Economic Speakers Bureau

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Economic Speakers Bureau Brings New Voices to the Economic Conversation

Seeking to expand the conversation on economic issues, the Groundwork Collaborative’s new Economic Speakers Bureau is launching today with a diverse group of experts available for comment on a variety of topics. Bureau members include former Biden Administration officials, labor law and policy experts, economists, and professors of law and public policy. They will be available to comment on a wide range of issues and add underrepresented voices and new perspectives to coverage related to business news, interest rates, the Fed, the jobs reports and other economic data, implementation of the Biden agenda, developments in Congress and the Supreme Court, the labor movement, and more. 

While these bureau members are diverse in experience and policy areas, they are all grounded in the shared understanding that the strength of the economy should be judged by the economic well-being and trajectory of workers and families. The ESB will add nuance and underrepresented voices to the economic conversation, painting a fuller picture of the economy and what can be done to support working people.

Reporters, bookers, and producers interested in learning more or speaking with a bureau member should contact [email protected]. 

Sharon Block
Harvard University Law School and former Biden White House official   

  • Professor at Harvard Law School and Executive Director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy  
  • Led Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Biden White House and served as a senior advisor to the Biden-Harris transition team
  • Former Obama White House, Department of Labor, and National Labor Relations Board
  • Areas of expertise: strikes, the labor movement, labor law and enforcement, regulation  

Michele Evermore
The Century Foundation and former U.S. Department of Labor official

  • Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation (TCF)
  • Former U.S. Department of Labor official
  • Former Senior Researcher and Policy Analyst at the National Employment Law Project
  • Areas of expertise: Unemployment Insurance, developments in labor policy, and the labor market

Angela Hanks
Demos and former U.S. Department of Labor official

  • Chief of Programs at Demos 
  • Former Acting Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration in the U.S. Department of Labor
  • Areas of expertise: the labor market and the state of the economy especially for marginalized groups

Dr. Rakeen Mabud
Groundwork Collaborative

  • Chief Economist and Managing Director of Policy and Research at the Groundwork Collaborative
  • Former board member for the National Employment Law Project (NELP)
  • Former U.S. Department of the Treasury official in the Office of Economic Policy 
  • Areas of expertise: inflation and the Fed’s response, the labor market and the impact of economic policy on women and people of color, and other issues

K. Sabeel Rahman
Brooklyn Law School and former Biden Administration official

  • Associate Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School
  • Former President of Demos and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
  • Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and New America
  • Author of Democracy Against Domination
  • Areas of expertise: the Biden agenda, industrial policy, regulation, and the Supreme Court

Kitty Richards
Former U.S. Department of the Treasury official

  • Previously led the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program in the U.S. Department of Treasury, where she was responsible for overseeing the $350 billion in funding through the American Rescue Plan
  • Former Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute
  • Areas of expertise: tax policy, IRS, and the Biden agenda

Ganesh Sitaraman
Vanderbilt University Law School

  • New York Alumni Chancellor’s Chair in Law and Director of the Program on Law and Government at Vanderbilt Law School
  • Author of The Great Democracy: How to Fix Our Politics, Unrig the Economy, and Unite America; The Public Option; The Crisis of the Middle-Class Constitution: Why Economic Inequality Threatens Our Republic; and The Counterinsurgent’s Constitution: Law in the Age of Small Wars
  • Former adviser to Elizabeth Warren, including serving as a senior adviser on her 2020 presidential campaign and her senior counsel in the Senate
  • Areas of expertise: the Supreme Court, democracy reform, antitrust, regulatory policy, and the airline industry

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About the Economic Speakers Bureau
The Economic Speakers Bureau, an initiative of the Groundwork Collaborative, includes a diverse group of experts available for comment on a variety of topics. Bureau members include former Biden Administration officials, labor law and policy experts, economists, and professors of law and public policy. They will be available to speak to a wide range of issues and add underrepresented voices and new perspectives to economic coverage. While these bureau members are diverse in experience and policy areas, they are all grounded in the shared understanding that the strength of the economy should be judged by the economic well-being and trajectory of workers and families. The Economic Speakers Bureau will add nuance and underrepresented voices to the economic conversation, painting a fuller picture of the economy and what can be done to support working people.