About EPIEPI has focused, and continues to focus unrelentingly and unfailingly, on the dynamics of wage stagnation for most workers and rising inequality and on what can be done to halt and reverse these trends.EPI was the first—and remains the premier—think tank to focus on the economic condition of low- and middle-income Americans and their families. Its encyclopedic State of Working America, published 12 times since 1988, and now for the first time in complete electronic form as well, is stocked in university libraries around the world. In the 1990s EPI researchers were the first to illustrate the decoupling of productivity and pay in the U.S. economy, a trend now widely recognized as a key element of growing economic inequality. EPI changed the nature of public debates over international trade agreements by underscoring their effects on workers and the importance of putting enforceable labor standards in trade agreements.Economic Policy InstituteEPI_3ca1a4a0-dce6-11ea-a678-c0d32c83ea00The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank created in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions... EPI is a 501(c)(3) corporation.WorkersEPI believes every working person deserves a good job with fair pay, affordable health care, and retirement security.EPI StaffOur broad network of researchers and scholars has made EPI the authoritative source on the economic well-being of working Americans. EPI’s staff includes nine Ph.D.-level economists and a number of other experts with advanced degrees in sociology, public policy, and law. Our staff also includes ten policy analysts and research assistants, and a full communications and outreach staff.Thea LeePresidentJohn SchmittVice PresidentAntanina RicceriExecutive AssistantJosh BivensDirector of ResearchJasper CoxDirector of Finance and AdministrationArlene WilliamsDirector of Development and Strategic PlanningHeidi ShierholzSenior Economist and Director of PolicyEve TahminciogluDirector of CommunicationsShanele ThompsonDirector of Human ResourcesNaomi WalkerDirector of EARNValerie WilsonDirector, Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the EconomyDavid CooperSenior Economic Analyst and Deputy Director of EARNDaniel CostaDirector of Immigration Law and Policy ResearchJin DaiProgrammerEmma GarcíaEconomistElise GouldSenior EconomistJori KandraResearch AssistantMelat KassaResearch AssistantLawrence MishelDistinguished FellowZane MokhiberData AnalystMonique MorrisseyEconomistDaniel PerezResearch AssistantRobert E. ScottSenior Economist and Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy ResearchJhacova WilliamsEconomistJulia WolfeState Economic AnalystBen ZippererEconomistCeline McNicholasDirector of Government Affairs | Labor CounselMargaret PoydockPolicy AssociateKayla BladoDirector of Media RelationsLora EngdahlPublications DirectorKrista FariesEditorKirstyn FloodCommunications CoordinatorKyle JenningsWeb DeveloperNick KauzlarichMedia Relations SpecialistAnu KumarOmidyar Network Communications FellowJohn Carlo MandapatDesignerEric ShansbyOnline and Creative DirectorJames TatumSenior Development Officer & Manager of Donor RelationsDan CookeSenior Development Officer, Major Gifts and Foundation RelationsRami JacksonDevelopment AssociateShanele ThompsonDirector of Human ResourcesShurron DempseyOperations ManagerSara KraussAdministrative Support AssociateMasha LusekoAccountantDavid CooperSenior Economic Analyst and Deputy Director of EARNAnu KumarOmidyar Network Communications FellowJaimie WorkerSenior State Policy CoordinatorJulia WolfeState Economic AnalystEPI Board of DirectorsRichard L. TrumkaChairman -- AFL-CIO -- Trumka was elected president of the AFL-CIO in September 2009. He had served as the AFL’s Secretary-Treasurer since 1995. In 1982, he was elected president of the United Mine Workers.Julianne MalveauxSecretary-Treasurer -- Bennett College -- Malveaux is president emerita of Bennett College, where she served as its 15th president. She has worked as an economist, author, and commentator, and is the founder of Last Word Productions. She is currently the president and founder of Economic Education in Washington, D.C. Her most recent book, Are We Better Off? Race, Obama and Public Policy, was published in 2016. She is an outspoken activist for issues surrounding race, culture, gender, and their economic impacts.Gary BassExecutive Committee Member -- The Bauman Foundation -- Bass became the executive director of the Bauman Foundation in July 2011. In 1983, he founded OMB Watch, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that promotes greater government accountability and transparency and increased citizen participation in public policy decisions, and he directed it until moving to the Bauman Foundation. In addition to his role at the Bauman Foundation, Bass is an affiliated professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, where he teaches about nonprofit advocacy and social change. Bass received a combined doctorate in psychology and education from The University of Michigan.Nina BanksBucknell University -- Nina Banks is associate professor of economics and an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Women’s & Gender Studies and in Africana Studies, a program that she co-developed with Carmen Gillespie. Her publications focus on social reproduction and migrant households, black women and work, and the economics of the first black economist in the U.S.—Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander. Professor Banks teaches courses on U.S. women’s economic history, gender and migration, and poverty in the U.S., and she is the inaugural director of the Bucknell-in-Ghana study abroad program.Tom ConwayExecutive Committee Member -- United Steelworkers -- Thomas M. Conway was elected by the International Executive Board to succeed retiring International President Leo W. Gerard as leader of the United Steelworkers (USW), the largest industrial union in North America, effective July 15, 2019. Previously, Conway served as International Vice President (Administration), a position he held since March 1, 2005. Conway was re-elected four times, most recently in November 2017.Héctor R. Cordero-GuzmánBaruch College, City University of New York -- Héctor R. Cordero-Guzmán is a professor at the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College of the City University of New York (CUNY). He is also a professor in the Ph.D. programs in sociology and in urban education at the CUNY Graduate School and University Center. Prior to joining the School of Public Affairs at CUNY, Cordero-Guzmán was a program officer in the Economic Development and the Quality Employment units of the Asset Building and Community Development Program at the Ford Foundation.Ernesto J. Cortés, Jr.West / Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation -- Cortés is the national co-director of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), a nonprofit organization founded in Chicago by the late Saul Alinsky. Cortés’ affiliation with the IAF officially began in 1972 when he attended the organization’s organizer training institute in Chicago. In the following years Cortés founded community-based organizations in cities throughout Texas and the southwest that are now called the Southwest IAF Network. Cortés has received numerous awards and fellowships for his work, including most recently the H. J. Heinz Award for Public Policy and an appointment as a Martin Luther King Visiting