Topic:
“Stepping Back from the Abyss: Auto Companies and Communities”
Introduction/Moderator:
Rod Erickson/Katie O’Toole
Location:
HUB-Robeson Center, Alumni Hall
This is a Green Event.
Bio: In March 2009, President Obama named Dr. Edward Montgomery Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers. In that role, his mission is to cut through red tape and ensure that the full resources of our federal government are leveraged to assist the workers, communities, and regions that rely on our auto industry.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Ed attended college at The Pennsylvania State University and went on to earn his Master’s and Ph.D in Economics at Harvard University. After graduating, he joined the faculty of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, and in 1983 took a leave of absence to work as a visiting scholar on the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve System. Ed later taught at Michigan State University and the University of Maryland. His research focused on such topics as local economic development, pension and wage determination and the impact of unions.
In 1997, Ed joined the Clinton administration as the Labor Department’s Chief Economist before becoming the Assistant Secretary for Policy.
At the end of the Clinton Administration, Ed rejoined the faculty of the University of Maryland, and in 2003 became the Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland.
Before being appointed to his current role, Ed led President Obama’s transition team at the Department of Labor, and then served as a Senior Advisor to Secretary Hilda Solis.