| Paula Stern | |
| Office: | Chair of the United States International Trade Commission |
| President: | Ronald Reagan |
| Office2: | Member of the United States International Trade Commission |
| President2: | Jimmy Carter |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Termend2: | February 1987 |
| Termstart2: | October 1978 |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Spouse: | Paul London (m. 1972) |
| Children: | 2 |
| Term Start: | 1984 |
| Term End: | 1986 |
| Education: | Goucher College (B.A.) Harvard University (M.A.) Tufts University (M.A., Ph.D.) |
Paula Stern (born March 31, 1945) is an American businesswoman and former chairwoman of the United States International Trade Commission. She was first named as a commissioner by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 and appointed as chair in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, a position she served in until 1986.[1] During her tenure, she was highly critical of U.S. trade policies under the Reagan administration.[2]
Stern attended public schools in Memphis, Tennessee, and received her bachelor's degree from Goucher College in 1967.[3] She went on to earn a master's degree from Harvard University in 1969 as well as two additional masters' and a doctorate from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Her 1976 dissertation at Tufts was titled The Water's Edge: The Jackson Amendment as a Case Study of the Role Domestic Politics Plays in the Creation of American Foreign Policy.[4] This thesis served as the basis for her first book, Water's Edge: Domestic Politics and the Making of American Foreign Policy, which focused on Congress's role in formulating U.S. foreign policy.[5]
Stern entered government in the late 1970s as a Senate legislative aide to Gaylord Nelson. She was also a fellow for the Council on Foreign Relations from 1976 to 1977. In 1993, she served on President Bill Clinton's advisory committee on trade policy.[6] From 1994 to 2000, she was a professor of international business at Hamline University. Stern later founded a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., the Stern Group.[7]
Stern has served on a number of corporate boards, including for CBS, Walmart, Duracell, Harcourt, Avaya, Neiman Marcus, Avon, and Hasbro. She is also a member of the Atlantic Council's board of directors.[8] Stern is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.