2018 Users’ Conference Policy at the Crossroads Growth and Risk San Diego, CA

SPEAKERS

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  Joyce Jauer

  Texas Comptroller

  Joyce Jauer currently serves as a Senior Revenue Analyst for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts tracking federal funds and leading projects on health care expenditures, state budget cost drivers, tax exemptions, and Hurricane Harvey costs and economic impact. She has experience in social enterprise, nonprofit management, and financial advising including having served as the CFO of a cycle rickshaw venture in Varanasi, India. Joy founded Loka Culture and Development USA, which supports holistic education of children in Bihar, India. She has served on the board of the United Way of the Brazos Valley, the Harvard Club of San Antonio, the Chief Minister’s Technical Committee for Battery Rickshaws as well as selected for the Piramal Fellowship for Sustainable Business. Joy holds a Master of Public Service and Administration from the Bush School at Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Anthropology from Harvard University. She enjoys staying active with yoga and barre.

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  Jim Robey

  W.E. Upjohn Institute

  Jim Robey ’s research and technical assistance on economic issues and in economic and workforce development has assisted corporate, nonprofit, and economic and workforce development entities in problem resolution and strategic decision making, from the local to the national levels. Spanning more than three decades, his expertise includes industry studies, applied occupational analysis, economic impact modeling and analysis, economic and workforce development research and analysis, and site selection assistance. Robey’s research focuses on regional economic, education, economic development, and workforce development issues across Michigan and the nation. He prepares annual employment forecasts for southwest Michigan’s metropolitan areas, directs the production of Business Outlook for West Michigan, and provides economic insights for regional economic development across northwest Ohio, and the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. He has additionally coauthored research on a variety of national and regional issues. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Studies (1997), with an emphasis on Economic Development, and his Master’s degree in Public Administration (1993) from the Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology (1979) from Edinboro State College. Prior to joining Upjohn, Robey was an Associate Vice President with Southwest Michigan First in Kalamazoo, MI, where he directed local economic development efforts in Marshall, MI. Prior to working in Kalamazoo, Robey was Managing Director at Mohr Partners, Inc., where he focused on site selection and economic and workforce development strategies, and was Vice President of Research at TeamNEO, where he oversaw and developed economic research across 16 northeast Ohio counties.

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  Jeff Hardcastle

  Nevada Department of Taxation

  Jeff Hardcastle is Nevada’s State Demographer. He conducts annual population estimates for Nevada’s counties, cities, and towns. He incorporates economic factors and uses the REMI model in order to create forecasts that inform the state budget and other planning decisions. He graduated the University of Colorado Denver. The State Demographer’s Office is part of the Nevada Department of Taxation.

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  Mike Siers

  Towson University

  Michael Siers joined Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) within the Division of Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research (SPAR) in 2016. As Senior Research Manager, Michael is in charge of managing RESI’s projects for private companies and state agencies, as well as leading the development of RESI’s independent analyses. Michael leads the creation and implementation of RESI’s research methodologies and is especially interested in workforce development in the state. Prior to his role as Senior Research Manager, Michael served as RESI’s Senior Economist. In prior positions he worked as a Senior Research Analyst at IMPAQ International, LLC as well as a Research Analyst at the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Michael holds an M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Connecticut and a B.A. in Economics from Goucher College.

