Paulina Oliva, an environmental and development economist, is vice-chair of the department – the first woman to hold this position in the USC Dornsife economics department. Born and raised in Mexico, she received her BA in economics from Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas, a small prestigious institution. She received her Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley, and then accepted a faculty position at UC Santa Barbara, a position she held for seven years. In 2018, after a year and a half at UC Irvine, she joined the economics faculty at USC.  Her research is focused on the effects of air pollution on health, particularly among low- and middle-income populations.  She is a member of the Association of Environmental and Research Economics Executive Board. She has also benefited from mentorship from the AEA Committee on the Status of Women and will serve as a mentor in their 2020 junior faculty program.  She will be the faculty advisor to the Women in Economics.