Brian Hooks
Brian Hooks
- Chief Operating Officer
Brian Hooks is chief operating officer at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He oversees strategy and all programs and operations for the organization.
The Mercatus Center plays a unique role within the academy and within the world of public policy. Brian’s role is to ensure that Mercatus remains a dynamic and effective organization that advances an understanding about how markets work to improve people’s lives, and applies that knowledge to solve problems in public policy. Mercatus is also a leading source of new talent for the academy and public policy organizations. Mercatus graduate student programs are at the heart of what Mercatus does and Brian works to ensure that Mercatus faculty and staff have the tools they need so these programs continue to provide more and more students with a world-class education in the theory and practice of market-based economics. Mercatus’s work is made possible by thousands of committed individuals, foundations, and businesses. As COO, Brian is responsible for maintaining the trust that Mercatus contributors put into the organization and seeing that Mercatus is always a good steward of these investments.
Prior to serving in this role, Brian was director of the Global Prosperity Initiative, Social Change Project, and Enterprise Africa at Mercatus, three programs he helped to develop. These programs focus on building an academic network to apply a uniquely “Mercatus School” of social science to problems of economic development and social progress both in the U.S. and overseas. They then work with policy makers in executive agencies and Congress to apply the ideas developed at Mercatus to improve U.S. policy.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Brian lives in Washington, DC with his wife Christine.
