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Raphael Bostic

Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Search every verified Raphael Bostic interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Raphael Bostic, former president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, appeared at DELTA FEST 2026 in Jackson, Mississippi, on September 3, 2026, in conversation with HOPE CEO Bill Bynum. The discussion covered policy setting, funding allocation, and procurement decisions across the region, as well as workforce development and public-private partnerships. Bostic emphasized the importance of intentional community and regional cultures that prioritize collective prosperity, stating, "we thrive when we all thrive." He also critiqued historical U.S. workforce development efforts, describing them as "terrible" and noting that the country has not invested adequately in systems to support displaced workers. During the conversation, Bostic discussed the role of employers in creating pathways for workers without traditional credentials, citing examples of apprenticeship programs that combine paid work with schooling. He advised persistence and adaptability, saying that individuals should be willing to hear "no" but not accept it, and should remain open to pivoting their approaches. He encouraged the audience to trust their own capabilities and to persevere, asserting, "you do not give up like ever." The event was hosted by HOPE and created in partnership with Yancey Consulting, and referenced a report titled "The $271 Billion Question: Who Will Build, Own, and Benefit from the Deep South."

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Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“So I say a couple things on this. So one, historically the US has been terrible in workforce development. Now we don't really invest in it well. We don't develop systems that and structures and infrastructure to be robust and consistently forward looking to help people. And historically our experience in this country has been if you get disrupted out good luck we hope you find something you it'll work itself out some”

“The first is communicate, communicate, communicate. Be fully transparent on what you're trying to do, how you're going to do it, when it's going to start, and be repetitiously boring. You need to say it 400 times and make sure that everybody understands it at such a level that it's just understood.”

“Neutral is where we're not accommodating. We're not pushing the economy to go faster, but we also don't have our feet on the brakes. So, we're not trying to restrict activity, but we're actually trying to let the economy stand on its own.”

“We have this dilemma where we have the two parts of the mandate going in different directions — inflation's heating up or at least staying warm while employment is softening — and that is creating some tension in terms of what the right policy should be.”

“I don't think we're at target today and given that — and given that the forces and the pressures are likely to move us away from that in the short and medium term — I really think we need to pay very close attention to the fight against inflation; I'm still worried about it.”

“I don't think so. I view our interest rate policy as the primary tool, and we'll think about the other tools if we're in situations where that tool is not going to be able to deliver the ways that we need it to.”

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