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  Scott Nystrom

  FTI Consulting

  Scott Nystrom is a Director at FTI Consulting in the McLean, VA office. Mr. Nystrom is in the Network Industry Strategies (“NIS”) practice within the Economic Consulting segment. He is an expert on regional modeling and applying it to policy analysis, economic impact analysis, and energy modeling. For the past seven years, Mr. Nystrom has conducted economic, climate, energy, fiscal, and demographic impact studies for federal agencies, regional planners, state and local governments, academic institutions, think tanks, nonprofits, associations, utilities, and major corporations. His areas of research have included energy and the environment, infrastructure, healthcare, economic development, project analysis, labor markets, and fiscal policy at the state and federal levels. In testimony, Mr. Nystrom has presented to state and federal policymakers, budget committees, and national conferences. Highlights include briefing the staffs of the House Ways & Means and Senate Finance committees on the impact of the federal “fiscal cliff” and the Arkansas legislature’s Joint Agriculture, Forest, and Economic Development Committee on a $1.1 billion steel mill. He has spoken before budget committees in Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont. He presented to the conferences of the National Association for Business Economics (“NABE”) and Transportation Research Board (“TRB”), one of the national academies, and the board of the Cone Health Foundation. Prior to FTI, Mr. Nystrom worked at Regional Economic Models, Inc. (“REMI”), a firm that builds models of state, regional, and national economies for analysis. He was the head of their consulting practice, client software training, technical support, and their Washington, DC office. He has extensive experience with REMI and IMPLAN, working knowledge of energy models such as CTAM and Power System Optimizer (“PSO”), and using such models in concert with one another.

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  Brendan O'Brien

  American Gas Association

  Brendan O’Brien is an Energy Manager at the American Gas Association, located in Washington, DC. He has been at the American Gas Association for the last 6 years working on LDC core market analytics and industry financial benchmark studies. Prior to joining AGA, he worked as a contractor at the Department of Energy providing data analysis for offices such as the Energy Information Agency and the Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program. Brendan holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and has a combined 9 years in the energy industry.

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  Madiha Zaffou

  Rhode Island Department of Revenue

  Madiha Zaffou is a Principal Economic and Policy Analyst at the Office of Revenue Analysis, Rhode Island Department of Revenue. Her office is responsible for the analysis of the state’s tax system and revenue expenditures. Her work focuses on (1) Performing cost-benefit analyses and research of a quantitative and qualitative nature used to develop state government policy and programs and evaluate their effect, (2) Analysis and research of complex and critical issues impacting the state budget, regulation, or policy structures, (3) Forecasting revenue and budget drivers such as program growth and/or enrollment, (4) Determining the impact of legislation proposed by the Governor and/or General Assembly. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, M.S. degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics, and a Ph.D. degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics.

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  Sean Sullivan

  Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council

  Sean Sullivan was appointed Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Regional Council in December of 2016. He worked for over 28 years in the planning, land use, environmental, zoning, and transportation fields. Sean also worked in the Region One Office of the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he managed capital projects, environmental compliance, and operational finances for transit agencies throughout New England. Mr. Sullivan earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and an MPA from Suffolk University in Boston. He is the two-time recipient of the Administrator’s Award from the Federal Transit Administration. He was also honored by receiving the Fellowship Award from Suffolk University and the President’s Medal from UMass Lowell. He is a 30 year member of the American Planning Association.

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  Randy Deshazo

  Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council

  Randy Deshazo is Director of Research at Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. He conducts contract and grant funded studies of economic and public policy issues using REMI PI+, TranSight and IMPLAN. With 17 years of experience, Randy has also worked in local government in Florida, directed MPO planning in California, and managed a freight planning program in Chicago. He has a master’s in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan.

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  Eric Kalivoda

  Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development

  Eric Kalivoda , Ph.D. presently serves as the Deputy Secretary for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. He is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Louisiana State University, a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from North Carolina State University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Louisiana, Arizona, and North Carolina. During his 38-year career, Dr. Kalivoda has gained experience in the fields of highway geometric design, traffic engineering, highway safety, urban and statewide transportation planning, and public administration.

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  Bobby Lu

  Association of Bay Area Governments

  Bobby Lu develops regional economic forecast models and analyzes regional trends of the Bay Area. His current work emphasizes on understanding labor market and supporting local and regional economic development efforts. He joined ABAG as a regional planner and analyst in fall of 2014. Bobby received his Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

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  Peter Gunther

  Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis

  Peter Gunther is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis, (CCEA) School of Business, UConn who resides in Ottawa, Canada where he is also President of Smith Gunther Associates Ltd., a modestly sized economic consultancy. Over the last 15 years with Fred Carstensen, Director at CCEA, they have undertaken at least 75 REMI applications, many of which have required estimates of complex amenities. From 2002-2006, he served the International Government Authority on Development as the Resource Person for the Wealth Sharing Table of the Sudanese Peace Negotiations. More recently international studies have focused on the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Basin for the Great Lakes Commission. Within Canada, his work has concentrated on evaluation of various Federal Government projects, studies of multi-occupational medical teams for more efficiently delivering healthcare, improvements in the blood deliver system, development of novel drugs, and innovative medical diagnostic tools. Private sector Canadian studies have covered enhanced participation in recreational activities such as recreational marine, fishing, ATVing, snowmobiling, and motorcycling.

