The Power of Population: How Demographic Shifts Are Shaping Our Global Future

Join us as we welcome Dr. Jennifer Sciubba, one of the nation’s leading experts on political demography, for a deep dive on how population trends are reshaping our world and understanding one of the most fundamental forces shaping our collective future. 

From rapidly aging populations in some regions to growing youth populations in others, demographic shifts are quietly but powerfully transforming economies, security, and global influence. Drawing on her work as President and CEO of the Population Reference Bureau and her extensive research, Dr. Sciubba will unpack the trends driving these changes—and what they mean for the future of nations, communities, and everyday life. 

About our Speaker

Jennifer D. Sciubba, Ph.D., is a leading expert in political demography. As President and CEO of PRB, she provides leadership, strategic direction, and vision for the organization, with the goal of expanding the impact and relevance of its work. Dr. Sciubba aims to strengthen resource mobilization capacities, increase organizational visibility, and facilitate innovation and creativity in PRB’s work and culture.

At a time when reliable, unbiased data are crucial to informing policies and programs that affect people’s well-being, Dr. Sciubba draws on her expertise in political demography and research translation to adeptly communicate the importance of population trends and issues to a wide audience. Whether writing for The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, and The Washington Post; publishing policy-relevant research in scholarly articles and edited books; or speaking on the TED stage or to community groups, Dr. Sciubba distills population data into actionable insights that experts, media, policymakers, and the public can understand the importance of and use to make decisions.

Throughout her career, Dr. Sciubba has asserted that a deeper understanding of fertility, mortality, and migration trends points us toward the investments we need to make today to shape the future we want tomorrow. This approach is the central theme of her latest book, 8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World (W.W. Norton 2022). She brings this evidence-based, forward-looking approach to bear on PRB’s mission to use population data to inform and advance solutions to urgent challenges facing our world today and improve the welfare of people everywhere.

Dr. Sciubba has studied at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany, and served as a demographics consultant to the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy. She has been affiliated with the Wilson Center and the Hess Center for New Frontiers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, both in Washington, DC. She is formerly a tenured professor at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges. Dr. Sciubba is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Council on Foreign Relations and served on PRB’s Board of Trustees from 2019 to early 2024, in roles ranging from the Chair of Governance and Nominating Committee to Vice Chair of the Board. She received her Ph.D. and master’s degree from the University of Maryland and her bachelor’s degree from Agnes Scott College.