Katie Hammer joined MIT in February 2021 as Vice President for Finance. She oversees the activities of the Office of the Vice President for Finance (VPF)–which reports to the Executive Vice President and Treasurer–and plays a critical role in the thoughtful stewardship and effective deployment of the Institute’s resources.
VPF’s 170-person staff of finance professionals is responsible for assembling MIT’s Institute-wide budget, preparing its published financial statements and tax filings, advising senior leadership on endowment support for operations and other key financial dynamics, executing borrowings, managing liquidity and working capital, recording gifts, and overseeing payroll, procurement, and other services that enable research, education, and innovation at MIT.
Hammer came to MIT with financial leadership experience in mission-driven settings. From 2017 to 2021, she served the City of Detroit as chief deputy CFO and deputy chief operating officer, where she managed a range of initiatives to bolster Detroit’s fiscal and economic resilience in partnership with City leaders. Hammer was budget director for the City of Boston from 2015 to 2017, leading the development and management of the City’s operating and capital budgets. Hammer also held finance and administration appointments with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance, including as assistant secretary for administration and chief of staff (2011–2015).
Hammer holds a BA in political science and economics from Washington University in St. Louis and an MPA with a concentration in economics and public policy from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.