and investment, currency and energy markets, and the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. He has also been affiliated with organizations including the Federal Reserve Board, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Congressional Budget Office, and the National Academy of Sciences.
Dean Slaughter’s area of expertise is the economics and politics of globalization. Much of his recent work has focused on policy responses to the World Financial Crisis; on the global operations of multinational firms; and on the labor-market impacts of international trade, investment, and immigration.
Michael R. Strain
Director, Economic Policy Studies; Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy, American Enterprise Institute
MICHAEL R. STRAIN is Director of Economic Policy Studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. An economist, Dr. Strain’s research focuses on labor economics, public finance, and social policy, and his papers have been published in academic and policy journals. He is the author of the recently published book, “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It),” which examines longer-term economic outcomes for workers and households. He is the editor of the book “The US Labor Market: Questions and Challenges for Public Policy” and the coeditor the book “Economic Freedom and Human Flourishing: Perspectives from Political Philosophy.” He is a research fellow with the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn. He was a member of the AEI-Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity, which published the report “Opportunity, Responsibility, and Security: A Consensus Plan for Reducing Poverty and Restoring the American Dream.” He also writes frequently for popular audiences, and his essays and op-eds have been published by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and National Review, among others. He is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A frequent guest on radio and television, Dr. Strain is regularly interviewed by broadcast news networks, including CNBC, MSNBC, and NPR. He has testified before Congress and speaks often to a variety of audiences. Before joining AEI, Strain worked at the U.S. Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Cornell, and lives in Washington.