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  Donald Grimes

  University of Michigan

  Donald R. Grimes received his master’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan, and his Bachelor of Arts from Kalamazoo College. He is a senior research area specialist at the University of Michigan’s Research Seminar on Quantitative Economics. His primary research interests are in labor economics and economic forecasting. For more than 30 years, he has been engaged in economic forecasting for state and local governments and is frequently called upon for policy advice. For over 30 years he has generated annual short-term employment and income forecasts for Washtenaw and Oakland counties. For over 20 years he has worked with the Michigan departments of Transportation and Treasury and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation on policy analysis and evaluating economic strategies. He recently finished a project to generate long-term economic and demographic projections for all of the counties of Michigan. His past research includes a study looking at Michigan’s industrial structure with a view to identifying sectors that will promote economic growth in the future. He has been involved in research projects sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in addition to numerous Michigan based organizations, including Michigan Future Incorporated. Among the papers he has co-authored are: “Employment Implications of declining tobacco product sales for the regional economies of the United States” (Journal of the American Medical Association, April 24 1996); “Contribution of the Automotive Industry to the U.S. Economy and its Fifty States” (October 2000); “Change in the Concentration of Employment in Computer Services: Spatial Estimation at the U.S. Metro County Level” (Growth and Change, March 2007); “Exploring Wage Determination by Education Level: A U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area Analysis From 2005 to 2012” (Economic Development Quarterly, August 2016); and “Economic Effects of Medicaid Expansion in Michigan” (New England Journal of Medicine, February 2, 2017).

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  John Fu

  Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development

  John Fu currently works as a Transportation Planning Engineer for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. He was born in China. He holds a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Louisiana State University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Louisiana. Dr. Fu’s research and work experience includes dynamic hurricane evacuation modeling, MPO and statewide travel demand models, traffic safety, and economic impact analysis of transportation investments.

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  Dan Wei

  University of Southern California

  Dan Wei , Ph.D., is a Research Associate Professor in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California (USC). She is also a faculty affiliate of USC’s Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE). Her research focuses on modeling of economic impacts of energy and climate change policies, analysis of market-based greenhouse gas mitigation policy instruments, and analysis of economic consequence of and resilience to natural or man-made disasters. She performed macroeconomic impact analyses on state climate action plans for several major states and regions in the U.S. and conducted analysis of cap and trade systems and/or carbon taxes at the regional, state, national, and international levels. She also participated in the capacity building on macroeconomic impact modeling of climate action plans in Guangdong, China and Baja California, Mexico. In the area of economics of natural hazards and terrorism, she contributed to the development of an algorithm to perform rapid economic impact analyses of disasters for California Emergency Management Agency. She is the co-author of a study for the U.S. Coast Guard on the economic impacts from and resilience to a shutdown of a major U.S. seaport and thus disruptions to the supply-chain. She has made significant contributions in the studies of the economic impacts of four major disaster scenarios for the U.S. Geological Survey. She recently led a Caltrans study to develop and apply an economic framework to evaluate resilience in recovering from major port disruptions. Dr. Wei is the author of nearly 30 peer-reviewed journal articles, and the recipient of Regional Economic Models Outstanding Economic Analysis Award and Sir Richard Stone Best Article Award. Dr. Wei holds a B.E. degree in Engineering Physics and an MSc degree in Public Policy from Tsinghua University, and a Ph.D. in Geography from The Pennsylvania State University.

