Elizabeth Pancotti
Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative
Washington, DC
Experience
- Director of Special Initiatives at the Roosevelt Institute
- Labor Policy Director of the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Senior Budget Analyst on the Senate Budget Committee
- Policy Director at Employ America
Expertise
- U.S. economic policy
- Federal budget and fiscal policy
- Tax and revenue policy
- Trade and tariffs
- Labor
Education
- American University, BS, Economics
Recent Coverage
FEB 27, 2026
The Guardian: Trump says affordability crisis over. Voters and data disagree.
At the same time, industries that are experiencing supply chain difficulties are being squeezed, Pancotti said. She pointed to the beef industry, where lower supply in the US cattle market has forced a pivot toward imports that are being hit with tariffs. This dynamic has especially been a problem in the agricultural sector, Pancotti said. The tariff pain is exacerbated by climate change-related problems that are hitting the nation’s food growers and producers.
“I just don’t see us getting any reprieve any time soon,” Pancotti said.
FEB 13, 2026
Business Insider: The K-shaped economy is reshaping Valentine’s Day spending
Elizabeth Pancotti, the managing director of policy and advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative, said that, this Valentine’s Day, the country could see a group of high-end consumers who are “looking at their 401(k) balances and their brokerages, and they’re seeing stock prices up, and they feel pretty good about the economy.” The higher earners — those who sit at the top of the K — might be buying their paramours ever-valuable gold and luxury goods.
“The rest of us are scraping by with the budget bouquet instead of the dozen roses, or not going out for dinner,” Pancotti said. Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation’s report showed that the price of a rose bouquet has increased by about 17% in January from a year ago to about $13.
DEC 12, 2025
NPR Buffalo Toronto Public Media: Report: Many tighten budgets as holiday gift prices spike 26%
“We have really seen kind of a tale of two Christmases this year,” said Pancotti. “There was an article that ran in New York Magazine last week talking about gift concierge services, where you can hire someone to find the perfect gift. And typically, the budgets they’re shopping for are $10-15,000 for one gift. You know, for shoppers like millions of Americans, that’s not anywhere near budget.”
JAN 20, 2024
NewsNation: Corporate Profits Count for Half of U.S. Inflation: Report
“It’s one thing for corporations to pass reasonable increased costs to consumers. It’s another for them to line their coffers by exploiting Americans who are just trying to get by,” said Liz Pancotti, strategic advisor for Groundwork and a co-author of the report. “It’s time to rein in corporate price gouging – or families will continue to pay the price.”
JANUARY 19, 2024
The Guardian: Half of recent U.S. inflation due to high corporate profits, report finds
“Costs have come down substantially, and while corporations were quick to pass on their increased costs to consumers, they are surprisingly less quick to pass on their savings to consumers,” Liz Pancotti, a Groundwork strategic adviser and paper co-author, said.
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About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Pancotti recently joined Groundwork Collaborative as the Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative. She was previously the Director of Special Initiatives at the Roosevelt Institute, where she led the think tank’s work on tax policy. Prior to Roosevelt, she was an advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), serving as the Labor Policy Director of the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and as a senior budget analyst on the Senate Budget Committee. During her time in the Senate, she led efforts to compel Howard Shultz to testify about union-busting at Starbucks and secure paid sick leave for rail workers and played a key role in industrial policy investments passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Before the Senate, she was the policy director at Employ America, where she focused on unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and The Guardian. Liz holds a BS in economics from American University. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, she now lives in Washington, DC.
