The most challenging problems are those rooted in human behavior, which is at the heart of policy. Solutions to address critical issues—like income inequality and racial disparities—cannot wait. I am motivated by Urban’s role as a catalyst to help policymakers solve problems more quickly by using research and evidence to understand what is and isn’t working.
Audrey Buehring is deputy chief of staff at the Urban Institute, where she supports executive leadership. She partners with Urban staff to develop and implement strategic priorities. Before joining Urban, Buehring served the City of Seattle as chief of staff for a councilmember and then-deputy director of human services. In her roles, she managed both operations and policy, which included strategies to reduce homelessness, increase community safety, and provide health care and affordability programs.
Buehring spent almost six years working for the Obama administration, primarily as deputy director for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). At the initiative, she aligned federal agencies to develop and act on a policy agenda based on the needs of the AAPI community. Her work with the initiative later led her to draft legislation to make Seattle the first US city to disaggregate race data.
Before working in public policy, Buehring started her career as an engineer for General Motors, where she brought OnStar from conception to production on two vehicle lines.
Buehring holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University, a master’s degree in linguistics from the University of Florida, and a law degree from the University of Denver. She began her public policy career as a Presidential Management Fellow.