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  Susanna Groves

  The Council of the District of Columbia

  Susanna Groves is a Senior Budget Analyst for the Council of the District of Columbia. She previously worked for Pew Charitable Trusts, the Migration Policy Institute, and the U.S. Department of Labor. Ms. Groves holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

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  Gabe Ehrlich

  University of Michigan

  Dr. Gabriel M. Ehrlich received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan. He is the director of the University’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics (RSQE). His research focuses on several areas of housing and land economics as well as the effects of wage rigidity on labor market outcomes. His work has been discussed in The Economist magazine and The Washington Post, and his recent article, Economic Effects of Medicaid Expansion in Michigan, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. His article, Metropolitan Land Values, is forthcoming in the Review of Economics and Statistics. Prior to joining RSQE, Dr. Ehrlich worked in the Financial Analysis Division at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), where he forecast interest rates and conducted analysis on monetary policy and the mortgage finance system. He has also worked as a financial analyst in the mortgage banking industry. He earned his undergraduate degrees in finance and economics at the University of Maryland, where he was chosen by the faculty as the outstanding graduate in finance during his senior year. Dr. Ehrlich testifies twice per year to the state legislature on Michigan’s fiscal and economic prospects, which the state uses as a guide to determining expected future revenues. He is a coauthor recently of The Michigan Economic Outlook for 2018–2019.

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  Ted Egan

  City of San Francisco

  Dr. Ted Egan is the Chief Economist of the City and County of San Francisco, and directs the Office of Economic Analysis in the City Controller’s Office. The office prepares independent economic analysis of all important new city legislation. His office has published over 100 economic impact reports on policy issues like the minimum wage, affordable housing, business taxes, land use planning, sporting events, and short-term rentals. During this time at the City, he has served as an expert witness on the economics of same-sex marriage, and won a Good Government award for his work designing the City’s business tax. Before joining the City, he spent ten years working for ICF International, managing economic development strategy projects across North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, and lectured in the Economics and City Planning departments at Berkeley for ten years.

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  Laura Adkins-Hackett

  Alberta Department of Economic Development and Trade

  Laura Adkins-Hackett is a Senior Economic Research Analyst with the Department of Economic Development and Trade for the Government of Alberta. In her role, Laura provides economic analysis to support a wide variety of government initiatives and policies, touching on topics such as investor tax credits, orphan wells and trade. Laura earned her Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Ottawa.

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  Michael Wilkerson

  ECONorthwest

  Michael Wilkerson , Ph.D., is a Project Director and Senior Economist at ECONorthwest. He brings over 10 years of private-sector experience as an economic consultant and as an analyst in the financial services industry. Mike studies urban economics for both public and private sector clients—with a focus on land use, transportation, and real estate development and how they interact with the regional economy. Using a data-driven approach that focuses on spatial analysis, he conducts housing market analyses, development feasibility studies, TOD implementation studies and master plans, economic impact analyses, and provides expert testimony. He regularly presents at national conferences on topics related to real estate economics, including the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute. Mike holds a Ph.D. in economics from Claremont Graduate University and is currently an adjunct professor of economics at Portland State University.

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  Marley Buchman

  ECONorthwest

  Marley Buchman joined ECONorthwest as an associate in 2017. He specializes in economic impact modeling, statistical programming, and data analysis, providing insights across a wide range of economic, education, and urban development projects. Before joining ECONorthwest Marley worked as a Senior Economic Associate for Regional Economic Models Inc. While at REMI Marley modeled the economic and fiscal impacts of changes in transportation, taxation, energy, and environmental policies across the U.S. He has experience in machine learning, data visualization with Shiny, and is an expert in both using REMI models for policy analysis, and statistical programming in R.

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  John Cho

  Southern California Association of Governments

  John Cho , Ph.D., is a Senior Regional Planner at the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). He is specialized in regional data science, growth forecast, and research in various topics including environmental justice, transit analysis, and economic modeling. He conducts economic impact analysis from transportation investment. He published several research papers in leading journals, including the Journal of Transport Geography, Natural Hazards, Transportation Planning and Technology, Journal of Transportation Research Forum, and Transport Policy. He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering specialized in transportation planning and engineering from USC. He also holds a Master of Art in Economics from Soul National University.

