U.S. President Barack Obama's pick to become the nation's new central bank chief, Janet Yellen, is a long-time economist who favors the same low interest rate policies as current chief Ben Bernanke.
Since 2010, Yellen has been vice chair at the central bank, also known as the Federal Reserve.
Born in 1946 in Brooklyn, New York, Yellen earned her doctorate in economics from Yale University. Before being appointed to her current position, she was an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and head of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco - one of the Fed's 12 district banks.
In the '90s, she served as an economic adviser to the White House under then-president Bill Clinton. She also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she has served on the faculties of the London School of Economics and Harvard University.
Yellen is seen by some experts as a secure choice whose long experience at the Fed would reassure investors.
If confirmed, she would become the first woman to head the Fed in its 100-year history.
Even Yellen's home life is touched by economics. Her husband is George Akerlof, a Nobel prize-winning economist and professor at Berkeley. The two have one son, who also is an economics professor.
Since 2010, Yellen has been vice chair at the central bank, also known as the Federal Reserve.
Born in 1946 in Brooklyn, New York, Yellen earned her doctorate in economics from Yale University. Before being appointed to her current position, she was an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and head of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco - one of the Fed's 12 district banks.
In the '90s, she served as an economic adviser to the White House under then-president Bill Clinton. She also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and she has served on the faculties of the London School of Economics and Harvard University.
Yellen is seen by some experts as a secure choice whose long experience at the Fed would reassure investors.
If confirmed, she would become the first woman to head the Fed in its 100-year history.
Even Yellen's home life is touched by economics. Her husband is George Akerlof, a Nobel prize-winning economist and professor at Berkeley. The two have one son, who also is an economics professor.
