President Barack Obama has nominated Lael Brainard, a George School alumna from the Class of 1979, to serve as undersecretary for international affairs—the U.S. Treasury Department’s top financial diplomat.

Lael is currently vice president and founding director of the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution, a Washington DC think tank. At Brookings, she also holds the Bernard L. Schwartz Chair in International Economics and directs the All Brookings Initiative on Competitiveness. She is an expert on competitiveness, trade, international economics, U.S. foreign assistance, and global poverty.

Previously, Lael served in the Clinton administration as deputy national economic adviser and deputy assistant to the president for international economics. She was also associate professor of applied economics at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. A graduate of Wesleyan University, she received master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Harvard University.

Lael’s nomination for the Treasury Department position awaits confirmation by the U.S. Senate. You can read about her nomination in the article below:

CBS News
“Obama Nominates Top Deputy for Geithner”

(photo courtesy of www.brookings.edu)