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  Chris Brown

  Common Sense Policy Roundtable

  Chris Brown is Director of Policy and Research for Common Sense Policy Roundtable, based in Denver, Colorado. Prior to joining Common Sense in 2017, Mr. Brown served as Manager of Business Development at REMI. Mr. Brown started at REMI as an assistant economist and progressed to lead projects and sales opportunities. In 2011, he established REMI’s DC office and oversaw the growth of the company in the nation’s capital. Highlights of his work include modeling the fiscal and economic impacts of Medicaid expansion in eight states. He led a successful effort to bring an economic model to the state of California as part of major regulation program. He also helped forecast the state-by-state economic effects of budget sequestration with Third Way, a centrist think tank, and examined a federal tax proposal for the U.S. Senate. Mr. Brown holds a B.A. in Economics from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

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  Mike Pogodzinski

  San Jose State University

  Mike Pogodzinski , Ph.D. is a Professor of Economics at San Jose State University and a Research Associate of the Mineta Transportation Institute. His transportation research has included work on the employment impacts of high-speed rail construction, the impact on ridership of park-and-ride facilities, and the economics of bike sharing. He also does research on state rainy-day funds and the impact of municipalities on school performance.

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  Richard Weisskoff

  University of Miami

  Richard Weisskoff , Professor and Chair, International Studies Dept., University of Miami (FL), BA, Ph.D. (econonomics) Harvard; former professor at Yale, Iowa State, and Bar Ilan (Israel) Universities; Author: Factories & Food Stamps: the Puerto Rico Model of Development (JHopkins UP); Economics of Everglades Restoration: Missing Pieces in the Future of South Florida (Ed Elgar). Dr. Weisskoff is a development economist, specializing in Latin America and the Caribbean, turned regional and environmental expert, a REMI-user for work involving coral reefs, beaches, forests, recreational and industrial parks; sand, phosphate, and limestone mines, power lines, river dredging, and farmlands conversion.

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  Greg Hamilton

  University of Arkansas

  Little Rock

  Dr. Gregory Hamilton is a senior research economist at the Arkansas Economic Development Institution located at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA-LR). He has held the position of a senior research economist at that Institute since 1996, and currently serves as the Director of Research. While at UA-LR, he participated in numerous research projects and studies over a wide range of topics. His areas of expertise include regional economic analysis, economic impact analysis, demographic economics, population estimates, and projections. Before joining the research group at the Institute, Dr. Hamilton held academic positions at Kansas State University, Missouri Southern State University, University of Houston at Victoria, and Marist College in New York. Dr. Hamilton earned his Ph.D. in economics at Oklahoma State University in 1983. He also earned Master of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in economics at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dr. Hamilton is an active Leave No Trace Master Educator and is engaged in developing and delivering training programs to the Boy Scouts of America, Arkansas State Parks, and several other statewide outdoor recreational groups. He is an active sailor, and he serves as the chairperson of the race committee on the Grand Maumelle Sailing Club’s Board of Directors.

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  Carlos Silva

  University of Arkansas

  Little Rock

  Carlos G. Silva is a Regional Economist at Arkansas Economic Development Institute (AEDI) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Skilled in applied economic research, as well as economic and statistical modeling. He is a research professional with a Master of Science in Applied Economics with a specialization in Natural Resource Economics from Utah State University, and a Doctoral degree in the field of Economic Development from New Mexico State University. His research interests consist of economic development, natural resources, and their interaction.

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  Hector Vielma

  Illinois Department of Revenue

  Hector M. Vielma, Ph.D., is a senior economist at the Office of Fiscal and Economic Research at the Illinois Department of Revenue. Dr. Vielma has developed and works with a number of econometric models and methodologies to forecast Individual Income Tax. Some of his work include modeling the effects of tax legislation and policy change proposals using a statewide micro-simulation model developed for such purpose. He also conducts fiscal impact analysis of individual income tax legislative proposals as well as state and regional analysis of economic trends as they relate to state tax revenue. Prior to working for the Illinois Department of Revenue, Dr. Vielma was an economic development consultant. For several years, He was also a lecturer at the department of economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he taught macro and micro economics at the graduate and undergraduate level. Dr. Vielma worked also as an auditor for the largest bank in Chile. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, an MBA (Finance) from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Universidad de Chile in Santiago, Chile.

