The spotlight is upon Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as he testifies before Congress today. He is expected to speak before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday morning and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

He will be questioned by lawmakers on whether the central bank is capable of defusing inflation without crashing the US economy. It is more than likely that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates higher than predicted. It could quicken increases if economic data continue to strengthen. Back in June, when he last testified before Congress, the inflation rate was nearing 9% — which was the highest in the last 40 years. In the present times, the rate has dropped to 6.4%.

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Jerome Powell is married to Elissa Leonard.

Who is Elissa Leonard?

Powell married Elissa Leonard in 1985 at the Episcopal Washington National Cathedral. They have three children.

Leonard’s father, George Hill Leonard, is from Rockville, Maryland, and was an accomplished heart disease control administrator for the Public Health Service in Washington D.C. She attended schools within the Montgomery County School District. She received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1979. She had a joint major in visual and environmental studies and government.

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Leonard used to work as a producer/writer for WNET-TV Channel 13 for the outlet’s “INNOVATION” series, which ran from 1984 through 2004. It aired on PBS and topics covered in the series ranged from science to health to technology.

The “INNOVATION” series received numerous honors and awards including two from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (the New York Emmy Awards).

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Leonard was also the senior story editor for the National Geographic Channel’s TV Explorer series. She was also a producer at The Educational Film Center’s Powerhouse and Give and Take series. Leonard is the executive producer of Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black and also wrote and was the executive producer of Sally Pacholok.

It won 11 awards at the Television, Internet, and Video Association of Washington D.C.’s Peer Awards, with Leonard winning silver awards for independent feature and directing. She also won the “Best Feature” award at the Washington D.C. Independent Film Festival.