April 28, 2010

Chantilly to Represent Richmond Fed in National Competition

Richmond

Students from Chantilly High School in Chantilly, Va., won the Fifth District championship round of the 2010 Fed Challenge competition held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. This winning team included Jack Carlson, Syed Hussain, Surah Malladi, Emily Powers, Gary Suljoti and Emily Wright and was coached Joe Clement.

Chantilly, which represented the Baltimore office of the Richmond Fed, advances to the national finals to be held May 18 in Washington, D.C. District winners from three other Federal Reserve Banks will compete before a panel of judges that includes Federal Reserve officials from the Boston, New York and Richmond Feds. It is customary for the Federal Reserve chairman to make an appearance.

Also participating in the final round was Collegiate School of Richmond, Va., which represented the Richmond office. The Collegiate team included West Cuthbert, Peter Megson, Becky Patton, Britt Waddell, Preston Williams and alternate Steven Vranian. The team was coached by Rob Wedge.

Judges included Alexander Wolman, senior economist; Thomas Lubik, senior economist; and Anne Hallerman, library director. Wolman and Lubik judged the team's knowledge of the Federal Reserve, the current state of the economy and monetary policy, as well as research, analysis and responses during the 15-minute Q&A session. Hallerman judged teamwork and the quality of the presentations.

The Federal Reserve sponsors Fed Challenge to encourage better understanding of the nation's central bank and the forces influencing economic conditions in the United States and abroad. More information is available online at www.richmondfed.org/education/.

View photo of winning team
Seated: Emily Wright, Joe Clement (coach) and Emily Powers
Standing: Gary Suljoti, Suraj Malladi, Syed Hussain and Jack Colson

View photo of runner up
Seated: Britt Waddell, Rob Wedge (coach) and Becky Patton
Standing: West Cuthbert, Peter Megson, Preston Williams and Steven Vranian

As part of our nation’s central bank, the Richmond Fed is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks working together with the Board of Governors to support a healthy economy and deliver on our mission to foster economic stability and strength. We connect with community and business leaders across the Fifth Federal Reserve District — including the Carolinas, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and most of West Virginia — to monitor economic conditions, address issues facing our communities, and share this information with monetary and financial policymakers. We also work with banks to ensure they are operating safely and soundly, supply financial institutions with currency that’s fit for distribution, and provide a safe and efficient way to transfer funds through our nation’s payments system.

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