TEAM OF EXPERTS

The Honorable Paula Stern, Ph.D., Founder & President, The Stern Group

Former chairwoman of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and distinguished scholar, The Honorable Paula Stern founded The Stern Group’s practice advising companies and organizations on business, political, and tech policy issues that affect their competitiveness in a global, digitized economy.  Dr. Stern also serves as Senior Strategic Advisor to the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT).

As chairwoman of the ITC from 1984-1986 and a commissioner for a nine-year term,  Dr. Stern analyzed and voted on over 1,000 trade cases involving a broad range of industries and trade and intellectual property rights issues. At the time, she was the second highest-ranking woman in the executive branch of the U.S. Government.

She is a member of the  board of directors of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs,  Legacy Trustee at the Committee for Economic Development (CED). Lifetime Director of the Atlantic Council,  and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Inter-American Dialogue.

Dr. Stern formerly served on the public Board of Directors of CBS, Infinity, Duracell, Harcourt General, Hasbro, Scott Paper, Walmart, Westinghouse, Avaya, SSMC, The Neiman Marcus Group,  and Avon, as well as a member of the International Advisory Board of LafargeHolcim.

Dr. Stern’s past public service also includes serving  on the U.S. President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations; co-chairing the International Competition Policy Advisory Committee for the Attorney General and U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division; chairing the Advisory Committee of the U.S. Export-Import Bank; and being a Presidentially appointed/Senate confirmed Member of the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Foundation.   She also was a Member of the US Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and Member of the US Department of Commerce’s Advisory Committee on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

As both a Member and Senior Advisor of the Trade Policy Sub-council of the bipartisan Competitiveness Policy Council, Dr. Stern prepared the Council’s proposals for reforming U.S. international economic policy making, delivered to the U.S. Congress and President,  which guided the trade and export policy of the Clinton Administration.  She had served earlier on the President Carter Transition Team.

Other public service  includes membership on the congressionally mandated National Academy of Sciences’ Panel on the Future Design and Implementation of U.S. National Security Export Controls and the U.S. Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment’s Advisory Panel on Technology, Innovation, and U.S. Trade.

Dr. Stern began her Washington career as Senior Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson . She was a  Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution, where she wrote a definitive book on Congressional-Executive foreign policy making, titled Water’s Edge: Domestic Politics and the Making of American Foreign Policy.  She also served as Senior International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations,  Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,  Senior Fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, and member of The Trilateral Commission.  Dr. Stern also held the Alkire Chair in International Business at Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Dr. Stern’s writings and commentary on foreign policy, trade, competitiveness, workforce preparedness, tech, and women’s issues have been widely published in scholarly and popular journals including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The LA Times, The Chicago Tribune and other mainstream media. She is a contributing columnist for The Hill.  She was named one of the top women influencing the American economy by MS Magazine, and honored by The National Women’s Economic Alliance Foundation with its Directors’ Choice Award for Leadership.  She is a frequent public speaker and media commentator in the U.S. and abroad.

Dr. Stern has a B.A. from Goucher College, an M.A. in Regional Studies from Harvard University, a Ph.D. in International Affairs from Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and honorary degrees in Law from Goucher College and Commercial Science from Babson College.  She is a recipient of the Alicia Patterson Journalism Award and the Joseph Papp Award for Racial Harmony from the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.  She has two children and four grandchildren.

For a more complete copy of Dr. Stern’s bio or CV, please contact us by email or 202-966-7894.