Professor Wendy Takacs majored in Latin American Studies and Spanish as an undergraduate at Douglass College, received her M.A. in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and M.A. and Ph.D degrees in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University. Her research focuses the impact of non-tariff trade barriers, trade liberalization in developing and transitional economies, and the operation of the world trading system. At UMBC she teaches introductory economics, intermediate microeconomic theory, international economics and economic development. Outside of academia she has worked for a Presidential Commission on Trade and Investment Policy, the Department of Agriculture, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. As co-director of the UNDP/World Bank Trade Expansion Program she provided trade policy advice to many countries around the world, including Colombia, Mexico, Mongolia, Peru, Romania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe. Her hobbies include gardening, hiking, and riding her two horses in 3-phase eventing competitions.