Raphael W. Bostic (born June 5, 1966) is an American economist, academic, and public servant who has served as the 15th president and CEO of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, (informally referred to as the Atlanta Fed and the Bank), is the sixth district of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States and is headquartered in midtown Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Fed cover ...

since 2017.Bio
, Federal Reserve Board. During his academic career, Bostic served as chair of the Department of Governance, Management, and the Policy Process at the Price School of Public Policy at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

Early life

Bostic was born to Rafael Theodore Bostic of

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

and Viola Williams in New York City and grew up in

Delran Township, New Jersey Delran Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 16,896, reflecting an increase of 1,360 (+8.8%) from the 15,536 counted in the 2000 Census, which ...

, where he was valedictorian of

Delran High School Delran High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Delran Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Delran To ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1987 with a combined major in economics and psychology. In 1995, he earned his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in economics from Stanford University.

Career

Bostic served as a board member of

Freddie Mac The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is a publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia.Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Abode Communities. He is a fellow of the National Association of Public Administration, vice president of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, a member of the board of trustees of

Enterprise Community Partners Enterprise Community Partners, formerly The Enterprise Foundation, is a national nonprofit organized around three central goals: to increase housing supply, advance racial equity and build resilience and upward mobility. Founded in 1982 by develo ...

, and a research advisory board member of the Reinvestment Fund. Bostic was an economist for the

Federal Reserve Board of Governors The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the m ...

from 1995 to 2001, and the assistant secretary for policy development and research at

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Ur ...

from 2009 to 2012. He was the Chair of the Department on Governance, Management and the Policy Process at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the

from 2012 to 2017. In 2020, Bostic wrote an essay for the FRB Atlanta entitled, "A Moral and Economic Imperative to End Racism." In it he wrote that systematic racism drags on the economy. On October 14, 2022, Bostic said he had improperly disclosed financial transactions covering his five years leading the bank after a federal investigation. Bostic stated a 3rd party manager had made the transactions, unknowingly to him. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has asked the Office of Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board to initiate an independent review of President Bostic’s financial disclosures.

Political future

Throughout his career, Bostic has been mentioned as a potential nominee for a variety of roles in the federal government. In November 2020, Bostic was named as a potential candidate for

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

in the then-upcoming

Biden Administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

, a position that ultimately went to Janet Yellen. In August 2021, Bostic was mentioned as a contender for the position of

Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all nationa ...

. He has recently been mentioned as a possible replacement for Jerome Powell as

Chair of the Federal Reserve The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the Boa ...

, before he was re-nominated for a second four-year term.

Personal life

Bostic is the first African-American and first

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

person selected to lead a regional

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

bank.

References

External links