ABOUT THE GUESTS
Michael
Strain
Director of Economic Policy Studies and Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Michael R. Strain is the John G. Searle Scholar and director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He oversees the Institute’s work in economic policy, financial markets, poverty studies, technology policy, energy economics, health care policy, and related areas. Before joining AEI, Dr. Strain worked in the Center for Economic Studies at the US Census Bureau and in the macroeconomics research group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Michelle
Bernard
President and CEO, The Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy
Michelle D. Bernard is a lawyer, independent political analyst, pundit and opinion maker, social critic, author, columnist, public speaker, and president and CEO of the Bernard Center for Women, Politics & Public Policy. An attorney by training, Michelle D. Bernard is a political and social justice journalist, pundit and opinion maker, social critic, author, columnist, and public speaker. Neither Democrat nor Republican, Ms. Bernard is fiercely independent in her political views and is particularly interested in how national and local politics, policy, and elections affect matters of racial, social and gender justice, the economy, the digital divide, national security, terrorism and the military, and the advancement of democracy, economic liberty, and the human rights of women and ethnic and religious minorities globally.
Elizabeth
Kneebone
Senior Fellow - Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
Elizabeth Kneebone is a nonresident senior fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings and co-author of Confronting Suburban Poverty in America (Brookings Press, 2013). Kneebone has authored a number of Brookings reports, including “The Great Recession and Poverty in Metropolitan America,” “Job Sprawl Revisited: The Changing Geography of Metropolitan Employment,” and “Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to Benefit Families and Places.
Elizabeth
Hersh
Director, Office of Supportive Housing, City of Philadelphia
Liz Hersh, director of the Office of Homeless Services is dedicated to serving poor and marginalized people, with a focus on creating affordable, decent homes where families can flourish. In her 14 years as director, she built the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania into a national model of effective advocacy. She led the building of numerous bipartisan initiatives in Pennsylvania designed to create good housing opportunities by investing public and private funding across the Commonwealth.