SPEAKERS CHRIS BALL. Director of the Central European Institute István Széchenyi Chair in International Economics Quinnipiac

Transcription

1 SPEAKERS CHRIS BALL Director of the Central European Institute István Széchenyi Chair in International Economics Quinnipiac Chris Ball is director of the Central European Institute at Quinnipiac University, where he also holds the István Széchenyi Chair in International Economics. The institute builds bridges between the United States and the nations of Central Europe by fostering relationships in three main areas academics, business, and culture. Ball also serves as the honorary Hungarian consul for Connecticut, a diplomatic appointment by the U.S. State Department to promote business relations with Hungary. In 2011, he co-founded CEENET Inc., a private organization of Connecticut professionals promoting international business relations between Connecticut and Central and Eastern Europe, which organizes trade visits, business matching events, and general business networking events. CEENET LLC was launched in 2016 and focuses on forming transatlantic joint ventures and supporting Central European businesses entering the U.S. market and U.S. businesses entering the Central European market. From , he lived in Budapest where he worked as the program director for the Hungarian Atlantic Council and then as a fellow of the Institute of Current World Affairs, writing about the region s economic development. He regularly writes academic papers published in journals such as Applied Economics Letters, The Journal of Macroeconomics, and The International Journal of Finance and Economics. He has also written on various topics in the Hartford Courant, New Haven Register, CATO Regulation Magazine, and The New York Times. Ball has been with Quinnipiac University since He earned his bachelor s degree in economics at the University of Alabama and his Ph.D. in international macroeconomics at Texas A&M University.

2 JENN BERNSTEIN Anchor & The Real Story Co-Host Fox Jenn Bernstein anchors FOX 61 News at 4 pm and co-anchors The Real Story with Al Terzi, covering Connecticut politics, which airs at 10 am on Sundays. In 2015, Bernstein won an Emmy award for her story Anatomy of an Attack Ad, which analyzed campaign messages during Connecticut s contentious gubernatorial contest. Bernstein is a Simsbury native who also worked as a general assignment reporter for the station from 2010 to Bernstein continued her reporting career at KYW, the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia, from 2012 to While there, she covered the aftermath of the Penn State sex abuse scandal and also reported in Atlantic City the day Hurricane Sandy made landfall. Before her time in Connecticut and Philadelphia, Bernstein worked in the Buffalo and Albany television markets, also focusing on city and state politics. She attended Union College in Schenectady, New York. JOE BRENNAN President & CEO CBIA Joe Brennan is president and CEO of CBIA, the state s leading business organization. The association works to promote a healthy business climate, supporting economic growth and job creation in Connecticut. Brennan also is president of CBIA s Education & Workforce Partnership, which supports STEM education in public schools and training programs that enhance the skill sets of employees at member companies. Previously he was assistant counsel, counsel, and vice president for CBIA. He has served on numerous legislative task forces and commissions on economic and tax policies. He also serves on several boards and councils. Prior to joining CBIA as a staff attorney in 1988, Brennan was in a private law practice in Manchester. He received his juris doctor degree from the New England School of Law in Boston and a bachelor s degree in political science from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester.

3 SARAH CRANE Economist Moody s Sarah Crane is an economist at Moody s Analytics. She covers several state and regional economies, including Illinois and its major metro areas, in addition to editing the Midwest Regional Financial Review and numerous other publications. Crane also works on state and local government fiscal issues and works closely with a number of governments and other organizations in a consulting role. Before joining Moody s Analytics, Crane worked as an economist for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association in Washington D.C., where she analyzed issues concentrated around the transportation construction industry. She earned a master s degree in economics from American University and has a bachelor s degree in communications from Boston University. BURKE DOAR Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing TRUMPF Burke Doar joined TRUMPF Inc. in 2002 as vice president of customer services. He was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing in 2003, and then to his current position of senior vice president in For six years he held a management position in sales with the Ingersoll Milling Machine Co. in Rockford, IL. Doar serves on the board of directors for CBIA and served as an elected member of the West Hartford Town Council from 2011 to Doar holds a bachelor s degree from Princeton University and a law degree from Albany Law School. Upon graduation, Doar practiced law for four years before embarking on a career in manufacturing. In his spare time, he volunteers as a basketball coach for the local youth program. He also works on his family farm in Pine Plains, New York.

4 PETE GIOIA Vice President & Economist the University of Connecticut and a bachelor s degree in history and economics from Hobart College. Pete Gioia oversees CBIA s economic and public policy research, tracking trends in Connecticut s manufacturing sector, international trade, business growth, profitability, and workforce development. A frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, Gioia is also a regular guest on programs concerning business and public policy issues, and is CBIA s expert on government fiscal issues. Prior to CBIA, Gioia was a senior consultant with KPMG, a researcher for The Futures Group and the Criminal Justice Education Center, and a budget analyst for the Connecticut General Assembly s Office of Fiscal Analysis. He also worked with the Institute of Social Inquiry s Connecticut Poll and was Connecticut Team Captain for USA*NAFTA. Gioia is a past president and member of the Hartford Area Business Economists, a member of the National Association of Business Economists, a former board member of the New England Economic Project, and a past economic advisor to Governor M. Jodi Rell. He holds a master s degree with distinction in public affairs from DENNIS HOUSE Anchor & Face the State Moderator Dennis House is a native New Englander and Emmy awardwinning journalist who co-anchors Eyewitness News at 5 and 6 pm and interviews politicians and newsmakers on Face the State, the critically acclaimed Sunday morning political show. His interviews are often picked up by local and national media including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Politico, and MSNBC. House got his start in television news at WPRI-TV in Providence, RI, and then moved on to become the assignment manager at WMUR-TV in Manchester, NH. He was later a weekend anchor at WREX-TV in Rockford, IL, and a weekend sports anchor and news reporter at WWMT-TV in Grand Rapids, MI. House has been a mainstay on Channel 3 since He previously anchored what was then Eyewitness News Daybreak in the mid-1990s, during which time the program became Connecticut s No. 1 morning news broadcast. House has traveled extensively to cover breaking news events and find

5 the Connecticut angle for the viewers at home. On September 11, 2001, he reported live from lower Manhattan, talking with Connecticut survivors of the terrorist attack on New York. Other venues for the live reports he has made include the funeral of Pope John Paul II, the O.J. Simpson trial, and a presidential inauguration. House was named one of the 12 Most Influential People by Hartford Magazine. He holds a bachelor s degree in foreign affairs from Assumption College and is the author of the popular blog The Hartfordite. DON KLEPPER-SMITH Chief Economist & Director of Research DataCore Partners LLC Economic Advisor to Farmington Bank Don Klepper-Smith has been a professional economist for 30 years. He served as chairman of Governor M. Jodi Rell s Economic Advisory Council between 2007 and 2010 and, prior to that, was an economic advisor to Governor Lowell Weicker. Klepper-Smith has been a long-time observer of the region s economy and is regularly quoted by various media sources for his insights on the national and Connecticut economies. He has been a frequent economics commentator on WTNH television in New Haven. Between 1982 and 1996 Klepper- Smith was corporate economist with Southern New England Telephone in New Haven, providing economic analysis and forecasts of national and state business trends. Today Klepper-Smith specializes in evaluating consumer markets and assessing the generators of consumer wealth, while also providing valuable perspective on business conditions as they relate to credit markets and employment growth. A technician by trade, Klepper-Smith s reliable forecasts of the changing U.S. and New England economic landscapes have kept him in demand. Klepper-Smith has chaired numerous economic outlook conferences over the last three decades and has served as president of both the Economic Club of Connecticut and the Hartford Area Business Economists, two organizations which explore economic issues of importance to Connecticut with a focus on business, government, and education. Klepper-Smith earned his master s degree in public administration from Stony Brook University in New York in 1978, focusing on economics, econometric modeling, statistics, and forecasting theory. He also received his bachelor s degree in applied mathematics from Stony Brook University in 1975.

6 LISA MAASS President Citizens Bank CAROL PLATT LIEBAU President Yankee Institute for Public Lisa Maass joined Citizens as a vice president and relationship manager in the Corporate Banking Group in 1994 and was promoted to senior vice president and team leader for Middle Market South in In 2011, she was promoted to regional manager with responsibility for corporate banking throughout Connecticut. Maass joined Citizens Bank from Connecticut Bank and Trust, where she served as a vice president and relationship manager in the Commercial Lending Department from 1978 to A graduate of Wheaton College, Maass has been actively involved in the community for many years, serving on the board of a number of organizations including the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. She currently serves on the Connecticut Food Bank development committee and is a founding board member of Read to Grow. Carol Platt Liebau is the president of The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Connecticut s freemarket think tank. She has worked as an appellate and commercial litigator, a political commentator and radio talk show host. Liebau has been a substitute host for the nationally-syndicated Hugh Hewitt Show on the Salem Radio Network and has hosted on KABC radio in Los Angeles. Carol has also provided analysis and commentary for PBS, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. Liebau is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, where she served as the first female managing editor of The Harvard Law Review. She clerked for the Hon. David B. Sentelle on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and worked as legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Christopher S. ( Kit ) Bond of Missouri.

7 MAX REISS State Politics Reporter NBC CHRISTINE STUART Editor-in-Chief Max Reiss is a political reporter for NBC Connecticut. You can catch him weekdays on NBC Connecticut News at 5, 5:30, and 6 pm. Reiss joined the NBC Connecticut news team in the midst of the 2014 campaign season, which he describes as an absolute thrill. Coming to Connecticut in the heat of the nationally watched governor s race was a very exciting time for Reiss, who has covered politics across the country. Prior to joining NBC Connecticut, Reiss reported for several stations in Alabama, including NBC affiliates in Montgomery and Huntsville, WSFA and WAFF, and the FOX station in Birmingham, WBRC. Reiss has won multiple awards from the Alabama Associated Press, including Best Specialized Reporter, Best Investigative Reporting, and Best Series. The Washington Post named him one of the Top State Political Reporters in Alabama. Christine Stuart saw the evolution of the Internet as an opportunity to deliver news in new and interesting ways. She purchased CTNewsJunkie.com in March 2006 from its founder, Dan Levine, and began reporting on state government and politics, where readership has increased in each of the past 11 years. Before CTNewsJunkie, Stuart was a stringer for the New York Times between and before that she worked at the Journal Inquirer for four years. She started her career as listings editor at the Hartford Advocate from following an internship with the Hartford Courant. Reiss hopes to beat the stigma that often comes with politics by explaining why an issue is important and asking the tough questions to make sure public officials are held accountable.