ith headlines hollering about severe recession for many months, employers, government officials and workers in Northern Indiana have felt overwhelmed by the economy's torturous turn of events. As worries mount, there- fore, the views of professional economists—who wrestle daily with detailed economic data in search of forecasts—can provide helpful perspectives to individuals from across north-central Indiana.
Tailoring their comments for everyday folks (in other words, non-economists), the experts speaking during the 2009 Northern Indiana Economic Forecasting Summit have been given an overarching mandate: to generate a serious, vibrant discussion of the economy.
Vibrant, Serious Discussion of the EconomySuch a goal will emerge from three key elements: l each economist making informal, roundtable remarks based on his or her perspective gained from working daily with markets, labor trends, supply and demand, Federal Reserve Board policies, the credit system for companies and individuals, and other factors; l their responses to com- ments from the moderator, who herself is an accomplished expert on personal finance and regular com- mentator in national print and broad- cast media outlets; and, finally, l their answers to questions from audience members, whose views are important in generating a compelling discussion of the economy.
The early-bird registration fee of $20 includes a continental breakfast (the early-bird cutoff is Friday, Feb. 27; thereafter, registration is $25).
Dara Duguay is former director of Citigroup's Office of Financial Education in Washington, D.C. Her expertise on personal finance matters has spurred media interviews in The New York Times, Associated Press, USA Today, Money magazine, Boston Herald, Parenting magazine, Investors Business Daily, and MetroPulse blog from Scripps Newspaper Group—Online. In addition, she has appeared as a guest on national television and radio networks including National Public Radio, Fox News Channel, CNN, Bloomberg, NBC affiliate WBAL-TV11 from Baltimore (YouTube video) and MSNBC. Ms. Duguay records a monthly segment called "Financial Fitness" on the Clear Channel radio network in Washington. More- over, she is a featured columnist in a quarterly magazine distributed by the U.S. Defense Department called Military Money. In addition, she has served as a speaker at numerous conferences, including: l a Group-of-Eight (G8) summit in Moscow, Russia, on financial literacy; l a summit on financial capacity sponsored by the European Commission; l an annual meeting of the international Organ- ization for Economic Cooperation and Development; l the National Association of State Treasurers; l Society of American Business Editors and Writers; and l the American Bankers Association. Ms. Duguay authored three personal finance books, including Please Send Money: A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults on Their Own as well as Don't Spend Your Raise: And 59 Other Money Rules You Can't Afford to Break.
Rick Mattoon is a senior economist and economic advisor with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. His principal research area spotlights issues con- fronting the Midwest regional economy, including Northern Indiana and South- western Michigan. Mr. Mattoon writes a blog at Fed Chicago, and he has analyzed and published articles on topics including electricity restructuring and energy issues, higher education policy, regional economic development, and state and local gov- ernment finance. He has written about topics including issues facing state and local government pensions as well as European consideration of pension issues. He speaks to workforce and economic development groups in the Midwest (such as this 2007 economic forecast to the Rockford, Illinois, chamber; Google video). In addition, he serves as an adjunct associate professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, teaching a course, "Urban Economic Development and Real Estate Market Analysis."
Christopher Woock is a labor economist with the Conference Board in New York. As a research associate in the board's Management Excellence Program, his research projects include: l addressing a link between innovation and competi- tiveness; l exploring the empirical links between human capital and business performance to create an "evidence-based" approach to Human Capital Analytics; and l assessing issues surrounding the maturing worker. Mr. Woock received his Ph.D in Economics from the University of Kentucky, and he has wide experience in speaking to business and government audiences. For the '09 Economic Summit in South Bend, he plans to discuss the Conference Board’s regional economic outlook with an emphasis on the labor market outlook. Moreover, he intends to talk about the board’s national economic forecasts based on the Leading Economic Indicators and the Consumer Confidence Index. The board operates as a global independent membership organization working in areas including: l publishing information and analysis; l making economics-based fore- casts and assessing trends; and l facilitating learning by creating dynamic com- munities of interest that bring together senior executives from around the world.
Emily Kolinski Morris is senior economist for the Americas in the Corporate Economics and Strategic Issues Office at Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan. Her duties include making Ford’s business environment analysis of North American and South American markets. In addition, Ms. Kolinski Morris develops forecasts for both the automotive industry and the overall economy, and she conducts in-depth studies on issues affecting the auto industry such as pricing trends and the foreign exchange markets. Ms. Kolinski Morris is quoted regularly in media outlets including USA Today, New York Daily News, the Detroit News, MSNBC, the Seattle Times, Reuters news service, the Boston Herald, MSN's Money Central, the Louisville Courier-Journal, PR-Inside.com, and China View (an English version of China's Xinhua news service). Moreover, she is vice president of the Detroit Association for Business Economics. (Please note: Ms. Kolinski Morris participated as a roundtable panelist during the 2008 Northern Indiana Economic Forecasting Summit).
Daniel Kazmer is a research economist and author from Arlington, Virginia. Specializing in international markets, Mr. Kazmer co-authored a 2004 book, Economic Lessons from the Transition: The Basic Theory Re-Examined. The book presents alternative views of basic economic theory in light of three transitions of the 1990s: l from central planning to market capitalism; l from trade to inter- national financial-asset flows as the driver of foreign exchange rates; and l from youth to aging in rich-country populations. The book was included in a publisher's listing of 2007 highlights for economics textbooks. During 2007-2008, he was a guest speaker at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He authored papers including: l “Russia’s Econ- omy—Past as Prologue and Future” (2007); l “The Depre- ciating US Dollar—Causes, Consequences, and Policy Re- sponses” (2004); l “Japan: The First Demographic Transition” (2003); and l “Foreign Exchange Rates and Ex- change Rate Crises” (2003). He has made presentations to the International Association for Energy Economics. Dr. Kazmer holds a Ph.D in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a retired U.S. Central Intelligence Agency economic analyst, and former adjunct instructor at Georgetown University and George Washington University.
