Valentin Bolotnyy, an affiliated scholar at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), has been appointed Vice Chair of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors by Gavin Newsom. The council serves as a strategic advisory body to the governor and the California Department of Finance, bringing together leading experts to analyze economic trends and provide guidance on state and federal developments.

The announcement introduces new leadership for the council, with Renee Bowen (Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and the Walsh School of Foreign Service) serving as Chair and Bolotnyy as Vice Chair. The group convenes experts from academia, policy, and industry to examine evolving economic conditions and advise on issues shaping California’s economy, including federal policy shifts, trade dynamics, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

Bolotnyy is a Kleinheinz Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he contributes to the State and Local Governance Initiative and the Working Group on Civics and American Citizenship. His research focuses on designing and evaluating policies that improve economic and health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations, often in partnership with state and local agencies.

Using administrative data, quasi-experimental methods, and randomized controlled trials, his work examines issues including involuntary hospitalization, deinstitutionalization, and interventions for individuals cycling through hospitals, jails, and homelessness, as well as prison education and workforce development programs. He is also affiliated with CDDRL's Deliberative Democracy Lab.

His appointment comes as California continues to navigate global economic disruptions and policy shifts, with the council playing a key role in helping the state respond to emerging challenges and opportunities.