Rate My Professor Natalie Gochnour

Natalie Gochnour is an Associate Dean in the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, contributing to the Business & Economics faculty, and serves as Director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. She earned her bachelor's degree in economics in 1984 and master's degree in economics in 1988 from the University of Utah. Specializing in public finance, which she teaches, Gochnour has been an adjunct professor for the College of Social and Behavioral Science for the past decade. She also holds the position of Senior Advisor to the President at the University of Utah.

Throughout her distinguished career, Gochnour has blended public service and business leadership. She advised Utah governors Norm Bangerter, Mike Leavitt, and Olene Walker, and during the George W. Bush administration, she served as Associate Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, she led public policy business priorities for the Salt Lake Chamber for seven years and now serves as its Chief Economist. In 2013, she returned to the University of Utah, where she was recently appointed Associate Dean to develop and implement a new public policy initiative aimed at serving Utah businesses and community leaders. Additionally, she acted as media spokesperson for the governor's office during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Gochnour has authored more than 250 columns published in Utah Business magazine and the Deseret News and co-hosts the weekly public radio program Both Sides of the Aisle on KCPW. Her community service has earned her recognitions from organizations including the YWCA of Salt Lake City with the 2012 Outstanding Achievement Award for business, Wasatch Women’s 2008 Wasatch Woman of the Year, Downtown Alliance, South Valley Chamber, Friends for Sight, and Girl Scouts of Utah. She currently serves on the boards of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, Utah Transportation Commission, O.C. Tanner, and Altabank, and is vice-chair of Envision Utah and World Trade Center Utah.