Professor at MIT in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning.Keith EllisonAttorney General of Minnesota -- Keith Ellison was sworn in as Minnesota’s 30th attorney general on January 7, 2019. From 2007 to 2019, he represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he championed consumer, worker, environmental, and civil- and human-rights protections for Minnesotans. He served for 12 years on the House Financial Services Committee, where he helped oversee the financial services industry, the housing industry, and Wall Street, among others. Before being elected to Congress, Attorney General Ellison served four years in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Prior to entering elective office, he spent 16 years as an attorney specializing in civil rights and defense law. Ellison received his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1990.Lily Eskelsen GarcíaNational Education Association -- García is president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest labor union. She is the first Latina to lead the NEA and one of the country’s most influential Hispanic educators. Prior to assuming the top post, she served two terms as NEA vice president and secretary-treasurer. She became a vocal critic of the standardized testing movement and raised alarms on the outsize role that testing is playing in public education.Jeff FauxExecutive Committee Member -- Economic Policy Institute -- As the founding president of EPI in 1986, Faux has been credited with making EPI the country’s leading think tank on the political and economic issues faced by American workers. He has also worked as an economist for the departments of State, Labor, and Commerce. (EPI publications by Jeff Faux.)Rory GambleUnited Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America -- Rory Gamble was elected a vice president of the UAW in June 2018, at the union’s 37th Constitutional Convention in Detroit. Gamble previously served three terms as director of UAW Region 1A. On November 3, 2019, he assumed the position of UAW Acting President, as appointed by the International Executive Board. On December 5, 2019, the UAW International Executive Board named Acting President Rory Gamble to fill the vacancy of President until the June 2022 Convention. He maintains his position as UAW Ford Vice President.Jose GarzaWorkers Defense Project -- Jose Garza is the Executive Director of the Workers Defense Project. He is a San Antonio, Texas native who has spent his career fighting for working people, lifting up low-income communities, and protecting immigrants. He began his career practicing law on the border, first as an assistant public defender at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. and later as an assistant federal public defender in the Western District of Texas.Teresa GhilarducciExecutive Committee Member -- New School for Social Research -- Ghilarducci is a labor economist and nationally recognized expert in retirement security. She serves as the Bernard and Irene Schwartz Chair of Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research and director of the Retirement Equity Lab (ReLab). Her 2015 book, How to Retire With Enough Money: And How To Know What is Enough, provides a commonsense blueprint to successfully save for retirement. Ghilarducci’s 2008 book, When I’m Sixty-Four: The Plot Against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them, investigates the effect of pension losses on older Americans and proposes necessary reforms to ensure retirement security. (EPI publications by Teresa Ghilarducci.)Jacob HackerYale University -- Hacker is the director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, and Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale University. He is also a board member of The Century Foundation and The American Prospect, a member of the Scholars Strategy Network steering committee, and a former Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows. An expert on the politics of U.S. health and social policy, he is author of several books about economic insecurity and the need for health care reform, including Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class.Susan HelperCase Western Reserve University -- Chief Economist Susan Helper is on leave from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, where she is the Frank Tracy Carlton Professor of Economics. She was formerly the chair of the Economics Department, and has been a visiting scholar at University of Oxford, the University of California (Berkeley), Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her research focuses on the globalization of supply chains, and on how U.S. manufacturing might be revitalized.Mary Kay HenryExecutive Committee Member -- Service Employees International Union -- Mary Kay Henry is international president of Service Employees International Union, where she has worked since 1979. She was elected to the SEIU International Executive Board in 1996. After her election as an SEIU international executive vice president in 2004, she led efforts to build a stronger voice for health care workers.Robert JohnsonInstitute for New Economic Thinking/Roosevelt Institute -- Johnson is president of the Institute for New Economic Thinking and a senior fellow and director of the Global Finance Project for the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in New York. He recently served on the United Nations Commission of Experts on International Monetary Reform. Previously he served as managing director at Soros Fund Management and Bankers Trust Company, and as chief economist of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and senior economist of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee.Robert KuttnerExecutive Committee Member -- The American Prospect/Demos -- Kuttner is the co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect and a professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School. He is also a co-founder of the Economic Policy Institute. In 1996 he was the winner of the Paul Hoffman Award for Human Development of the United Nations, for his work on the relationship of economic efficiency to social equality. He regularly writes on political and economic issues. (EPI publications by Robert Kuttner.)Thea LeeEconomic Policy Institute -- Thea Lee has been president of the Economic Policy Institute since 2018. Lee has a longstanding relationship with EPI, having begun her career here as an international trade economist in the 1990s. She has spent her career advocating on behalf of working families in national policy debates on issues such as wage inequality, workers’ rights, and fair trade. She is co-author of The Field Guide to the Global Economy, published by The New Press, and has authored numerous publications on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the impact of international trade on U.S. wage inequality, and the domestic steel and textile industries.Wilma LiebmanLiebman is serving as a visiting distinguished scholar, 2015–16, at Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations. She served as chair of the National Labor Relations Board from January 2009 to August 2011. She was first appointed to the NLRB by President Clinton and was reappointed by President Bush. Before joining the NLRB, Liebman served as deputy director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Prior positions include labor counsel for the Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen, legal