Sheila Olmstead

Sheila Olmstead is a Professor at Cornell University's Brooks School of Public Policy and an Atkinson Scholar at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. She previously held the Dean Rusk Chair at the University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs. Her research focuses on environmental economics, water policy, climate change, and regulatory frameworks. Olmstead earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy from Harvard University (2002), an M.P.A. from UT Austin (1996), and a B.A. from the University of Virginia (1992).

Her work examines the economic dimensions of environmental policies, including water resource management, carbon capture, and regulatory compliance. She has advised the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board (2021–25) and served in the White House Council of Economic Advisers (2016–2017). Olmstead is a Senior Fellow at PERC and President of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AEER). Her research has been published in leading journals such as Science, Nature Communications, and the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.

Olmstead’s expertise spans policy analysis and market-based solutions for environmental challenges. She critiques regulatory frameworks like the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, emphasizing scientific rigor and federal-state collaboration. Her recent work addresses climate adaptation, water scarcity in the Western U.S., and gender dynamics in environmental refereeing.