Surge Sen MPP 1998

The Fed's Helping Hand

Making direct contributions to policy has always been a dream for Surge Sen, a consumer financial services supervisory analyst at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. At age twenty, Sen began working towards his PhD in economics at Harvard University, but quickly became “disillusioned by academia.”

“When I started talking with professors, they said I needed to have tenure and then in ten years I could do policy work,” said Sen, who had always wanted to work for the federal government. When he started that program, Sen realized later, he had been “too young to conceive that it would be fifteen years before I could make contributions. Really, for me, it was all about getting involved.”

So Sen traded Harvard for the University of Chicago and its stellar social sciences reputation. After graduating from the Harris School, Sen began working at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. There for nine years, he started in economic research, moved to financial services, and finally to supervision and regulation, where he made sure that examiners were assigned to the best fit job throughout the bank’s district.

“We have national experts in credit, markets, fiduciary risk. I tried to leverage that knowledge across a wide range of individuals,” said Sen, referring to his time at the Chicago Fed. “One person can make a difference on the job. It matters because we’re the Fed.”

In addition to supervising and leading staff, Sen also completed the training required to become a commissioned Fed examiner.

Responsible for monitoring the activities and performance of member banks, commissioned examiners must go through a rigorous four- to six-year training program. He commented, “Learning how to be a regulator and having that combination of analytical ability and field experience and to be able to combine both to develop policy is extremely exciting.”

Taking the next step in his career, Sen relocated to Washington, D.C., in October for a position in the Fed’s Board of Governors, as part of the Fair Lending Enforcement Section within the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs. The section works with Federal Reserve banks to investigate reports of discrimination within the Fed system, both for individual loans and investments made by banks into their communities. If enough evidence exists, Sen’s section may ultimately refer a case to the Department of Justice.

“I’m looking forward to managing a team and focusing on risk coordination on a national basis as well as being able to contribute to fair lending enforcement procedures,” said Sen.

As for Sen’s future, he wants to continue doing more of the same—whether at the Federal Reserve or another policy organization. “I love solving problems, helping individuals reach their true potential, and serving my country,” said Sen. “My work allows me to do all of that on a daily basis.”