counsel to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and staff attorney with the NLRB.Lisa M. LynchBrandeis University -- Lisa M. Lynch is Provost and the Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Lynch served as chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor from 1995 to 1997 and has been a faculty member at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, the Sloan School of Management at MIT, Ohio State University, and the University of Bristol. She has published extensively on how young adults transition from school to work, the returns to public and private investments in training in the United States and in other countries, and the role of organizational innovation for productivity and wages.Robert Martinez, Jr.International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers -- Robert Martinez Jr. currently serves as the International President of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). Previous to his installment as International President, Martinez served as IAM Headquarters General Vice President (GVP) with responsibility for IAM Headquarters and the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center. A United States Navy veteran, Martinez began his IAM career in 1980 as a member of Local 776A in Fort Worth, Texas, after being hired as an Aircraft Assembler at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth Division.Debra NessNational Partnership for Women and Families -- Ness is the president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. Before assuming her current role, she served as executive vice president for 13 years. Ness has played a leading role in positioning the organization as a powerful and effective advocate for today’s women and families, and she serves on the boards of some of the most influential organizations working to improve health care. Previously, Ness worked in numerous capacities at the Service Employees International Union and the National Abortion Rights Action League.Manuel PastorUniversity of Southern California -- Pastor is a professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, where he directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII). Pastor has co-authored many books, including his latest volume with Chris Benner, Equity, Growth, and Community: What the Nation Can Learn from America’s Metro Areas (UC Press 2015). Pastor is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC and was awarded the Wally Marks Changemaker of the Year in 2012 from the Liberty Hill Foundation in recognition of his many research partnerships with social justice organizations.Lori J. PelletierAmerican Income Life -- Lori Pelletier resigned her position as Connecticut AFL-CIO President on November 30, 2018, to become Vice President and Executive Director with American Income Life. American Income Life (AIL) has served working class families since 1951 with life, accident, and supplemental health products to help protect members of labor unions, credit unions, associations, and their families. Pelletier’s role as Vice President with AIL will be to work with the country’s most prominent labor organizations and leaders to provide insurance options to their affiliates and members.Thomas PerezDemocratic National Committee -- Perez currently serves as chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Prior to chairing the DNC, Perez served as the 26th U.S. Secretary of Labor, fighting to protect and expand opportunities for America’s working people—from better wages and overtime pay to retirement security and collective bargaining rights.Lee SaundersExecutive Committee Member -- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees -- Saunders is president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, which represents 1.6 million members. Previously he served as secretary-treasurer. Saunders began his career with AFSCME in 1978 as a labor economist. He has served in the capacities of assistant director of research and collective bargaining services, director of community action, deputy director of organizing and field services, and executive assistant to the international president.Christopher M. SheltonCommunication Workers of America -- Christopher M. Shelton currently serves as the president of the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Previously, Shelton was vice president of CWA District 1, representing 160,000 members in more than 300 CWA locals in New Jersey, New York, and New England. Shelton started his union career when he went to work for New York Telephone in 1968 as an outside technician. He was elected a CWA Local 1101 shop steward in 1968 and served Local 1101 in various positions until December 1988 when he joined the CWA national staff.Randi WeingartenExecutive Committee Member -- American Federation of Teachers -- Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.6-million-member American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state, and federal employees; and early childhood educators. Prior to her election as AFT president in 2008, Weingarten served for 12 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2.EPI ExpertsJosh BivensDirector of Research -- Areas of expertise: • Macroeconomics • Globalization • Social insurance • Public investment -- Biography: Josh Bivens is the director of research at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). His areas of research include macroeconomics, fiscal and monetary policy, the economics of globalization, social insurance, and public investment. He frequently appears as an economics expert on news shows, including the Public Broadcasting Service’s “NewsHour,” the “Melissa Harris-Perry” show on MSNBC, WAMU’s “The Diane Rehm Show,” American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” and programs of the BBC. As a leading policy analyst, Bivens regularly testifies before the U.S. Congress on fiscal and monetary policy, the economic impact of regulations, and other issues. He has also provided analyses for the annual meeting of Project LINK of the United Nations and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Bivens is the author of Failure by Design: The Story behind America’s Broken Economy (EPI and Cornell University Press) and Everybody Wins Except for Most of Us: What Economics Really Teaches About Globalization (EPI). He is the co-author of The State of Working America, 12th Edition (EPI and Cornell University Press) and a co-editor of Good Jobs, Bad Jobs, No Jobs: Labor Markets and Informal Work in Egypt, El Salvador, India, Russia and South Africa (EPI). His academic articles have appeared in the International Review of Applied Economics, the Journal of Economic Issues and the Journal of Economic Perspectives. Bivens has also provided peer-reviewed articles to several edited collections, including The Handbook of the Political Economy of Financial Crises (Oxford University Press), Public Economics in the United States: How the Federal Government Analyzes and Influences the Economy (ABC-CLIO), and Restoring Shared Prosperity: A Policy Agenda from Leading Keynesian Economists (AFL-CIO and the Macroeconomic Policy Institute). Prior to becoming director of research, Bivens was a research economist at EPI. Before coming to EPI, he was an assistant professor of economics at Roosevelt University and provided consulting services to Oxfam America. