Carol O'Cleireacain

Carol O'Cleireacain, a nationally recognized expert on fiscally troubled states and localities, has her own consulting practice in New York City. Most recently, she served as Deputy Mayor for Economic Policy, Planning & Strategy of the City of Detroit from October 2014 through 2016. She has served as Deputy Treasurer of the State of New Jersey under Governor Jon Corzine. She was Finance Commissioner and Budget Director of New York City under Mayor David Dinkins, responsible for America's 4th largest taxing jurisdiction and government budget, becoming the first woman to hold both positions. She chaired the trustee boards of NYC's employees' and teachers' retirement systems, was a trustee on the police and fire systems, and twice was elected national chair of the Council of Institutional Investors.

She served as a senior consultant to the Task Force on the State Budget Crisis, chaired by Paul A. Volcker and Richard Ravitch, which in 2012 produced detailed studies of the fiscal crisis of the American States. Prior to service in Detroit, she was a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her book, "The Orphaned Capital," on the troubled finances of the District of Columbia, received popular acclaim in 1997 and led to her serving as a consultant to the federally-imposed control board restoring structural budget balance and solvency to the District.

Dr. O'Cleireacain came to New York City from London in 1976, beginning thirteen years as chief economist of District Council 37 AFSCME (AFL-CIO), the City's largest municipal union, which played a critical role in the financial rescue of the City during its fiscal crisis in the mid-1970s.

She holds a Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics, M.A., and B.A. (with distinction) in economics from the University of Michigan, where she spent two summers in the UAW's Education Department. She was Chief Economic Advisor to the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in his 1988 campaign for President. She has taught Public Finance and Public Policy at numerous universities in the US and the UK; researched in Tokyo as a Japan Society Fellow; been a senior fellow of SUNY's Rockefeller Institute. In addition to public service, she has served on three corporate boards, chairing one audit committee for ten years. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.