2026 Users’ Conference

Speakers

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  Fred Treyz, Ph.D.

  Chief Economist & CEO

  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 and demographic modeling software and consulting. He is an authority on analyzing public policies and their regional macroeconomic and population impacts. Under Dr. Treyz’s leadership, REMI has shaped public policy debates by helping clients evaluate economic development, transportation, energy, immigration reform, and other topics. The company’s clients include federal, state, and regional agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, leading national associations, universities, and consultants who seek to analyze the implications of public policy. Dr. Treyz oversees the research and development of REMI’s suite of regional policy models, and has academic publications in leading journals. Currently, he is coordinating development of Generative AI approaches to enhance REMI’s regional economic policy analysis models. 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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  Parrish Ballard

  Economist Alaska Department of Revenue

  As a graduate of Wake Forest University with dual bachelor’s degrees in economics and French, I am passionate about using data analysis as a tool to explore complex issues and develop informed conclusions to decision makers. As an economist with the Economic Research Group, my role has focused on macroeconomic modeling to understand and communicate the economic impacts of specific policy changes and investment opportunities on the Alaskan economy and its regional populations. With its unique geography, climate, size, culture, and access to natural resources, the Alaskan economy stands alone with its opportunities and challenges, all of which has contributed to the stimulating nature of my work

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  Sharon Ju, Ph.D.

  Senior Modeler/Data Analyst

  Houston-Galveston Area Council

  Sharon Ju, Ph.D., is Senior Modeler/Data Analyst at Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC). She leads transportation project benefit cost analysis, transportation planning scenario creation and survey scope development. Sharon has provided technical assistance to numerous transportation planning studies and projects. Sharon’s REMI experience went back to year 1999 when she worked on regional social economic and land use modeling. Sharon graduated with a Ph.D. in Economics from University of Houston. She is proud of her dissertation work that used Dun & Bradstreet data to estimate the agglomeration forces among industries for Houston region. During her long career at H-GAC, she worked on regional demographic forecast modeling, travel demand model applications and recently VisionEval transportation planning tool development. Sharon’s hobbies include cooking, gardening and watching detective movies.

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  Dan Stickel

  Chief Economist

  Alaska Department of Revenue

  Mr. Stickel grew up in Alaska and graduated from the University of Alaska with a degree in business management. He has been with the Department of Revenue since 2004, first as an economist, then as a petroleum economist and Assistant Chief Economist. Much of his work has been focused on forecasting and analysis related to the oil and gas industry, and the oil and gas fiscal system. He has served as the Chief Economist for the department since 2016. He enjoys spending time outside enjoying the amazing natural beauty of Alaska and spending time with family and his growing collection of dogs.

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  Robert Carey, Ph.D.

  Lecturer

  Clemson University

  Dr. Rob Carey is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Clemson University and the director of the Regional Economic Analysis Laboratory (CU-REAL). He received a Master of Arts in Economics and a Ph.D. in Policy Studies, with a concentration in economic development, both from Clemson. Prior to coming to Clemson in 2005, he taught economics at Anderson University and Tri-County Technical College. He has conducted economic impact analyses of multiple colleges and universities, including Clemson, Lander, and the Citadel. He has also conducted fiscal projections for several South Carolina counties and school districts and numerous impact analyses for private and nonprofit sector clients.

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  Indraneel Kumar, Ph.D.

