Loretta J. Mester is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. She participates in the formulation of US monetary policy and oversees 1,000 employees in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. Prior to assuming her current role in 2014, she was executive vice president and director of research at the Philadelphia Fed, having joined the Bank as an economist in 1985.

Dr. Mester has published numerous journal articles on a variety of topics, including economics, central banking, and financial issues. She also has served as managing editor of the International Journal of Central Banking and as coeditor of the Journal of Financial Services Research. She is a director of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, a trustee of the Cleveland Clinic, a trustee of the Musical Arts Association (Cleveland Orchestra), a director of the Council for Economic Education, a founding director of the Financial Intermediation Research Society, a member of the senior council of the Central Bank Research Association (CEBRA), and a member of the advisory board of the Financial Intermediation Network of European Studies (FINEST). Dr. Mester is a member of the American Economic Association, the American Finance Association, the Econometric Society, and the Financial Management Association International.

She holds a BA in mathematics and economics from Barnard College and an MA and a PhD in economics from Princeton University.