Special Briefing: The New Administration’s First Month

The first Special Briefing of 2025 will offer a deep dive into the new President’s first month and the implications of new policies. Featured speakers include Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Economics and Eric Kim, Senior Director, U.S. Public Finance at Fitch Ratings.

Moderated by William Glasgall, Volcker Alliance Public Finance Adviser and Penn IUR Fellow, and Susan Wachter, Co-Director of Penn IUR, this briefing is the fifty-seventh in a series of sixty-minute online conversations featuring experts from the national research networks of the Volcker Alliance and Penn IUR, along with other leading academics, economists, and federal, state, and local leaders.

Special Briefings are made possible by the Volcker Alliance and members of the Penn IUR Advisory Board. 

Recordings of the entire Special Briefings series are available on the Volcker Alliance website: SPECIAL BRIEFING SERIES ARCHIVE.

Be sure to subscribe to the Special Briefing podcast, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart Radio and more.

Also, be sure to subscribe to the Volcker Alliance newsletter and Penn IUR newsletter.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eric Kim is a Senior Director in Fitch Ratings’ U.S. public finance department and head of the U.S. states rating team.  He is based in New York and is a member of the tax-supported ratings group, focusing on state and local government credits in the U.S.    

Eric joined Fitch in March 2007, and before joining the tax-supported group he also worked in Fitch’s education and non-profit institutions group.    Prior to joining Fitch Eric was chief of staff for the first deputy commissioner at the New York City (NYC) Taxi and Limousine Commission.  He also worked as a project manager at the Lower Manhattan Borough Commissioner’s Office in the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT).  Eric began his career as a NYC Urban Fellow, providing research and analytical support in the commissioner’s office at the DOT.    

Eric was a member of the Bond Buyer’s 2016 inaugural class of Rising Stars in the municipal finance industry and has spoken at national and regional conferences on topics ranging from infrastructure investment to Medicaid. Eric earned a BA from Brown University and an MPA with a public finance specialization from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University.  Eric is also a member of the Municipal Analysts Group of New York and the National Federation of Municipal Analysts.    

Mark M. Zandi is chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, where he directs economic research. Moody’s Analytics, a subsidiary of Moody’s Corp., is a leading provider of economic research, data and analytical tools. Dr. Zandi is a cofounder of Economy.com, which Moody’s purchased in 2005.

Dr. Zandi is on the board of directors of MGIC, the nation’s largest private mortgage insurance company, and is the lead director of Reinvestment Fund, one of the nation’s largest community development financial institutions, which makes investments in underserved communities.

He is a trusted adviser to policymakers and an influential source of economic analysis for businesses, journalists and the public. Dr. Zandi frequently testifies before Congress and conducts regular briefings on the economy for corporate boards, trade associations, and policymakers at all levels. He is often quoted in national and global publications and interviewed by major news media outlets, and is a frequent guest on CNBC, NPR, Meet the Press, CNN, and various other national networks and news programs.

Dr. Zandi is the author of Paying the Price: Ending the Great Recession and Beginning a New American Century, which provides an assessment of the monetary and fiscal policy response to the Great Recession. His other book, Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis, is described by the New York Times as the “clearest guide” to the financial crisis.  

Dr. Zandi earned his BS from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania.