Stephan Weiler holds the William E. Morgan Endowed Chair as Professor of Economics at Colorado State University. He received his BA (Honors) in Economics and MA in Development Economics from Stanford University in 1988, and his Economics PhD from UC-Berkeley in 1994 where he studied with eventual 2001 Nobel Laureate George Akerlof. From 2004 through 2006, Stephan was appointed as Assistant Vice President and Economist at the Federal Reserve’s Center for the Study of Rural America to lead the Center’s applied research work. The Center was the focal point in the Federal Reserve System for rural and regional development issues, providing cutting-edge research perspectives to private, public, and nonprofit decision makers. Stephan became a frequent speaker before industry, university, and public policy audiences throughout the nation, is a regular contributor to media outlets ranging from the Wall Street Journal to National Public Radio, and has published over one hundred articles, book chapters, and policy papers. He served as Research Associate Dean for CSU’s College of Liberal Arts from 2006 to 2016.

Tessa Conroy is an Economic Development Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison /Extension, studying community economic growth and development, small business dynamics, and women entrepreneurs.