Raphael Bostic

Raphael Bostic is an American economist and academic who currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He assumed this position on June 5, 2017, becoming the first African American to lead one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks in the United States.

Bostic was born in New Jersey in 1966 and grew up in Delran Township. He received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University. Bostic has worked in a variety of roles in academia, government, and the private sector, including serving as a professor at the University of Southern California's Price School of Public Policy and as a senior official in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama.

As the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Bostic plays a key role in setting monetary policy for the southeastern United States, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. He also serves on the Federal Open Market Committee, which is responsible for making decisions about interest rates and other monetary policy issues for the entire country. Bostic has been a vocal advocate for promoting greater economic and racial equity, and has called for policies that support workforce development, affordable housing, and other initiatives to help low- and moderate-income communities.