Jonathan Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. An architect of both Romneycare and Obamacare, he appears regularly on news outlets ranging from Fox News to MSNBC. Slate has named him one of the top twenty-five “Most Innovative and Practical Thinkers of Our Time.” In addition to over 175 academic articles, he is the author of Health Care Reform (Hill & Wang), a graphic novel about the Affordable Care Act, Public Finance and Public Policy (Worth), the leading textbook in public finance, and six other books.
Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. His much-viewed opinion pieces have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the Atlantic, and elsewhere. With law professor James Kwak, Simon is the coauthor of the best sellers 13 Bankers and White House Burning and a founder of the widely cited economics blog The Baseline Scenario.
Former members of the Jump-Starting America team:
Daniel Curtis was a research manager at the MIT Sloan School of Business with masters degree in nuclear science and engineering (MIT, 2015) and bachelors degrees in physics and mechanical engineering (both UT Austin, 2012). At MIT, Daniel studied science policy, electricity markets, emissions reduction strategies in the power sector, and unconventional applications for nuclear energy.
After leaving MIT in November 2019, Daniel worked as the Illinois Data Director for Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign. He spent the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic working as a content manager for the COVID-19 Policy Alliance, and as co-founder and Executive Director of the Senior Support Team of NH.
Amy Kim is a senior at MIT studying Economics and Computer Science with a minor in public policy. She is interested in topics at the intersection of economic policy and social justice.
Manuel Favela is a sophomore at MIT studying Computer Science and Finance with a minor in Economics. He’s interested in learning about the behavior of the economy and its impact on people’s every day lives.
Sung Hyun (Thomas) Noh was a marketing and web development intern at the MIT Sloan School of Business. Thomas has been involved in entrepreneurship and web design since a young age and is currently looking to further improve his knowledge and skills.