time, senator barbara mikulski, only because i read a newspaper article about her work in the senate as the daughter of polish immigrants, which really resonated with me. little did i know that i was going to be back at the hart building a few decades later, making the rounds to meet with various senators as i prepared for my senate confirmation for the federal reserve. in grad school, i spent time as a visitor both at the brookings institution and at the san francisco fed - where i worked on my phd research while surrounded by policy - focused professionals. stepping into these institutions pushed me out of my comfort zone and into the world of policy and discussions about what it took to prepare for federal open market committee ( fomc ) meetings while i was a grad student immersed in a highly technical phd. program. little did i know that i was going to be back at the fed attending those fomc meetings myself and at brookings just a few months ago giving my first speech as a governor. i know as students, many of you have already done internships and searched for these opportunities around policymaking, and i want to tell you that this is exactly what will make you grow moving forward. like me, you may someday be surprised to find yourself revisiting those important places where you once studied and learned, but now as a senior professional in a position to provide service in a very different way. for decades, i spent much of my career in academia pursuing answers to my big questions on poverty by doing research and teaching at universities. throughout, i always focused on those same questions that drove me to study economics in the first place - and always with my sights on the role of policy and the implications for real people, like my grandpa and others i had seen in colombia and in the united states, who lacked opportunities. and that's when my next big detour came. just one year after being recruited by georgetown, i was approached by the u. s. department of labor to be its chief economist. while i knew i could contribute my knowledge in the middle of the great recession about the drivers of unemployment and effective policies to create jobs, i had never spent time working in government. this certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone again, and i am very glad it did, because i learned a great deal about how policy actually gets made while using my expertise and knowledge to conduct evidencebased policymaking. little did i know that the data on

2 the study spells out the relative advantages of different types of funds for different kinds of projects — preservation versus development, for example — and details which funds are best for the early, middle, or late stages of a project. turning to support for small businesses, community development staffers across the federal reserve conduct extensive research and analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing small business owners. for example, the 12 federal reserve banks collaborate on the annual small business credit survey, which surveys business owners about their financing needs and experiences to provide timely insights to policymakers, service providers, and lenders. 3 in addition to providing information on small business credit conditions, the federal reserve is trying to advance understanding of the best economic development strategies for supporting small businesses. the kansas city fed has helped lead on these issues through its “ grow your own ” entrepreneurship - based economic development guidebook, and its 2018 growing entrepreneurial communities summit. 4 these are just a few of the ways that federal reserve banks and the board of governors support the efforts of community development organizations. i hope that our work will be useful as you chart a path forward for your second decade of service to utah, and i look forward to continued collaboration between the federal reserve and community development organizations such as ucns. together, we can help support thriving communities across the wasatch front, the state of utah, and across our nation. thank you again for inviting me to speak, and congratulations again for 10 years of building stronger communities in utah. 1234 1 ucns is the parent organization of four separate organizations that, in combination, work to advance access to affordable housing, including homeownership and housing near high - capacity or high - frequency transit ; support economic development and job creation by funding small businesses ; and improve access to important community infrastructure. 2 2. elizabeth mattiuzzi, “ funds for kickstarting affordable housing preservation and production : lessons for new investors, ” community development research briefs ( san francisco : federal reserve bank of san francisco, march 2019 ). return to text 3 see www. fedsmallbusiness. org / for more information. 4 the guidebook is available at www. kansascityfed. org / ~ / media / files / publicat / community / gyo / entrepreneurship - econ - dev - local - communities. pdf. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches