( CNN ) -- She is poised to become one of the world 's most powerful women , joining an elite club of fellow female trailblazers including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazil 's president Dilma Rousseff . But when President Obama announced his nominee for the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve last October , few outside the financial world had heard of Janet Yellen . Serving as the current deputy to Ben Bernanke for the past three years , the Senate confirmed Yellen 's nomination Monday . CNN takes a look at the woman who will serve as first female chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve , the world 's most powerful central bank , when Bernanke steps down at the end of the month . Backed by experience . A native of Brooklyn , New York , the 67-year-old economist has an impressive academic career coupled with extensive experience as a public servant . `` She is a proven leader because she 's tough ... Janet is exceptionally well qualified for this role , '' Obama told reporters in October . `` She 's served in leadership positions in the Fed for more than a decade . '' After Yellen earned her B.A . in Economics with the highest distinction from Brown University , she went on to Yale where she received her doctorate in 1971 . Her years in academia also saw her take on an assistant professor role at Harvard , a lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science followed by 26 years as a professor at University of California at Berkeley 's Haas School of Business . Economics in the family . Away from her role at the central bank , Yellen 's family is also closely tied to the world of economics . She met her husband , Nobel Prize recipient George Akerlof , while they were both working at the Federal Reserve in 1977 . Meanwhile their son , Robert is an assistant professor in Economics at the University of Warwick in England . Communication is key . When then-President Clinton appointed her to chair his Council of Economic Advisers in 1997 , he said : `` She is an esteemed writer and thinker who will serve our country well . '' While today she speaks primarily on economic policy , Yellen was , in fact , the editor in chief of her high school paper , 'The Pilot . ' As The New York Times reported , in order to maintain the school 's tradition of having the editor interview the valedictorian , in 1963 Yellen delightfully interviewed herself . Finance is a small world . Her closest rival for the nomination was former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers -- who she taught macroeconomics to in 1976 -- but he withdrew his name from consideration last month amid mounting press coverage . Yellen has been widely welcomed by the markets and fellow economists , 300 of which had previously signed an open letter urging the U.S. president to nominate the New York native . Two steps ahead . During Obama 's nomination announcement to appoint Yellen , he praised her good judgment and understanding of how the markets work while also highlighting some of the economic issues she has foreseen . `` As vice chair for the past year she has been exemplary ... She sounded the alarm early about the housing bubble , about excesses in the financial sector and about the risks of a major recession . ''
The Senate confirms Janet Reno as the next chair of U.S. Federal Reserve . Current chairman Ben Carson will complete his second term this month . Yellen will be the first woman head in the Fed 's 100-year history . The native New Yorker has extensive economic and academic background .