  Director for the Purdue Center for Regional Development

  Indraneel Kumar is the Director for the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD). Indraneel has been at PCRD since its inception in 2005. He focuses on regional demographics, economic and workforce analysis, identification of new sources of data, GIS databases, spatial analysis, and quantitative methods. He received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Visvesvaraya Regional College of Engineering in Nagpur, India in 1994. During his master’s in urban and regional planning from the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT University) in Ahmedabad, India, he was the recipient of the Vastushilpa Foundation Award for Excellence (gold medal) for his thesis in 1997. Indraneel earned a second master’s degree in community planning with a specialization in environmental planning from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating with the Professional Promise award in 2003. In 2014, he earned a Ph.D. in civil engineering with a major in transportation and infrastructure systems from the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University. Indraneel has been a member of the American Planning Association and American Institute of Certified Planners since 2006. In his 20 years of professional and applied research experience, Indraneel has worked on comprehensive planning for large metropolitan areas, regions, and counties (districts) in India and the USA, with a concentration on land use, transportation, and regional economic analysis. He has participated in several regional economic development research projects funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA); Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL); Office of Economic Adjustment, Department of Defense (DOD); Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); Joint Transportation Research Program (JTRP); and Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). Other state agencies include the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). He is an adjunct faculty member at the Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, since 2018 and participates in teaching graduate courses related to urban and regional economics and transportation systems evaluation. Indraneel has an interdisciplinary research interest in regional economic development and competitiveness, transportation and infrastructure systems, and renewable energy.

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  Jim Robey, Ph.D.

  Robey Analytics, LLC

  Jim Robey, Ph.D. is Principal of Robey Analytics, LLC, a professional consulting firm specializing in economic development, workforce development, and site selection services. Jim is an applied economist, economic developer, and site selection consultant with over 30 years of experience. He has worked with corporate, nonprofit, and economic and workforce development organizations in problem-solving, strategy, and policy decision-making from the local to the national levels. His expertise includes industry studies, applied occupational analysis, economic impact analysis, economic impact modeling, economic and workforce development research and analysis, and site selection assistance. Prior experience includes directing regional research initiatives, economic development, and site selection at both nonprofit and for-profit entities. Mr. Robey earned his Ph.D. in Urban Studies, with an emphasis in Economic Development, and his Master’s degree in Public Administration from Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs.

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  Anoushka Mohnot

  Senior Economic and Policy Analyst

  Rhode Island Department of Revenue

  Anoushka Mohnot is a Senior Economic and Policy Analyst in the Office of Revenue Analysis in the Rhode Island Department of Revenue. Prior to working for the state, Anoushka worked as a derivatives analyst for JPMorgan Chase. Anoushka earned her master’s degree in quantitative economics in 2023 from Tufts University. She completed her bachelor’s degree in quantitative economics and finance from Drexel University in 2022. Anoushka’s current work focuses on performing cost-benefit analyses to evaluate a variety of state tax incentives with REMI PI+ and Tax-PI economic modeling software, assisting with writing and editing monthly cash and revenue reports, and the completion of the Tax Expenditures Report.

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  Kiwhan Choi, Ph.D.

  Senior Economist

  Massachusetts Department of Revenue

  Dr. Choi serves as a senior economist at the Office of Tax Analysis (OTA) within the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. His responsibilities encompass a wide range of tax policy analyses, including estimating the revenue impacts of tax law modifications, initial forecasting of tax revenue, writing tax expenditure evaluation reports, monitoring economic trends, etc. During his Ph.D. study, Dr. Choi explored the economic effects of land value taxation in an urban area, which was featured in Land Economics in 2015. He thinks that the efficiency and other positive impacts of land value taxation should be more widely spread in the country. Although he has some working papers in progress, they await publication. In addition to his role at the OTA, Dr. Choi imparts his knowledge as an online instructor in economics at the Liberty University Business School. A native of Korea, Dr. Choi relocated to the U.S. in 2000. He achieved his Ph.D. in economics from Georgia State University in 2006. Prior to his joining the team of the OTA, he contributed as a postdoctoral researcher at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has a lovely wife and two grown-up daughters and one son in college.

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  Don Grimes

  Regional Economic Specialist

  University of Michigan

  Donald R. Grimes received his master’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan. 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. He has worked for many years with the Michigan departments of Transportation and Treasury and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation on policy analysis and evaluating economic strategies. He is co-director of 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. He co-authored a paper, “Change in the Concentration of Employment in Computer Services: Spatial Estimation at the U.S. Metro County Level” (Growth and Change, March 2007). He also co-authored a paper, “Exploring Wage Determination by Education Level: A U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Area Analysis From 2005 to 2012” (Economic Development Quarterly, August 2016).

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  Hector Vielma, Ph.D.

  Senior Economist

  Illinois Department of Revenue

  Dr. Hector M. Vielma is 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.