Gene Sperling served as President Clinton's National Economic Advisor and as head of the National Economic Council from 1997-2001. Since then, he has worked on a variety of economic and international issues in several capacities: Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations; columnist and commentator for Bloomberg News; a frequent contributor on CNN and NPR, and a guest on 'Meet the Press,' 'Face the Nation' and 'Nightline.' He also served as a contributing writer and consultant on the television series 'The West Wing.'

Considered one of the country's leading progressive economists and policy-makers, bringing real world experience to the challenges affecting today's global economy, Sperling is author of The Pro-Growth Progressive: An Economic Strategy for Shared Prosperity. In The Pro-Growth Progressive he argues for policies that promote the progressive values of upward mobility and economic dignity, while embracing markets, innovation and economic growth. He covers issues as varied as paid family leave, Social Security reform, and increasing globalization.

Drawing on his experiences as the White House chief economic adviser, Sperling uses down-to earth examples to lay out a highly specific new program for national economic success that respects both the power of free markets and the need for vigorous public policies based on progressive values.

Both major parties remain focused on only part of the economic picture, Sperling argues, to the detriment of the nation and their own futures. “The fact is,” Sperling writes, “that traditional divides in American politics are increasingly ill suited to a serious inquiry about how we grow together in a dynamic global economy. . . . Those on the right who believe that less government will always lead to more robust economic growth may find themselves out of step with the growing imperative for public policies to help workers adjust to the uncertainties of the global market and ensure that growth is fair and consistent with our values. Those on the left whose legitimate concern about protecting hardworking families leads them to call for limiting the pace of change may find themselves trying to hold back the inevitable global competition and innovation that are critical to sparking the next burst of high-paying jobs and wealth in our economy.”

Sperling identifies three basic progressive values: dignity for those who take responsibility for their lives, opportunity for upward mobility, and fair starts so that the accident of birth does not overly determine one’s life outcome. He offers a fresh perspective on the bitterly polarized debates about outsourcing, trade, and globalization, setting out a new plan for minimizing job losses at home, enhancing labor and environmental standards abroad, and reducing poverty everywhere. And he offers an inventive and comprehensive strategy for sharing the costs of economic dislocation borne by American communities and workers.

Sperling was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, attended University of Minnesota, Wharton Business School, and Yale Law School. He currently resides with his family in Washington, D.C.

Gene Sperling was interviewed at Kentucky Author Forum by John Ydstie, economics correspondent and host on National Public Radio's News Programs. Ydstie became the economics correspondent for National Public Radio in 1988, covering the national economy, Wall Street and the federal budget.

As NPR's London bureau chief, in 1991 and 1992, he traveled throughout Europe, covering, among other things, the breakup of the Soviet Union and attempts to move Europe toward closer political and economic union. He has accompanied U. S. businessmen exploring investment opportunities in Russia. He was on the scene in the Netherlands when European leaders approved the Maastricht Treaty, which created the European Union. He is now a regular guest host on all of NPR's news programs.