Jan Eberly: National FFA President 1982–83
California · No. 56 of 100 · National FFA President 1982–83
At a Glance
- Office: National FFA President, 1982–83 (No. 56 of 100), the first woman to hold the office
- Home state: California, from Fallbrook (Fallbrook Union High School FFA)
- Earlier office: First female California State FFA President
- Education: B.S., University of California, Davis (1986); Ph.D. in economics, MIT (1991)
- Career: Professor of finance at the Wharton School and the Kellogg School of Management; Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and Chief Economist, 2011–13
- Recognition: Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; president-elect of the American Economic Association
When delegates elected Jan Eberly National FFA President in 1982, she became the first woman to hold the office, just thirteen years after the organization opened full membership to girls. She went on to a career in economics that took her to the Wharton School, the Kellogg School of Management and the United States Treasury.
Growing Up in Fallbrook
Eberly grew up in San Diego County and attended Fallbrook Union High School, where she was active in the FFA chapter. She has said she took part in horticulture and livestock projects before moving into leadership roles and public speaking. Her family’s citrus and avocado ranch in Fallbrook was part of the agricultural world she knew. She graduated in 1981 as valedictorian.
The Presidency, 1982–83
After graduating she served as the first female president of the California Association of FFA. In 1982 she was elected the first female National FFA President. FFA’s own history timeline, its “50 Years of Women in FFA” series and the 2019 New Horizons magazine all note the milestone.
In a 2018 FFA interview she said her national travels put her in front of people and places she might never have seen otherwise, including North Dakota, Puerto Rico and Japan. She credited working closely with people she mostly did not know for teaching her the listening, collaboration and communication skills she still uses. She also described her role as showing that FFA was growing, adaptable and open to many kinds of talent.
Education
Eberly entered the University of California, Davis in 1983 and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1986, graduating with highest honors and receiving the President’s Medal as valedictorian. During the 1985–86 school year she also served as a student regent of the University of California. She then earned a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991.
Career in Economics
- Council of Economic Advisers: junior economist, 1989–90.
- The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania: assistant and then associate professor of finance, 1991–98.
- Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University: professor of finance from 1998; now the James R. and Helen D. Russell Distinguished Professor of Finance. She chaired the finance department from 2005 to 2007 and has served as senior associate dean for strategy and academics.
- U.S. Treasury: nominated by President Barack Obama in May 2011 and confirmed by the Senate in October 2011 as Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy and Chief Economist. She led the Office of Economic Policy and advised Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on macro- and microeconomic issues until April 2013, when she returned to Kellogg.
Research and editing
Her research addresses finance and macroeconomics, including how firms make capital budgeting and financing decisions and how households spend and invest. She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2013 and has served as editor of the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity and associate editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives. She serves on the academic advisory panels of the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago and New York, and Kellogg lists her as president-elect of the American Economic Association, to serve as president in 2027.
Why Her Story Matters
Eberly’s path shows that FFA leadership is not a track into farming alone. She went from a ranch town in San Diego County to one of the most senior economics posts in the federal government. And her election, in the same decade that the first women began holding national FFA office, marks one of the clearest dates in the organization’s history of widening membership.
Next: Ron Wineinger, 1983–84 →
Sources
- National FFA Organization: On the Record, Janice Eberly (2018)
- National FFA Organization: Celebrating 50 Years of Women in FFA
- Kellogg School of Management: Janice Eberly faculty profile
- Brookings Institution: Janice Eberly curriculum vitae (2024)
- Kellogg School of Management: nomination to Treasury (2011)
- Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond: Econ Focus interview (2019)
- Wikipedia: Janice Eberly (pointer for early-life details)