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Gene Sperling    

Former Director of the National Economic Council and National Economic Advisor to Presidents Obama & Clinton

Gene B. Sperling served as director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy from January, 2011 until March, 2014. Upon his appointment on January 7, 2011, Sperling became the first person to serve as NEC Director and principal economic policy advisor for two presidents: first under President Clinton from 1997 to 2001, and then under President Obama.

In the Obama Administration, Sperling played a key role representing the White House in budget negotiations with Congress as well as in designing several of the President’s economic initiatives including the American Jobs Act, the extension of Transition Adjustment Assistance, the universal dislocated workers program, and the small business tax credit. He also served as the White House point person on several of the President’s top priorities including manufacturing policy, housing, and economic assistance for veterans.

During his eight years at the White House in the Clinton Administration, Sperling helped negotiate the 1993 and 1997 Deficit Reduction Acts and the increase in the earned-income tax credit and a champion of Saving Social Security First, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit and the Direct Student Loan program.

Sperling’s work extends beyond economics. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Sperling was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution where he focused on education in poor and conflict-affected nations. He was the founder and director of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations and co-authored a book entitled What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence and Policies from the Developing World. Sperling was also senior fellow for Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress, where he authored The Pro-Growth Progressive: An Economic Strategy for Shared Prosperity.

Prior to serving as director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, Sperling served as counselor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In that role, Sperling served as a lead policy advisor on fiscal, budget, tax, job creation and small business issues.

Gene Sperling runs Sperling Economic Strategies. Sperling was a consultant for NBC’s “West Wing” and co-wrote four episodes. He writes for publications including The Atlantic and released his third book Economic Dignity.

Speech Topics


The Value and Strategy for Education in the World Today

A long-time advocate of education and effective policy-making, Sperling discusses the importance, life-affirming and empowering qualities of education, skills and job-driven training both in the context of the United States, and where requested, the significance and unique challenges of providing access to quality education for women and children in poor, fragile, and conflict-affected zones. In the Clinton and Obama White Houses, Sperling was the point person for not only skills training for young adults and older workers, but also a lead advisor on strategies for helping all young people access college success and early intervention education and skills strategies. He was also the lead for the President and First Lady's college opportunity summit, and the ConnectEd strategy to spread individualized digital learning to all classrooms in the United States and played a key role in high school redesign efforts. Sperling was Founder and Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations, co-author of What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence and Policies from the Developing World and the point person for the education section of the Clinton Global Initiative for two years. He also played a critical lead role in the initial design and implementation of Goldman Sach's “10,000 Women,” -- a five-year program with the goal of training women from predominantly developing countries in business and management.

Remarks by Gene Sperling

Gene Sperling shares with audiences insights on today’s most pressing U.S. and global economic challenges—and solutions. Drawing on his recent experience serving as director of the National Economic Council and principal economic policy advisor for President Obama, Sperling provides an assessment of a myriad of global economic issues, including: • The Current U.S. and Global Economic Landscape • Critical Economic Policy Issues Impacting the U.S. Economy—Including Corporate Tax Reform, Government-Sponsored Economic Reform, Skill Challenges in the 21st Century and the impact and future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) • Economic Lessons from 12 Years in the West Wing

News


What Gene Sperling Learned in the White House | TIME
The outgoing director of the White House National Economic Council, Gene Sperling, waits to speak during an event on the White House grounds Jan. 16, 2014 ...

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