Tom Beers Brings Experience in Economics, Management to NABE

When Tom Beers takes over the executive directorship of NABE, he will approach the job from the unique perspective of an economist with public and private sector experience who also has served as an association executive.

NABE announced June 17 that Beers was chosen by the Board of Directors’ Search Committee to succeed Susan Doolittle, who will retire after the 51st Annual Meeting scheduled for October 10-14 in St Louis.   Doolittle has “served with distinction for 15 years” as NABE’s executive director, noted NABE President Chris Varvares.

Providing three months of overlap for the transition, the NABE Board set July 15 as Beers’ starting date.  He will serve as executive director-designate through October 13, when Doolittle will retire. 

“As an association executive, practicing economist, and NABE member, Tom is uniquely positioned to advance NABE’s strategic goals,” said Varvares, president of Macroeconomic Advisers in St. Louis. “Our organization will benefit greatly from Tom’s enthusiasm and his ability to add value to association membership.”

Beers currently serves as vice president and chief economist of the Manufactured Housing Institute, headquartered in Arlington, Va. MHI is a trade association that represents all segments of the manufactured and modular housing industries.  His responsibilities there have included preparing and presenting the institute’s macroeconomic forecasts and acting as a media spokesman on the U.S. economy, housing finance, and related policy issues affecting the industry.

Education, Networking Crucial in Challenging Times

Beers said in a June interview that he looks forward to working “closely with NABE leadership to elevate the profile of the profession and grow the ranks of NABE members by expanding the association’s career development initiatives, educational programming, and networking opportunities.” 

 “My goal is to continue to serve NABE members at the high level with which they have grown accustomed while working to expand NABE’s member offerings and attract new members, particularly those who are just beginning their careers,” Beers said.

Beers said he believes that NABE can build on its reputation for offering professional development, educational programs, policy conferences, and annual meetings with top policymakers as well as leading private analysts.

As chief economist at the Manufactured Housing Institute, Beers tracked trends across the macro economy as well as in the housing sector.   In addition, he endeavored to increase liquidity for industry lenders, working closely with legislators, regulators, equity firms and rating agencies to ensure adequate capital was available for lending to manufactured home buyers.  Recently, Beers was integral in the passage and implementation of legislation that will revitalize an important manufactured home loan insurance program administered by the Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae.

Acknowledging that the struggling economy and ongoing restructuring of the financial sector pose challenges for membership organizations such as NABE, Beers said the situation provides an opportunity for NABE to expand its networking and professional outreach.  College students studying economics, already a growing part of NABE’s membership, would benefit from knowing experienced professional economists as they plan for careers in a tough market, he said.

 “I’d like to see the association play a larger role in helping recent economics graduates find their first job, and in providing the education, training and networking opportunities that more-experienced NABE members need to further their careers,” he said.

Started Career As BLS Analyst

Beer’s interest in working with college students and early career professionals relates in part to his experience searching for a job while finishing his senior year at the University of California - Santa Barbara.  “I wanted to work as an economist, not as a consultant or banker, and I ended up moving 2,500 miles away to do so,” he said.

Beers moved to Washington, D.C, and took a position as an economist at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, where he worked in the labor force statistics division. Finding the work interesting and the agency’s quality standards impressive, Beers said he learned a great deal about how key economic statistics are gathered, analyzed, and released to the public. Eventually his work at the BLS included responding to questions from news media about employment data and training economists from developing nations in labor statistics, tasks he enjoyed as someone who likes explaining technicalities to both fellow economists and general audiences.

Working at the BLS “made statistics lively and interesting for me,” Beers said, adding, “the agency’s impressive quality control is something I’ve carried with me” in subsequent work at other organizations.

He agrees with NABE’s focus on early and mid-career professionals through the Get Connected program and will look for other ways to expand that type of outreach. “It’s essential to find people who are in college, working on degrees in economics, and help them take their degrees and do something in a particular field of economics,” Beers said.

It can be difficult to find a job in economics right out of college, he noted. “It’s crucial to reach out to these new graduates and let them know there are jobs out there.  We can make NABE the vehicle to put them in touch with companies and government agencies that are hiring economists,” he said.  It can be a service to both the new graduates and employers, he added.

After leaving the BLS, Beers moved to the private sector, specializing in the analysis of mortgage-backed securities for a structured finance firm before landing his first association job. As a research economist for the National Association of Realtors in Washington, D.C., he was responsible for NAR’s survey research as well as development and marketing its research products and services. 

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC-Santa Barbara, he earned a master’s in economics from Johns Hopkins University.