Isabel Sawhill

Isabel Van Devanter Sawhill is a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, where she formerly held the position of vice president and director of Economic Studies, among other duties. She has authored or co-authored many books, including Generation Unbound: Drifting Into Sex and Parenthood Without Marriage, and Creating an Opportunity Society with Ron Haskins. She won a Daniel Patrick Moynihan prize with Ron Haskins.

Background Sawhill received her Ph.D. in 1968 from New York University.

Prior to joining The Brookings Institution, Sawhill worked at the Urban Institute. She served as an Associate Director in the Office of Management and Budget during the first term of the Clinton Administration.

Sawhill co-founded the nonprofit organization The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and serves on other nonprofit boards. She is a senior editor of The Future of Children, a joint effort with Princeton University.

Awards and recognition 2014, Exemplar Award from the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. 2016, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize (with Ron Haskins), from the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 2016, named a Distinguished Fellow by the American Economic Association.