Raphael Bostic is the chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. In addition, he serves on the Federal Open Market Committee, The Federal Reserve’s chief monetary policy body.
Bostic was born June 5, 1966 to Rafael Theodore Bostic of St. Croix and Viola Williams, a native of New York in New York City. He grew up in Delran Township, New Jersey, where he was valedictorian of Delran High School and later earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Harvard University in 1987. He earned his doctorate in economics from Stanford University in 1995.
From 1995 to 2001 Bostic worked at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as senior economist. His work on the Community Reinvestment Act earned him a special achievement award.
From 2009 to 2012, Bostic was the assistant secretary for policy development and research at United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). His research included home ownership, housing finance, neighborhood change, and the role of institutions in shaping policy effectiveness.
From 2012 to 2017 he was the Chair of the Department on Governance, Management and the Policy Process at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California
Bostic has served on many boards and advisory committees, including the California Community Reinvestment Corporation, Abode Communities, NeighborWorks, the National Community Stabilization Trust, the Urban Land Institute, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, the National Economic Association, and Freddie Mac.
Bostic took office June 5, 2017, as the fifteenth president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He made history by becoming the first African American to be named president of a Federal Reserve regional bank in the system’s nearly 104-year existence.
Bostic said “It’s not lost on me that I … am the first African American to lead a Federal Reserve institution,” he said. “It’s an overwhelming thought and a tremendous privilege,” Bostic said, “and I look forward to this being a stepping stone for many others to have this opportunity as well.”
In 2020, Bostic wrote an essay for the FRB Atlanta entitled, “A Moral and Economic Imperative to End Racism.” In it he wrote that systematic racism actually hurts overall economic growth.
Bostic has been mentioned as a potential nominee for a variety of roles in the federal government. In November 2020, Bostic was named as a potential candidate for Secretary of the Treasury a position that ultimately went to Janet Yellen.
Bostic is the first openly gay person selected to lead a regional Federal Reserve Bank.
