in agricultural towns in senegal. whether i am on vacation or a community visit, i read neighborhoods the way that some people survey land for planting or spreadsheets for weak links or legal briefs for inconsistencies : boarded up rowhouse, not a grocery store in sight, multilane highway splitting the old commercial district. as i have traveled around this country from milwaukee to the mississippi delta, from atlanta to appalachia, from detroit to the colonias, and from scranton to the pine ridge reservation, in urban and rural areas alike, it is striking how much the opportunities and challenges facing families are shaped by the health of their communities and the broader economy. at the most foundational level, what animates - 4my job at our nation ’ s central bank is the opportunity to lift up the livelihoods and lives of working families in communities across america. as central bankers, we don ’ t think of inflation or unemployment as blue or red. we focus on data and proven solutions, and our mission is to serve all americans. we see time and time again that the families that have the smallest financial buffers and the communities with the least resilience suffer the most when turbulence strikes. the risk that turbulence will strike is always present, as i have learned from the many financial crises that have punctuated my own career. in the past decade alone, our communities have contended with the devastation of the global financial crisis, the european debt crisis, the covid - 19 pandemic, and now the burden on stretched household budgets from russia ’ s war of aggression against ukraine. the arc from the collapse of the berlin wall to the response to the covid - 19 pandemic is this : ideas and actions can change the course of communities and countries. let me share with you three examples of how individuals have come together to shape policy for the greater good. ninety years ago, the first woman cabinet secretary, frances perkins, convinced a skeptical franklin roosevelt that unemployment insurance wasn ’ t a handout but a smart investment. not only would it be an effective self - financed approach to help families smooth through periods when work was hard to find through no fault of their own, but it also would support the health of the broader economy when demand weakened. so, two years ago, when a global pandemic struck, the application of perkins ’ s logic through an expanded set of programs and facilities sustained millions of families and saved countless small businesses. after returning from a meeting in europe

commencement remarks lael brainard vice chair board of governors of the federal reserve system at 2022 commencement of the school for advanced international studies johns hopkins university washington, d. c. may 25, 2022 it is an honor to be here today. thank you, dean steinberg, members of the faculty and staff, members of the board, distinguished guests, parents, and family members. to the class of 2022, congratulations. i am honored to be here with you to celebrate this day for which you have worked so hard and on which you go out to make your mark in the world, fortified with an incredible intellectual arsenal and lifelong friends from your time at the johns hopkins school for advanced international studies ( sais ). as a parent, i would like to extend a special welcome to the parents and families who have joined this celebration today. i ’ m sure many of you must be filled, like i am often, with awe and admiration for our amazing offspring and the good they will do in the world. to be honest, when dean steinberg invited me to speak, i was concerned that you might not be excited to hear from a central banker. central bankers are dull by design. we use 17 words when 2 would suffice. we make a virtue of using language that is prosaic and concrete. our pronouncements are carefully calibrated so they are understood exactly as intended, leaving nothing to the imagination. in short, we are the opposite of the poetry, drama, and inspiration that are the stuff of launching gifted graduates on their career quest. but a friend reminded me that if there ’ s anywhere a central banker might be a good fit for graduation, it ’ s sais. at sais, you are required to not only take, but pass monetary theory. no doubt your parents must be wondering — monetary theory? how is that going to help your career? is it too late to become a doctor or a lawyer? but that is the point. you have chosen a different path. two years ago, when a novel coronavirus struck, when fear and panic spread, you decided you wanted to learn - 2more. when economies and markets struggled, you chose to focus on developing solutions. when travel and trade trickled to a stop, you made a commitment to a life in global affairs. you have endured lockdowns and zoom lectures to get an education that will help you understand and address the complexities of our world. your generation has