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  Frederick Treyz

  REMI

  Frederick R. Treyz , Ph.D., is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Economist at Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI), a leading provider of dynamic economic modeling software and consulting. He is an authority on the macroeconomic and demographic effects of policy changes on states and regions. Under Dr. Treyz’s leadership, REMI has shaped public policy debates by helping clients evaluate economic development, energy, immigration reform, healthcare policy, and other topics. The company’s clients include federal, state, and regional agencies, leading national associations, metropolitan planning organizations, universities, and consultants who seek to analyze the implications of public policy. Dr. Treyz has overseen the research and development of REMI’s suite of regional policy models, and has academic publications in leading journals. He holds an A.B. in Economics from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Regional Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

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  Billy Leung

  REMI

  Billy Leung is the Vice President of REMI, where he plays a leading role in U.S. and international consulting and support services. He has worked with government agencies and organizations throughout North America and the world, helping them achieve their planning and policy analysis goals. As part of REMI’s global services, Mr. Leung has worked with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Korea Energy Economics Institute. In addition to his international efforts, Mr. Leung has assisted state and regional agencies, including Southern California Association of Governments. He has supported their long-term transportation and environmental planning initiatives. Mr. Leung joined REMI in 2002 and was promoted to vice president in 2009. Over the years, he has contributed to the development of the REMI model and performed economic impact studies. He has analyzed the economic impact of the biodiesel industry in New York State for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and researched the economic impact of widening New Mexico’s US 54 for the New Mexico Department of Transportation. He holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and received his M.A. in Regional Economics and Social Development at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. His master’s thesis was on the research and development of incorporating transportation and land use with Input/Output economic modeling.

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  Peter Evangelakis

  REMI

  Peter Evangelakis , Ph.D., is an Economist at REMI. Since joining REMI in September 2017, he has assisted clients in planning and conducting economic analysis using the REMI model, contributed to the firm’s business development efforts, and prepared and presented in-person and online seminars on topics such as Amazon HQ 2.0 and innovation in transportation. Prior to starting at REMI, Dr. Evangelakis taught undergraduate Intermediate Microeconomics as a lecturer at the University of Chicago. He is an experienced economic researcher and analyst; highlights of his work include measuring the effects of climate change on mortality and electricity usage and estimating air quality effects of the NOx Budget Program. Dr. Evangelakis has written papers analyzing the effects of Florida property tax reform and the non-pecuniary benefits of building a professional sports stadium. He also served as an intern at The Washington Economics Group, Inc., and The Human Services Coalition of Miami-Dade County. Dr. Evangelakis holds Ph.D. and Master’s degrees in Economics from University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from Swarthmore College.

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  Sherri Lawrence

  REMI

  Sherri Lawrence is Senior Vice President at REMI. Since joining the company in 1987, Ms. Lawrence has worked on all levels of technical consultation, economic analysis, and development with the REMI model. She is the leading expert in the model code and the use of the model for all analyses. Ms. Lawrence coordinates and oversees the application development group. She is the project manager for all PI+ implementation, including product design, troubleshooting, and testing, and works closely with research staff to develop and implement new research into the REMI model. She is also the projects manager for new product development. Ms. Lawrence holds a B.A. from Smith College in Biochemistry and a M.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

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  Jerry Hayes

  REMI

  Jerry Hayes is Manager of Software Development at REMI, where he is primarily responsible for the development of software. Mr. Hayes contributes to programming changes in the model structure and the design of new features in the software, as well as project management. Since joining REMI in 2002, Mr. Hayes has helped improve and optimize existing code and been involved in product development, including REMI PI+, Tax-PI and Metro-PI. Mr. Hayes received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.