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WASHINGTON – Lael Brainard was confirmed today by the United States Senate to serve as the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Under Secretary for International Affairs. In this role, Brainard will advance the Administration's agenda of strengthening U.S. leadership in the global economy to foster growth, create economic opportunities for Americans and address transnational economic challenges, including development, climate change, food security and financial inclusion.
Lael Brainard brings with her broad and deep experience on the most important international economic challenges facing us and the world today, said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. Treasury has benefitted enormously from Lael's guidance as a counselor to International Affairs, and we are now pleased to welcome her as Under Secretary. At this critical time for our global economic agenda, Lael's leadership will help bolster our partnerships abroad and increase economic opportunity for Americans here at home.
Lael Brainard most recently served as Vice President and Founding Director of the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution, where she held the Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in International Economics and directed the Brookings Initiative on Competitiveness. Her prior government service includes tenure as the Deputy National Economic Adviser and Deputy Assistant to the President on International Economics during the Clinton Administration, addressing challenges such as the Asian financial crisis and China's access to the World Trade Organization. She also served as the U.S. Sherpa to the G-8.
Previously, Brainard was an Associate Professor of Applied Economics at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management. Brainard also worked at McKinsey & Co. and separately on microfinance in West Africa.
Brainard received masters and doctoral degrees in Economics from Harvard University, where she was a National Science Foundation Fellow. She graduated with highest honors from Wesleyan University. She is also the recipient of a White House Fellowship and a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship.
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