WASHINGTON — The Milken Institute is expanding its Washington, D.C. office by adding three former government officials as senior fellows: Jared Bernstein, former chief economist for Vice President Joe Biden; Phillip Swagel, former assistant secretary at the Treasury Department; and Andrew von Eschenbach, former head of the FDA and National Cancer Institute.
Bernstein and Swagel will work on projects that will inform policymakers, business and labor leaders, and other stakeholders about the economic impact of policy decisions and financial reform, shaping the work of the Institute and its recently established Center for Financial Market Understanding. Von Eschenbach will help guide the Institute's work in health economics.
"We are thrilled that Jared, Phill and Andy share our dedication to identifying sustainable, economically sound solutions to the nation's and the world′s greatest challenges," said Michael Klowden, president and CEO of the Institute. "These new senior fellows will help us provide objective data and nonpartisan recommendations for creating jobs and advancing medical cures."
- Jared Bernstein was the chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, and a member of President Obama's economic team from 2009 to 2011. His areas of expertise include federal and state economic and fiscal policies, income inequality and mobility, trends in employment and earnings, international comparisons, and the analysis of financial and housing markets. He also is a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
- Phillip L. Swagel is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, where he teaches international economics and is an academic fellow at the Center for Financial Policy at the university's Robert H. Smith School of Business. Swagel was assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department from December 2006 to January 2009. In that position, he served as a member of the TARP investment committee and advised Secretary Henry Paulson on all aspects of economic policy.
- Andrew von Eschenbach is the president of Samaritan Health Initiatives. He is also a former commissioner of the FDA and former director of the National Cancer Institute. During his tenure at the FDA, von Eschenbach set out to modernize the agency, helping to design new programs to strengthen the FDA in its mission to protect and promote public health.
"Jared, Phill and Andy have been extraordinary public servants and bring deep expertise and remarkable records of accomplishment to the important work of the Milken Institute," said Bradley Belt, senior managing director and head of the Institute's Washington office. "We are privileged that they have joined the Institute and are confident that they will greatly expand our reach and impact with policymakers and other constituencies."
About the Center for Financial Market Understanding
The Center is charged with increasing policymakers' understanding of the operations of financial markets in the U.S. and worldwide, with a focus on the myriad impacts of policy decisions, both intended and not