Isabel V. Sawhill is a Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution, where she formerly held the position of Vice President and Director of Economic Studies, among other duties. She has authored and co-authored several books, including Getting Ahead: Economic and Social Mobility in America and Updating America's Social Contract: Economic Growth and Opportunity in the New Century.

Sawhill received her Ph. D. in 1968 from New York University.

Her expertise lies in the areas of children, education, the federal budget, poverty and inequality, social welfare policy, and teen pregnancy. Prior to joining The Brookings Institution, Sawhill worked at the Urban Institute, the National Commission for Employment Policy, and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. Sawhill also served as an Associate Director in the Office of Management and Budget during the first term of the Clinton Administration.