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Natalia Smirnova

Assistant Director of Research and Education

Dr. Natalia V. Smirnova is Assistant Director of Research and Education at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Among other assignments, she leads education initiatives of the Institute such as the Teaching the Teachers program, the internship program and the Women’s Financial Empowerment series.\nPrior to joining the AIER, Dr. Smirnova was Associate Professor in the Department of Business and Economics and Director of the Center for International Studies (CMSV – CIS) at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, NY. Her research focuses on issues of economic development of Russia and on the position of women in the labor force. With a research grant from the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) she travelled to Vladivostok, Russia, in 2010, to assess the opportunities for American business in the Russian Far East, and to appraise the position of Russia’s women in the labor market. She later was invited to the US Department of State to report her findings.\nDr. Smirnova has more than 20 years of teaching experience at the college level with areas of expertise in Economics and Finance. She received a Wal-Mart Teaching Excellence Award from the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) in 2007. Her research on the issues of pedagogy related to active learning techniques in Economics was presented at multiple national and regional conferences.\nDr. Smirnova was a Supervising Analyst in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget (NYC OMB), where she utilized forecasting, cost-benefit analysis, and project valuation techniques for economic analysis of various programs and projects of the City of New York. She also participated in project development, personnel evaluation and management.\nNatalia received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Connecticut in 2004, an M.A. in Economics from Queens College\/CUNY in 1994, and Ph.D. equivalent in Statistics from the St. Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (FinEc), Russia, in 1990.\nNatalia lives in Connecticut with her husband and three daughters 15, 13 and 6 years old.