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Sarah Bloom Raskin '83, P'14, '17 served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a position for which she was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate, becoming “the highest-ranking woman in the history of the Treasury Department” (the New York Times). Deputy Secretary Raskin served in that capacity from March 2014 to January 2017.

As the second-in-command at the Treasury, Deputy Secretary Raskin oversaw the Department and its various agencies, becoming widely known for her innovative solutions to enhance prosperity throughout America’s economy, for her commitment to ensure the ability of our country’s financial infrastructure to bounce back from sharp setbacks and for her defense of consumer safeguards in the financial marketplace.

Raskin’s defining economic doctrine concerns resilience, the ability of individuals, households, firms, communities, businesses and nations worldwide to recover from shocks of varying magnitudes. Citing the debilitating ripple effect of the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, Raskin is intent on crafting and implementing policies that enhance resilience. Her priorities include stronger cybersecurity and consumer protections, as well as increased accountability for banks and financial service providers. She believes families and individuals should benefit more proportionately from the contributions they make to a stable economy.

Raskin studied economics at Amherst College, was part of Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude in 1983. Raskin is also a graduate of Harvard Law School.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of i(x) Investments, LLC, a member of the Board of Directors of the Reserve Trust Company, a trustee and member of the Board of Directors of the Vanguard Funds and Vanguard Group Inc, a trustee of Amherst College and a trustee of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

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Ron Lieber ’93 majored in American Studies at Amherst College and was first published in The New York Times op-ed page as an undergraduate, which launched a flourishing career in financial journalism focusing on practicality and kindness. Lieber now writes the “Your Money” column for The New York Times, which details personal finance stories and advice. Lieber has also written for other sections of The Times, including food and travel, the magazine, the book review, The New York Times for Kids and the Motherlode parenting blog. Before coming to The Times, he wrote the “Green Thumb” personal finance column for The Wall Street Journal and was part of the startup team at the paper’s “Personal Journal” section.

Lieber’s first book Taking Time Off: Inspiring Stories of Students Who Enjoyed Successful Breaks from College and How You Can Plan Your Own, co-authored with Colin Hall, was a New York Times bestseller in 1996. He also wrote Upstart Start-Ups, a book for young entrepreneurs, and was the co-author of a guidebook to the best entry-level jobs in the United States. In 2015, he released “The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart About Money” which instantly became a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller.

His new book, "The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Roadmap for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make," will be out in January 2021.

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