Nicole
Dr. Nicole Smith is a Senior Researcher and economist on the Social & Demographic Trends team at the Pew Research Center, where she studies how artificial intelligence is reshaping the American workforce. Her current research examines employment patterns in the occupations most exposed to generative AI, focusing on how those patterns differ by gender, race/ethnicity, and education. She also studies the labor-market value of vocational and technical credentials and the role of education and socioeconomic factors in shaping intergenerational mobility.
Dr. Smith joined Pew after more than 18 years at Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). As Chief Economist and Research Professor, she built econometric forecasting models of employment, skills demand, and wage dynamics utilized by workforce planners in states across the country.
She is the author or co-author of more than 20 major reports on the future of work and the transition from education to employment. Her research has been featured by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and NPR, and was referenced in a State of the Union address. She has testified before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, briefed congressional staff and federal agencies, and served as a policy discussant at Federal Reserve Board conferences.
Dr. Smith holds a Ph.D. in economics from American University and an M.Sc. and B.Sc. from the University of the West Indies. She has taught econometrics and labor economics as an adjunct professor at The University of the West Indies, Gettysburg College, and American University, and she remains actively committed to mentoring early-career researchers.