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the New School for Social Research and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland at College Park. Education: Ph.D., Economics, New School for Social Research B.A., Economics, University of Maryland at College ParkDavid CooperSenior Economic Analyst | Deputy Director of EARN -- Areas of expertise: • Poverty • State labor markets • Economic inequality and social mobility • Minimum wage • Wage theft ^ Biography: David Cooper conducts both national and state-level research, with a focus on the minimum wage, wage theft, employment and unemployment, poverty, and wage and income trends. He also coordinates and provides technical support to the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN), a national network of over 60 state-level policy research and advocacy organizations. David’s analyses on the impact of minimum wage laws have been used by policymakers and advocates in city halls and statehouses across the country, as well as in Congress and the White House. He has testified in many states and cities on the challenges facing low-wage workers and their families, and has been interviewed and cited by numerous local and national media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and NPR. Education: Master of Public Policy, Georgetown University Bachelor of Arts, English and Government, Georgetown UniversityDaniel CostaDirector of Immigration Law and Policy Research -- Areas of expertise: • U.S. immigration law and policy • International labor migration • Farm labor • Forced migration ^ Biography: Daniel Costa is an attorney who first joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2010 and was EPI’s director of immigration law and policy research from 2013 to early 2018; he returned to this role in 2019 after serving as the California Attorney General’s senior advisor on immigration and labor. Costa’s areas of research include a wide range of labor migration issues, including governance of temporary labor migration programs, both high- and less-skilled migration, worksite enforcement, and immigrant workers’ rights, as well as farm labor, global multilateral processes related to migration, and refugee and asylum issues. Costa has testified on immigration before the U.S. Congress and state governments, been quoted and cited by many major news outlets, and appeared on radio and television news. His commentaries have appeared in publications like The New York Times, Roll Call, Fortune, La Opinión, and others, and he was named one of “20 Immigration Experts to Follow on Twitter” by ABC News. During 2019-2020 he was a visiting scholar at the University of California-Davis, School of Law, and from 2015 to 2017 he was an affiliated scholar with the University of California-Merced. Prior to his tenure at EPI, Costa worked on developing the legal and normative framework for disaster response and humanitarian relief operations with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, Switzerland, and completed the International Law Seminar with the UN International Law Commission. He was also a policy analyst at the Great Valley Center, a former University of California think tank, where he managed an immigrant integration program. Education: LL.M., International and Comparative Law, Georgetown University Law Center J.D., International Law, Syracuse University B.A., Rhetoric, University of California, BerkeleyJeff FauxFounding President and Distinguished Fellow -- Areas of expertise: • Political economy • International economics • Macroeconomics • Labor markets • Unions ^ Biography: Jeff Faux founded the Economic Policy Institute in 1986, and made it into the country’s leading think tank on the political and economic issues that working Americans face. In 2003, he stepped down as EPI’s president, and is now a Distinguished Fellow of the Institute. Faux has studied, taught and published on a wide variety of economic and political issues from the global economy to neighborhood community development, from monetary policy to political strategy. He is the author or co-author of six books, the latest being, The Servant Economy: Where America’s Elite is Sending the Middle Class (Wiley, 2012). Faux worked as an economist in the Departments of State, Labor and Commerce, a manager in the finance industry, a blueberry farmer, and a member of a municipal planning board in the State of Maine. He’s been an advisor to governments, trade unions, businesses, political campaigns, and community organizations. He’s lectured in Europe, Latin America, and Asia, sits on the boards of several of non-profit institutions and magazines, has written articles for numerous newspapers, magazines and journals, has testified before Congress, and has appeared many times on television and radio. Education: Queens College, George Washington University, and Harvard University Honorary Degree, University of New EnglandEmma GarcíaEconomist -- Areas of expertise: • Economics of education • Education policy • Quantitative methods • Program evaluation ^ Biography: Emma García joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2013. She specializes in the economics of education and education policy. Her areas of research include analysis of the production of education (cognitive and noncognitive skills); returns to education; evaluation of educational interventions (early childhood, K–12, and higher education); educational equity; teacher labor markets; human development; international comparative education; and cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis in education. Prior to joining EPI, García held research positions at the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies of Education, the Campaign for Educational Equity, the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, and the Community College Research Center, all at Teachers College, Columbia University; and did consulting work for MDRC, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the National Institute for Early Education Research. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University. Education: Ph.D., Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University M.A., Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences, Columbia University B.A., Economics, Pompeu Fabra UniversityTerri GersteinSenior Fellow -- Areas of expertise: • Workers’ rights • Workplace law enforcement ^ Biography: Terri Gerstein is the director of the State and Local Enforcement Project at the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program and a senior fellow at the Economic Policy Institute. She recently completed an Open Society Foundations Leadership in Government Fellowship. Previously, she was the Labor Bureau chief in the New York State Attorney General’s Office and a deputy commissioner in the New York State Department of Labor. Prior to her government service, Gerstein worked at nonprofit organizations in Miami, representing immigrant workers and domestic violence survivors, and co-hosting a Spanish-language radio show on workers’ rights. She was a law clerk to the Honorable Mary Johnson Lowe in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Her writing on workers’ rights issues has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate, The Guardian, The American Prospect, The Hill, The Nation, and the New York Daily News. Education: A.B., Harvard College J.D., Harvard Law SchoolElise GouldSenior Economist -- Areas of expertise: • Wages • Poverty • Jobs • Health care • Economic mobility Biography