Avoiding Risk: Economic Growth Strategies – Santa Fe, NM

SPEAKER

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  Vanessa Vargas

  Sandia National Laboraties

  Vanessa N. Vargas is employed by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and is the Lead Economist for the National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC). While at SNL, she has led and contributed to numerous research efforts ranging from the economic impacts of natural and man-made disruptive events to long-term chronic issues, such as drought and climate effects. The tools and research efforts as part of NISAC have focused on the interdependencies between engineered systems and human systems. She earned a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Natural Resource and Environmental Economics at the University of New Mexico.

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  Peter Evangelakis, Ph.D.

  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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  Kyle Compton

  REMI

  Kyle Compton is an Economic Associate at REMI, responsible for client support and business development. Since joining REMI in May 2017, Mr. Compton has tested and reported on the company’s dynamic economic modeling software. He also assisted in sales and marketing through data analysis and development of a regular benchmarking system. Prior to starting at REMI, Mr. Compton was a research intern/consultant for Verité, a nonprofit organization that conducts research, advocacy and consulting on global working conditions. He presented original research on panel-regression analysis of the causes of forced labor and researched labor profiles of emerging economies. Building on his work for Verité, he earned the James Kindahl Award in Economics from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst for his paper, “Determinants of Forced Labor: Evidence from 21 Emerging Economies.” The paper is under review for publishing in the Massachusetts Undergraduate Journal of Economics. Mr. Compton will graduate from UMass Amherst in May 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.