Class of 1994 | Greenfield-Central High School
Claudia Foster Sahm, PH.D. is a prominent and influential Washington-based expert on monetary and fiscal policy and forecasting. She first got into economics as an undergraduate because she fell in love with the idea “that economists could do good,” she says, especially by working in public policy. “So that’s what I did.”
“Claudia has always worked to achieve at the highest levels,” said Sarah Davis, her Hall of Fame nominator. “She is an outstanding person. She is a very well-respected economist who represents her family, her schools, and her community to the best of her ability.”
Valedictorian of the Greenfield-Central High School class of 1994, Claudia was active in a variety of areas. She played basketball and volleyball and took part in the Principal’s Advisory Board, Student Council, National Honor Society, and the Athletic Leadership Council. She was also active in the school’s Academic Team, Catamount staff, German Club, and Future Problem Solvers.
Continuing with her high-achievement pursuits after G-CHS, Claudia earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Denison University in 1998, where she also studied political science and German. She was awarded a Fulbright Research Grant and was a Scholar at the Technical University of Dresden, where she studied economic transitions in post-socialist countries. Claudia then began her career as a research assistant at the Brookings Institute. She received the Innovation in Social Research Award in 2006 from the Institute for Social Research. She earned her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan in 2007.
Over the years Claudia has pursued excellence through her work at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as Economist, Senior Economist, Principal Economist, and Section Chief (Division of Consumer & Community Affairs). She has also served as Director of Macroeconomic Policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, Senior Economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisors (2015-2016), and Senior Fellow leading Macroeconomic Research at the Jain Family Institute. She is a National Bureau of Economic Research member. Claudia has amassed many years of experience advising decision-makers at the Federal Reserve, White House, and Congress.
Claudia is the Chief Economist at New Century Advisors and the founder of Sahm Consulting. She has policy and research expertise in macroeconomics, consumer spending, and household finance. She is an independent consultant delivering data-driven, distinct perspectives for fund managers, business executives, government officials, and other leaders of institutions on the macroeconomic outlook and monetary and fiscal policy. She is a regular contributor at Bloomberg Opinion and a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. Claudia also runs an economics blog MacroMom and an economics newsletter Stay-at-homeMacro – aimed at providing explanation and education for the layperson. Claudia has been recognized in the Barron Top 100 Women in Finance.
During Claudia’s time with the Federal Reserve, she became well known for her development of the Sahm Rule, a Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) indicator that is closely followed and highly accurate for identifying recessions in real time. The Sahm Rule tracks the unemployment rate to detect upcoming and current recessions. She is also known for her critiques of the culture of the economic profession and works for inclusion and diversity.
Claudia is the mother of two children, Amelia Sahm and Henry Sahm. She is married to Colin Baker.
Outstanding Claudia! Congratulations!