Elise Gould joined EPI in 2003. Her research areas include wages, poverty, inequality, economic mobility and health care. She is a co-author of The State of Working America, 12th Edition. Gould authored a chapter on health in The State of Working America 2008/09; co-authored a book on health insurance coverage in retirement; published in venues such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, Challenge Magazine, and Tax Notes; and written for academic journals including Health Economics, Health Affairs, Journal of Aging and Social Policy, Risk Management & Insurance Review, Environmental Health Perspectives, and International Journal of Health Services. Gould has been quoted by a variety of news sources, including Bloomberg, NPR, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and her opinions have appeared on the op-ed pages of USA Today and The Detroit News. She has testified before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, Maryland Senate Finance and House Economic Matters committees, the New York City Council, and the District of Columbia Council. Education: Ph.D., Economics, University of Wisconsin at Madison Master of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin B.A., Sociology, Wesleyan UniversityThea M. LeePresident -- Biography: Thea Lee is the president of the Economic Policy Institute. Lee has a longstanding relationship with EPI, having begun her career here as an international trade economist in the 1990s. Lee came to EPI from the AFL-CIO, a voluntary federation of 56 national and international labor unions that represent 12.5 million working men and women, where she served as deputy chief of staff. At the AFL-CIO, she developed a track record of conducting rigorous economic research, overseeing an ambitious policy agenda, and helping steer a large organization through change. Lee has spent her career advocating on behalf of working families in national policy debates on issues such as wage inequality, workers’ rights, and fair trade. She is co-author of The Field Guide to the Global Economy, published by The New Press, and has authored numerous publications on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the impact of international trade on U.S. wage inequality, and the domestic steel and textile industries. Lee has been a voice for workers in testimony before congressional committees and in television and radio appearances—including on PBS NewsHour, Good Morning America, NPR’s All Things Considered and Marketplace, Fox Business, and the PBS documentary Commanding Heights. She has also served on the State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy, the Export-Import Bank Advisory Committee, and the Board of Directors of the National Bureau of Economic Research, among others. She currently serves on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, to which she was appointed by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, as well as the boards of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, the Center for International Policy, the Coalition for Human Needs, and the Progressive Talent Pipeline advisory council. She is also a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies Trade Commission on Affirming American Leadership. Lee holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Smith College. Lee lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and dog. She has one daughter, who teaches middle school in Brooklyn. She likes to cook, read, and travel.Celine McNicholasDirector of Government Affairs | Labor Counsel -- Areas of expertise: • Labor and employment law • Collective bargaining • Union organizing • Regulatory policy ^ Biography: Celine McNicholas is EPI’s director of government affairs and labor counsel. An attorney, her current areas of work include a wide range of workers’ rights issues, including labor and employment law, collective bargaining, and union organizing. She was a core member of EPI’s Perkins Project on Worker Rights and Wages Policy Watch, an online resource that tracked federal actions affecting working people and the economy during the first year of the Trump administration. McNicholas continues to monitor and analyze the Trump administration’s labor and employment policies. Before joining EPI in 2017, McNicholas served as director of congressional and public affairs and as special counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). At the NLRB, she counseled presidential nominees to the board and the general counsel throughout the Senate confirmation process. In addition, McNicholas was responsible for the agency’s congressional affairs work including all agency oversight matters. From 2009 to 2013, she served as senior labor counsel to Ranking Member George Miller (D-Calif.) for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce. She advised Rep. Miller on legal issues surrounding the Fair Labor Standards Act, National Labor Relations Act, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Davis Bacon Act, Service Contract Act, and project labor agreements. Before working for the committee, McNicholas was a legislative staffer for both U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak from Pennsylvania and U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas from Massachusetts. A native of Philadelphia, McNicholas is an avid baseball fan, amateur baseball historian, and runner. Education: J.D., Villanova University School of Law B.A., Mount Holyoke CollegeLawrence MishelDistinguished Fellow -- Areas of expertise: • Education • Labor markets • Income distribution and poverty • Industrial relations • Technology and productivity • Wages • Unions and collective bargaining ^ Biography: Lawrence Mishel is a distinguished fellow at EPI after serving as president from 2002–2017. Mishel first joined EPI in 1987 as research director. In the more than three decades he has been with EPI, Mishel has helped build it into the nation’s premier research organization focused on U.S. living standards and labor markets. Mishel has co-authored all 12 editions of The State of Working America, a book that former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich says “remains unrivaled as the most-trusted source for a comprehensive understanding of how working Americans and their families are faring in today’s economy.” The State of Working America has been an invaluable resource in newsrooms, classrooms, and halls of power since 1988. Mishel’s primary research interests include labor markets and education. He has written extensively on wage and job quality trends in the United States. He co-edited a research volume on emerging labor market institutions for the National Bureau of Economic Research. His 1988 research on manufacturing data led the U.S. Commerce Department to revise the way it measures U.S. manufacturing output. This new measure helped accurately document the long decline in U.S. manufacturing, a trend that is now widely understood. Mishel leads EPI’s education research program. He has written extensively on charter schools, teacher pay, and high school graduation rates. His research with Joydeep Roy has shown that high school graduation rates are significantly higher than the rates that are often cited by education analysts. This work has enabled policymakers to more accurately assess the state of U.S. public education. Mishel has testified before Congress on the importance of promoting policies that reduce inequality, generate