CEI’s first employee — done good and done well

Presidential-hopeful Governor Mitt Romney just named his top economic advisors for his campaign: Glenn Hubbard, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors; Greg Mankiw, another former CEA chairman; and Cesar Conda, who previously served as Vice President Cheney’s chief domestic advisor. Cesar will serve as Gov. Romney’s Senior Economic Advisor in his quest.

The reason I’m blogging about this is for non-partisan reasons: Cesar was CEI’s first-ever employee and board member. In 1984, he used to knock on the door of our apartment to begin his work day with Fred.

A lot of CEI alumni have done very well in a wide range of post-thinktank lives. Chris Culp comes to mind — he’s a leading derivatives expert and co-authored a book with Nobel laureate Merton Miller. Andy Thompson, one of CEI’s early staffers, is now the publisher of Bird Watcher’s Digest. Another recruit then was Deanna Tanner Okun, who served as chairman of the International Trade Commission. And, of course, we can’t forget Jon Adler, now a tenured Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve.

A host of CEI alumni have distinguished themselves in the government, and others, in trying to bring rationality to Congress. Other alumni have — or have had — prominent positions at leading think tanks, such as Cato, AEI, Heritage, Reason.

A little self-promotion? Sure. After all, colleges promote their distinguished alumni. This is just a start for CEI. And, of course, the current CEI staff is top-notch.