Association for University
Business and Economic Research

A national association of regional
economic research centers

Leadership

Elected from our membership, the AUBER Board of Directors and Officers guide the growth of the organization and participate on several committees during their service. Position changes occur at the conclusion of the annual fall conference. To be considered for future board positions, contact 2023-24 President Brian Lewandowski.

AUBER Officers

President
President

BRIAN LEWANDOWSKI

University of Colorado, Boulder


Brian is Associate Director of the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. Brian provides regional business and economic information and education, including economic and revenue forecasts, policy studies, economic impact analyses, and data workshops. Brian has 13 years’ experience conducting economic studies at CU Boulder. Prior to CU, he worked in both the private sector and government. He is currently the President of the Denver Association of Business Economists.

Jennifer Green
President-Elect

JENNIFER GREEN

Jacksonville State University


Jennifer is Director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research where she has worked for 10 years. She is responsible for leading the center’s community and economic development activities and outreach to 11 counties in Jacksonville State University’s regional footprint. She is also responsible for cultivating grants and contracts to fund economic development research opportunities.

Vice President
Vice President

VANESSA FRY

Boise State University


Vanessa is director of the Idaho Policy Institute (IPI) at Boise State University and an associate research professor in the School of Public Service at Boise State. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco. She holds a BA in Biology and Fine Art from Wittenberg University in Ohio, an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School, and a PhD in Public Policy and Administration from Boise State. Fry has served on the AUBER board since October 2021.

Secretary-Treasurer
Secretary-Treasurer

MICHAEL J. HICKS

Ball State University


Mike is the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Economics and director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. He previously served on the faculty of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management and at research centers at Marshall University and the University of Tennessee. Hicks earned doctoral and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Virginia Military Institute. He is a retired Army reserve infantryman having served in combat and peacekeeping operations in North Africa, Southwest Asia, Korea and Japan. Full bio.

Past President
Past President

JULIETTE TENNERT

University of Utah


Juliette is a seasoned economist and public finance professional with over a decade and a half of experience on Utah’s Capitol Hill and in Utah’s System of Higher Education. She is currently a senior advisor for the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, where she previously served as chief economist and a founding managing director. She has served as the state budget director and chief economist for Governor Gary Herbert, chief economist for Governor Jon Huntsman, and a fiscal analyst for the Utah State Legislature. More recently, Juliette worked as the chief financial officer for the Utah System of Higher Education. Full bio.

AUBER Board Members

Term: 2023-2024
Term: 2023-2024

PATRICK BARKEY

University of Montana


Pat has served as director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Montana since 2008. He has been involved with economic forecasting and policy research for more than 40 years, in both the private and public sectors. He has authored studies on energy development, tourism, labor markets, tax policy and international trade. Prior to his role in Montana he was Director of the Bureau of Business Research at Ball State University in Indiana for fourteen years. Barkey has served in various AUBER leadership roles, including ten years as secretary-treasurer and two years as AUBER president. Full bio.

Term: 2021-2024
Term: 2021-2024

RAJEEV DHAWAN

Georgia State University


Dr. Dhawan wears a dual hat as the Zwerner Chair of Economic Forecasting and as Director of the Economic Forecasting Center at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. As director of one of the country’s premiere forecasting centers, Dhawan develops forecasts for the U.S., Southeast regional and local metro Atlanta economies. These forecasts are regularly published and presented to business executives and the media at the Center’s popular, well-respected quarterly forecasting conferences. Full bio.

Term: 2022-2025
Term: 2022-2025

NICOLE GISLASON

University of West Florida


Nicole is Executive Director of the University of West Florida Haas Center, part of UWF’s Division of Academic Affairs. She is Vice Chair of Florida’s Great Northwest and a Trustee with the Florida Chamber Foundation. She serves on the board of the Northwest Florida Manufacturers’ Council, and is a member of the Rotary Club of Pensacola and Pensacola IMPACT 100. Her previous work includes a public-private partnership between Florida’s manufacturing sector, the State, and the National Institute for Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). Full bio.

Monica Haynes
Term: 2023-2026

MONICA HAYNES

University of Minnesota Duluth


Monica serves as the director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at University of Minnesota Duluth. Haynes has been the director of the BBER for nine years. She also serves as an adjunct faculty in LSBE’s economics department, as chair of Labovitz School of Business and Economics’ Outreach Committee, and on the Duluth Workforce Development Board. She earned a Master of Science in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and a B.A. in Political Science and Statistics from the University of Minnesota Morris. In her spare time, she enjoys running, biking, cooking, and reading.

Rod Motamedi
Term: 2023-2026

ROD MOTAMEDI

Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst


Rod is assistant director of the Economic and Public Policy Research group (EPPR) of the UMass Donahue Institute. At EPPR, Mr. Motamedi oversees 20 full-time staff who focus on demographics, economic and policy impact analysis, economic development and regional competitiveness, housing, and industry footprint studies. Prior to joining the Donahue Institute in 2015, Mr. Motamedi was senior economic associate at Regional Economic Models, Inc. where, for over seven years, he led client training and support, business development, and consulting efforts. Mr. Motamedi received his MBA from University of Massachusetts Amherst with a focus in business analytics and a bachelor’s of arts in economics also from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Manuel Reyes-Loya
Term: 2023-2026

MANUEL REYES-LOYA

University of Texas at Tyler


Manuel joined the Hibbs Institute for Business and Economic Research at University of Texas at Tyler in 2018 as Senior Research Analyst. He previously worked for the Mexican Secretary of Economy, the Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness at University of Texas at El Paso, the Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University, the Center for Economic Development and Research at University of North Texas, and the Institute for Policy and Economic Development at University of Texas at El Paso. Manuel earned a PhD in Economic Development (specializing in public finance) from New Mexico State University and is currently pursuing a MS in Health Sciences at University of Texas at Tyler. Manuel also holds a BBA in International Business and an MBA from the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Chihuahua, and MS in Economics from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Term: 2022-2025
Term: 2022-2025

MARC SCHAFFER

St. Norbert College


Marc is director of the Center for Business & Economic Analysis (CBEA) at St. Norbert College. As director of the CBEA, he regularly gives presentations to the regional business community on the state of the economy and frequently appears in local media to provide commentary on current economic events. Marc’s primary research area is focused on monetary and financial economics with an emphasis on the behavior of financial institutions, about which he has published several articles in journals including Managerial Finance and Applied Economics. Full bio.

Term: 2022-2025
Term: 2022-2025

RAYMOND SFEIR

Chapman University


Dr. Sfeir is the Director of the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research and Professor of Economics at Chapman University. He served for 18 years as Associate Provost and then as Vice Chancellor. Dr. Sfeir teaches microeconomics, statistics and forecasting. His research interests include operations research, capital asset pricing models and applied economics. Sfeir produces the California, Orange County and Inland Empire forecasts. Dr. Sfeir has a PhD in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Full bio.

Term: 2021-2024
Term: 2021-2024

ERIC THOMPSON

University of Nebraska, Lincoln


Dr. Thompson is the Karl H. Nelson Associate Professor of Economics and the director of the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Through his work at the Bureau, Thompson provides economists with practical opportunities to conduct applied economic research and trains economics and business students to conduct applied research on timely economic and business topics. Thompson previously served as president (2013-2014) and as member of the board of directors (2017-2019). Full bio.