jobs, improve the lives of American workers and their families, and strengthen the middle class. He also serves frequently as a commentator in print, broadcast, and online media. Prior to joining EPI, Mishel held a number of research roles, including a fellowship at the U.S. Department of Labor. He also served as a faculty member at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Mishel also served as an economist for several unions, including the Auto Workers, Steelworkers, AFSCME, and the Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO. Mishel holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Originally from Philadelphia, he has four children and two grandsons and lives with his wife and his dog, Bella, in Washington, D.C. Education: Ph.D., Economics, University of Wisconsin at Madison M.A., Economics, American University B.S., Pennsylvania State UniversityZane MokhiberData Analyst -- Biography: Zane Mokhiber joined EPI in 2016. As a data analyst, he supports the research of EPI’s economists on topics such as wages, labor markets, inequality, trade and manufacturing, and economic growth. Prior to joining EPI, Zane worked for the Worker Institute at Cornell University as an undergraduate research fellow. Education: B.S., Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University ILR SchoolMonique MorrisseyEconomist -- Areas of expertise: • Retirement security • Labor markets • Financial markets ^ Biography: Monique Morrissey joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2006. Her areas of interest include Social Security, pensions and other employee benefits, household savings, tax expenditures, older workers, public employees, unions, and collective bargaining, Medicare, institutional investors, corporate governance, executive compensation, financial markets, and the Federal Reserve. She is active in coalition efforts to reform our private retirement system to ensure an adequate, secure, and affordable retirement for all workers. She is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. Prior to joining EPI, Morrissey worked at the AFL-CIO Office of Investment and the Financial Markets Center. Education: Ph.D., Economics, American University B.A., Political Science and History, Swarthmore CollegeMargaret PoydockPolicy Associate -- Biography: Margaret Poydock joined EPI in 2016. As the policy associate, she assists the policy team in managing EPI’s legislative and policy initiatives to build a more just economy. Previously, Poydock was EPI’s communications assistant. In that position, she provided support for the media relations, publications, and web departments. Education: B.S., Political Communication, Emerson CollegeLynn RhinehartSenior Fellow -- Areas of expertise: • Labor and employment policy • Unions • Collective bargaining ^ Biography: Lynn Rhinehart is a senior fellow at EPI, where she works on labor and employment policy, with a focus on collective bargaining. Rhinehart was general counsel of the AFL-CIO from 2009 until July 2018. She joined the legal staff at the AFL-CIO as an associate general counsel in 1996. While at the AFL-CIO, she was the executive director of the Lawyers Coordinating Committee (LCC), a national organization of 2,000 union-side labor lawyers in law firms and legal departments. Prior to joining the AFL-CIO, Rhinehart clerked for the Honorable Joyce Hens Green of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor. Rhinehart has authored publications on enforcement of federal workplace safety laws, the contingent workforce, and other topics. She serves on the board of directors of the National Employment Law Project and the advisory board of the Harvard Law School “Clean Slate” labor law project. Education: J.D., Georgetown University Law Center B.A., University of MichiganRichard RothsteinDistinguished Fellow -- Areas of expertise: Education • Race and ethnicity ^ Biography: Richard Rothstein is a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and a Senior Fellow (emeritus) at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He is the author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, which recovers a forgotten history of how federal, state, and local policy explicitly segregated metropolitan areas nationwide, creating racially homogenous neighborhoods in patterns that violate the Constitution and require remediation. He is also the author of many other articles and books on race and education, which can be found on his web page at the Economic Policy Institute: http://www.epi.org/people/richard-rothstein/. Previous influential books include Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black–White Achievement Gap and Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right. He welcomes questions and comments at riroth@epi.org. Highlighted media: Richard Rothstein discusses The Color of Law on Fresh Air Richard Rothstein in conversation with Ta-Nehisi CoatesJohn SchmittVice President -- Areas of expertise: • Economic inequality • Economic mobility • Minimum wage • Unemployment • Unions • Work–life balance • Discrimination • International labor market comparisons ^ Biography John Schmitt became EPI’s vice president on January 1, 2018, returning to where he started his career as an economist from 1995 to 2001. Following his earlier tenure at EPI, he spent 10 years as a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and, most recently, was the research director at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Over the last two decades, he has also worked as a consultant to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Commission, the Solidarity Center, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and other national and international organizations. Schmitt has published peer-reviewed research on unemployment, wage inequality, the minimum wage, unionization, immigration, technology, racial inequality, mass incarceration, and other topics. His popular writing has appeared in The American Prospect, Boston Review, BusinessWeek.com, Challenge, Democracy, Dissent, The Guardian, The International Herald Tribune, Salon, The Washington Post, and other publications. His research has been cited widely in the media including The Economist, Harper’s Magazine, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Schmitt has also given talks on economic and policy issues to government, academic, union, and general audiences throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. At EPI, Schmitt was the co-author of three editions of The State of Working America. He was also a co-editor of Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World (Russell Sage Foundation, 2010). From 1999 through 2015, he was a visiting professor in public policy at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. Before joining EPI in 1995, Schmitt was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Central America in San Salvador, El Salvador, and then spent a year working as an information officer for the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in El Salvador (ONUSAL). Education: Ph.D. and M.Sc. in economics, London School of Economics A.B. in Public and International Affairs, Princeton UniversityRobert E. ScottSenior Economist and Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research -- Areas of expertise: • International economics • Trade and manufacturing policies • Global finance • Foreign investment and “insourcing” • Industry studies ^ Biography: Robert E. Scott