St. Louis Fed Honors Hafer for Contributions to Economic Education

Gail Heyne Hafer, professor of economics at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, is the recipient of the 2019 Economic Educator Advisory Board Educator of the Year Award from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 

The award is given annually to recognize a board member for his or her commitment to economic and financial education.

Hafer was honored at a May 9 dinner at the St. Louis Fed. She has served on the St. Louis Fed’s Educator Advisory Board for 13 years. The board is composed of local teachers who review curriculum, attend meetings, present at events and contribute in other ways to the success of the St. Louis Fed economic education program, Econ Ed at the Fed.

“Gail has helped economic education at the St. Louis Fed grow and improve our annual Professors Conference,” said Mary Suiter, a St. Louis Fed assistant vice president and economic education officer. “With her help, we have refocused the conference on improving teaching and learning in economics. Attendance has increased significantly over the last five years, and the evaluations are exceptional. Gail reviews proposals submitted for the conference, moderates panels, and makes presentations.”

In addition, Suiter called Hafer an advocate for women in economics. Hafer has monitored panels at each of the annual Women in Economics Symposiums at the St. Louis Fed, and was interviewed for the Women in Economics podcast series from the St. Louis Fed. Hafer describes studying and teaching economics in Women in Economics, Episode 9.

The St. Louis Fed’s Econ Ed at the Fed offers more than 400 free educational resources about economics, personal finance, money and banking. In addition, the St. Louis Fed’s Econ Lowdown™ teacher portal allows teachers to create a syllabus of resources and assign the syllabus to students. The St. Louis Fed’s lessons, videos, online courses and more are free and available for pre-kindergarten through college, as well as for parents and other consumers.