Called "the Margaret Thatcher of financial regulation" by the Wall Street Journal (Nov. 12, 1999 editorial), Dr. Wendy Gramm has an extensive publication record including articles in the American Economic Review and the Journal of Law and Economics.

Before joining the Mercatus Center, Dr. Gramm served as chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1988-1993. She was administrator for Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget from 1985-1988, the executive director of the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief, and director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Economics. Dr. Gramm was on the research staff of the Institute for Defense Analysis.

Dr. Gramm earned a BA degree from Wellesley College (1966) and a PhD (1971) from Northwestern University, both in Economics. She started her economics career at Texas A&M University, where she taught economics for over 8 years.