Michelle Holder is a distinguished senior fellow at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Previously, she was the president and CEO of Equitable Growth from September 2021 to July 2022. Holder also is an associate professor of economics at John Jay College, City University of New York. Her research focuses on the Black community and women of color in the U.S. labor market. Named one of 19 Black economists to watch by Fortune magazine, Holder has authored two books, Afro-Latinos in the U.S. Economy, published in May 2021, and African American Men and the Labor Market during the Great Recession, published in 2017.

Prior to joining CUNY, Holder spent a decade working as an applied economist in the nonprofit and government sectors. She was a senior labor market analyst at the Community Service Society of New York from 2010¬ to 2014, and from 1995 to 1998, she was an associate financial analyst and economist at the Office of the New York State Comptroller. Holder also served as finance director at Dēmos from 1999 to 2006, as part of the founding staff at the organization. Holder earned a Ph.D. and an M.A. in economics from the New School for Social Research, an M.P.A. from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in economics from Fordham University.