Darrick Hamilton and Barry Melancon Elected to the NBER Board of Directors at April 28 Board Meeting

Hamilton will represent the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). He is the Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy and the founding director of the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School, as well as the Chief Economist of the AFL-CIO. His research focuses on the economics of stratification and on labor market and wealth inequality, with particular attention to racial disparities and policies that could reduce them. He has served as president of the National Economic Association, and as codirector of the American Economic Association Summer Training Program. Hamilton received his undergraduate degree from Oberlin College and his PhD from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, both in economics. 

Melancon, who was also elected NBER Treasurer, will represent the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. From 1995 until 2024, he served as this organization’s CEO, and spearheaded several important initiatives, including audit quality centers, private company reporting standards, the computerized CPA exam, and consumer financial literacy education programs. He is the Global Chairman of the Board of the International Integrated Reporting Council, and a founding and current board member of the Center for Audit Quality. He has served on the US Department of the Treasury Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession. Melancon holds an undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA from Nicholls State University, which also awarded him its first and only Honorary Doctorate of Commerce. 

The Board also elected Jessica Einhorn and Robert Mednick to emeritus status.