Michael Deich Joins Laura and John Arnold Foundation as Executive Vice President of Policy and Advocacy

Washington, D.C. — The Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) today announced that Michael Deich has joined the Foundation as Executive Vice President of Policy and Advocacy. Deich will work to strengthen the Foundation’s partnerships with federal and state governments and will help the Foundation’s programmatic teams bring the findings of new research into the policy-making process.

During the Obama administration, Deich was a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where he helped oversee development of the President’s budget and implementation of enacted appropriations. During the Clinton administration, Deich served as Associate Director of OMB, Special Assistant to the President for economic policy, and Senior Director of the National Economic Council. Deich also has served as Director of Government Affairs for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Visiting Fellow at the Urban Institute, Managing Director at the Hamilton Project at Brookings Institution, and Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office.

“Michael brings extensive experience to the Foundation, both as a policy expert and as a government manager,” LJAF President and CEO Kelli Rhee explained. ​“His deep knowledge of how policy is formed — and the importance of rigorous research in defining effective policy — will help our team develop and execute strategies that more effectively address some of the nation’s most urgent problems.”

“Ensuring that policy decisions are based on the best available evidence is a complex and engaging challenge,” Deich said. ​“I look forward to helping ensure that the tremendous work done by the Foundation’s programmatic teams has maximum impact.”

Deich earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan and his B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. He is based in LJAF’s office in Washington, D.C.