joined the Economic Policy Institute in 1997 and is currently director of trade and manufacturing policy research. His areas of research include international economics, the impacts of trade and manufacturing policies on working people in the United States and other countries, the economic impacts of foreign investment, and the macroeconomic effects of trade and capital flows and exchange rates. He has published widely in academic journals and the popular press, including in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, the International Review of Applied Economics, and the Stanford Law and Policy Review, the Detroit News, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, USA Today, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Times, The Hill, and other newspapers. He has also provided economic commentary for a range of electronic media, including NPR, CNN, Bloomberg, and the BBC. He has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. Highlighted work: Elizabeth Warren’s Radical Plan to Fix the Dollar • The New York Times • June 16, 2019 GM cutbacks a result of overvalued dollar • The Detroit News • December 1, 2018 How Trump Should Address Unfair Trade With China • New York Times • October 23, 2018 Don’t Sweat Trump’s Tariffs • U.S. News & World Report • March 5, 2018 ^ Education: Ph.D., Economics, University of California at Berkeley B.S., Engineering, Washington University (St. Louis)Heidi ShierholzSenior Economist and Director of Policy -- Areas of expertise: • Labor policy • Wage inequality • Unemployment insurance • Long-term unemployment • Labor force participation • Minimum wage • Overtime ^ Biography: Heidi Shierholz leads EPI’s policy team, which monitors wage and employment policies coming out of Congress and the administration and advances a worker-first policy agenda. Throughout her career, Shierholz has educated policymakers, journalists, and the public about the effects of economic policies on low- and middle-income families. Her research and insights on labor and employment policy, the effects of automation on the labor market, wage stagnation, inequality, and many other topics routinely shape policy proposals and inform economic news coverage. Her work has been cited in many broadcast, radio, print, and online news outlets, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and HuffPost. Shierholz was an economist at EPI from 2007 to 2014 and she rejoined EPI in 2017. From 2014 to 2017, she served the Obama administration as chief economist at the Department of Labor. She worked with Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and other department leaders to develop and execute initiatives to boost workers’ rights, wages, and benefits; to protect workers’ savings, and to increase workplace safety. She also provided economic analysis on the wages of jobs added during the recovery, brought heightened attention to the need for paid family leave, and fought for new regulations guaranteeing overtime pay for millions of workers and paid sick leave for over a million federal contract workers. Prior to joining EPI in 2007, Shierholz was assistant professor of economics at the University of Toronto. Shierholz commutes to work on a steel-framed bicycle and in her—limited—free time tends to her beehives. Education: Ph.D., Economics, University of Michigan M.A., Economics, University of Michigan M.S., Statistics, Iowa State University B.A., Mathematics, Grinnell CollegeNaomi WalkerDirector of EARN -- Biography: Naomi Walker joined EPI in 2018 as director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN), a national network of more than 60 state-level policy research and advocacy organizations coordinated by EPI. Prior to joining EPI, Naomi Walker served as assistant to the president at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the nation’s largest and fastest-growing public services employees union, with more than 1.6 million active and retired members. In her role on the executive team of the union, she was responsible for coordinating AFSCME’s partnerships with allies and coalitions in order to build power for working families. Prior to joining AFSCME in 2012, Walker served as director of state government relations and deputy director of the government affairs department for the AFL-CIO, where she worked with national unions, state federations, state legislators, and allies to coordinate state legislative campaigns around the country, providing guidance on strategy, message, member mobilization, and research, as well as writing model legislation. Walker has coordinated state issue campaigns on a variety of issues, including fighting so-called “right-to-work” legislation and attacks on working families; exposing profitable corporations like Walmart that shift their health care costs onto state taxpayers; stopping the export of American jobs; and providing affordable health care for working families. While at the AFL-CIO, Walker also served as assistant director of the AFL-CIO politics and field department, leading labor’s field campaign for the 2006 election cycle. She managed staff across the country as they coordinated labor’s political program to educate, mobilize, and turn out union members to vote. In 2009, Walker was appointed associate deputy secretary of labor under the Obama administration, serving as a liaison between the Department of Labor and the labor movement before she rejoined the AFL-CIO in 2010. Before joining the AFL-CIO in 1997, Walker served as field director of the Preamble Center for Public Policy, where she helped coordinate both press and field work on progressive policy issues like corporate accountability and fair trade. From 1993 until 1996, she was the Midwest regional organizer for the Children’s Defense Fund. Education: B.A., Public Policy Studies, Duke UniversityJhacova WilliamsEconomist -- Areas of expertise: • Applied microeconomics • Culture and economics • Political economy ^ Biography: Jhacova Williams is an economist for EPI’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE). In this capacity, she explores the role of structural racism in shaping racial economic disparities in labor markets, housing, criminal justice, higher education, and other areas that have a direct impact on economic outcomes. Williams’ research has focused on Southern culture and the extent to which historical events have impacted the political behavior and economic outcomes of Southern blacks. Prior to joining EPI, Williams served as an assistant professor at Clemson University and worked as a mathematics lab director and instructor at Xavier University of Louisiana. Education: Ph.D., Economics, Louisiana State University M.S., Applied Mathematics, University of Maryland at College Park B.S., Mathematics, Xavier University of LouisianaValerie WilsonDirector, Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy -- Biography: Valerie Rawlston Wilson is director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE), a nationally recognized source for expert reports and policy analyses on the economic condition of America’s people of color. Prior to joining EPI, Wilson was an economist and vice president of research at the National Urban League Washington Bureau, where she was responsible for planning and directing the bureau’s research agenda. She has written extensively on various issues impacting economic inequality in the United States—including employment and training, income and wealth disparities, access