Farewell frost!
October 30, 2024
Ben Harris, visiting associate professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and former chief economist to Vice President Joe Biden, has joined Chicago’s COVID-19 Recovery Taskforce.
The aim of the taskforce is to advise city government as economic recovery planning efforts get underway.
The taskforce will be co-chaired by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and former White House Chief of Staff Sam Skinner and led by a group of industry experts, regional government leaders, community-based partners and policymakers.
Harris will serve Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in helping establish an economic and social recovery plan for the city.
In this role, Harris will serve the mayor and her senior team as they establish an economic and social recovery plan for the city.
“My specific task is to contribute to the drafting of the Economic Change Study, which will identify how the COVID crisis has changed Chicago’s social and economic outlook,” he said. “The goal is to provide the mayor and her team with the best information possible as they craft a strategy to mitigate the current crisis and build for inclusive growth moving forward.”
Harris is executive director of the Kellogg Public-Private Initiative and currently serves as the chief economist to the evidence-based policy organization Results for America. He was also previously policy director of The Hamilton Project; a fellow in economic studies at Brookings; and deputy director of the Retirement Security Project at Brookings.
He holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University, in addition to a master's degree in economics from Cornell University and a master's degree in quantitative methods from Columbia University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at Tufts University.
