Elisabeth B. Reynolds, Ph.D., is Professor of the Practice in the MIT Department of Urban
Studies and Planning. She was Special Assistant to President Biden for Manufacturing and
Economic Development at the National Economic Council (NEC, 2021-2022) where she helped
lead the Administration’s work on national manufacturing strategy, supply chain resilience and
industrial strategy. Before working at the NEC, Reynolds was a Principal Research Scientist and
executive director of the MIT Industrial Performance Center (2010-2021), an interdisciplinary
research center focused on systems of innovation and industrial transformation. She also co-led
the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future (2018-2021) which examined the relationship
between emerging technologies and work. Reynolds’ work and research focus on systems of
innovation and manufacturing including growing innovative firms to scale and digital technology
adoption.
Reynolds has worked on rebuilding manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. in a number of
capacities including advising three Massachusetts governors. She represents MIT on the board
of the non-profit, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) and is also an advisor to the
Special Competitive Studies Project, a Washington think tank focused on national security and
critical technologies.