to higher education, and social insurance—and has also appeared in print, television, and radio media. In 2010, through the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, she was selected to deliver the keynote address at an event on Minority Economic Empowerment at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway. In 2011, Wilson served on a National Academies Panel on Measuring and Collecting Pay Information from U.S. Employers by Gender, Race, and National Origin. Education: Ph.D., Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillJulia WolfeState Economic Analyst -- Biography: Julia Wolfe joined the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) team at EPI as an economic analyst in 2019. In addition to conducting national and state-level research on labor market trends, inequality, and collective bargaining, she provides technical support to the state-level policy research and advocacy organizations that make up EARN. Julia first joined EPI as a research assistant in 2017. Prior to joining EPI, Julia worked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics as the retail and manufacturing employment analyst for the Current Employment Statistics program. Education: B.A., Political Science and International Development, Truman State UniversityJaimie WorkerSenior State Policy Coordinator -- Biography: Jaimie K. Worker is the senior state policy coordinator for the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) at EPI. She is committed to ensuring that racial and gender equity is a public policy priority and that the leaders of communities impacted by structural racism and oppression are key collaborators in developing public policy. Prior to joining EPI, Worker was a senior policy analyst at Community Change, where for more than six years she worked on racial and economic justice campaigns focused on jobs and public investment in partnership with grassroots organizations. Previously, she worked with the New Organizing Institute, as well as the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Michigan, supporting workplace organizing and policy campaigns to win improved working conditions in the restaurant industry. Worker is the proud daughter of immigrants and hails from Detroit, Michigan. Education: B.A., Sociology, University of Michigan M.S.W., University of Michigan School of Social WorkBen ZippererEconomist -- Biography: Ben Zipperer joined the Economic Policy Institute in 2016. His areas of expertise include the minimum wage, inequality, and low-wage labor markets. He has published research in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review and has been quoted in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and the BBC. Prior to joining EPI, Ben was research economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. He is a senior research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and a research associate at the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics at the University of California, Berkeley. Education: Ph.D., Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst B.S., Mathematics, University of Georgia, AthensEPI Research AssociatesSylvia AllegrettoEileen AppelbaumAlgernon AustinDean BakerRosemary BattDale BelmanPeter BergRobert A. BleckerMartin CarnoyRobert CherrySean P. CorcoranJane D’AristaJanice FineSarah GammageTeresa GhilarducciAmy K. GlasmeierLonnie GoldenUsha C. V. HaleyDoug HarrisOwen E. HerrnstadtRon HiraThomas L. HungerfordJeffrey KeefeGordon LaferLisa M. LynchRobert G. LynchAnn MarkusenLeila MorsyJoseph PerskyRobert ReichJennifer King RiceJoel RogersElliott D. SclarIsaac ShapiroMark SimonPaula B. Voos Mildred WarnerElaine WeissChristian E. WellerJeffrey WengerWim WiewelBroadly shared prosperity and opportunity_3ca1a676-dce6-11ea-a678-c0d32c83ea00To inform and empower individuals to seek solutions that ensure broadly shared prosperity and opportunity._3ca1a96e-dce6-11ea-a678-c0d32c83ea00ProsperityOpportunityNonpartisanshipImprovementHelping Working People -- Economic policy should focus on improving conditions for working people.TruthTruth and Accuracy Matter -- EPI research should be honest and rigorous.AccuracyDignityDignified, Remunerative Work -- People must be provided with the capacity and opportunity for dignified, remunerative work for personal as well as societal benefit.RemunerationLaborStrong, Effective Labor Movement -- A strong, effective labor movement is essential for democracy and to ensure an equitable sharing of income and wealth.DemocracyEquityEfficiencyGovernment for the People -- Government should set standards and rules for markets, and should ensure the efficient provision of public goods and investments.ReliabilityEPI’s research is cutting-edge, original, and reliable, and it spans a broad range of economic issues.TrustEPI analyses are a trusted resource for policymakers, those in the media, national progressive advocacy organizations, and state research organizations.ObjectivityEPI conducts original research according to rigorous standards of objectivity and, as a result, is a reliable source of information and analysis. In-house researchers maintain their standing in the academic community by publishing findings in prestigious peer-reviewed academic journals and by delivering public lectures, speeches, and testimony. Our methods for ensuring our research methodologies are exemplary and include the use of highly qualified researchers and reviews by outside experts from across the ideological spectrum.ExpertiseEPI has world-class expertise. Our team includes the best minds in economics and other disciplines.Research & AnalysisConduct research and analysis on the economic status of working America._3ca1ae1e-dce6-11ea-a678-c0d32c83ea001MediaIn a typical year, EPI is cited in the media more than 20,000 times and is mentioned and/or our staff are seen or heard by over 300 million people on television and radio.National LegislaturesState LegislaturesLocal LegislaturesEPI conducts research and analysis on the economic status of working America. -- EPI produces numerous research papers and policy analyses; sponsors conferences and seminars; briefs policymakers at all levels of government; provides technical support to national, state, and local constituency and advocacy organizations; testifies before national, state, and local legislatures; and provides information and background to the media._3ca1b0d0-dce6-11ea-a678-c0d32c83ea00PolicyPropose and assess policies to protect and improve the economic conditions of low- and middle-income workers._3ca1b30a-dce6-11ea-a678-c0d32c83ea002Low-Income WorkersWe approach all of our policy issues by documenting the experiences of low- and moderate-income workers and families and asking how public policy can and will impact jobs, economic growth, and the well-being of all Americans.Middle-Income WorkersEPI proposes public policies that protect and improve the economic conditions of low- and middle-income workers and assesses policies with respect to how they affect those workers. -- EPI’s work spans a range of economic policy issues, including education; federal budget, deficits and taxes; health; immigration; jobs, wages, and living standards; labor policy; macroeconomic performance; public investment; race, ethnicity, and the economy; regulation; retirement; and trade and globalization._3ca1b706-dce6-11ea-a678-c0d32c83ea002020-08-12https://www.epi.org/about/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net