Linda J. Bilmes is a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute and the Daniel Patrick Moynihan senior lecturer in Public Policy and Public Finance at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she teaches public finance and leads training for newly elected mayors and members of Congress. She is faculty chair of the Greater Boston Applied Field Lab and the Executive Leaders in Government program. She served as assistant secretary and CFO of the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1998 to 2001, and as deputy assistant secretary from 1997 to 1998. 

Dr Bilmes has authored numerous books, book chapters, and papers including the New York Times bestseller The Three Trillion Dollar War (with Joseph E. Stiglitz), The People Factor (with W. Scott Gould) and U.S. National Parks and Programs: America’s Best Investment (with John Loomis). Her research focuses on how budgetary resources are allocated, particularly related to the military, war costs, the value of public lands, and local governments.  She has received many awards and honors, including the 2008 “Speaking Truth to Power” Award by the American Friends Service Committee.  

Dr. Bilmes is co-chair of Economists for Peace and Security, a distinguished body dedicated to promoting non-military solutions to world challenges. She is the United States member of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Public Administration. She serves on the board of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds an AB and MBA from Harvard University and a PhD from the University of Oxford.