Professor Linda Bilmes is an expert on budgeting and public finance. She is a full-time faculty member at the Harvard Kennedy School and a former Assistant Secretary and Chief Financial Officer of the US Department of Commerce. She has co-authored multiple books and book chapters, including the international bestseller The Three Trillion Dollar War and has written extensively on the cost of war, veterans’ issues, national parks, municipal budgeting and financial topics. She has featured in several films, including the award-winning documentary No End In Sight. She serves as the sole US member of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration. She is co-chair of Economists for Peace and Security. Her research has been published in the New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, Barron’s, and other media. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and holds a BA and MBA from Harvard University and a PhD from the University of Oxford.
History of Employment
Position
Division
Organization
Start
End
Member
Advisory Board
US National Park Service
2009
2018
Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration
Administration, Management and Budget
U.S. Department of Commerce
1998
2001
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration and Budget
U.S. Department of Commerce
1997
1998
Principal
London, Madrid office
Boston Consulting Group
1988
1996
Consultant
Bain & Company
1986
1988
Media Consultant
Campaign Strategies, Inc.
1980
1982
Professor of Public Policy
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
2002
Special Advisor
National Performance Review
Office of U.S. Vice President
1997
US Representative
United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration
United Nations
2017
US Representative
Committee of Experts on Public Administration
United Nations
2018
