Rachel Lipson

Rachel Lipson is a workforce policy expert known for her leadership in education and labor market policy. As the founding director of the Project on Workforce at Harvard University’s Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, Lipson led interdisciplinary research and policy initiatives connecting Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her work centers on strategies for talent pipelines, community college advancement, and inclusive economic development. Lipson has received recognition including the Frederick Fischer Prize for social policy research and the Harvard Certificate of Distinction and Excellence in Teaching.

Lipson’s career includes roles in the public and social sectors, such as director of special projects at Year Up, workforce development at JPMorgan Chase, and economic policy advising at the World Bank. She has held senior policy advisory positions in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Program Office, contributing to workforce strategies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and regional industry cluster development. Lipson is a frequent speaker at conferences and policy forums, including Aspen Ideas Festival and MIT Technology Review’s EmTech Next, where she addresses technology, education, and workforce development.

Lipson’s writing and editorial work appear in The Boston Globe, Washington Post’s Wonkblog, Newsweek, Forbes, and RealClearPolicy, with her research featured by Bloomberg, NPR, CNBC, and The Economist. She is co-editor of the Harvard Education Press volume "America’s Hidden Economic Engines: How Community Colleges Can Drive Shared Prosperity." Lipson’s public speaking and advisory work focus on advancing equitable workforce solutions and contributing to national discussions on economic mobility and industrial policy.