Welcome Aboard, New NABE Members!
Please join the NABE Board of Directors and staff in welcoming new members who joined in recent months. A list of new members is published in the first issue each month of the weekly NewsDigest sent to NABE members via e-mail. Here are selections from brief interviews, conducted by e-mail, with six new members:
 Karen Campbell
Policy Analyst, Macroeconomics
The Heritage Foundation
Washington, D.C.
What is your current position?
I am a macroeconomic policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation. In this role I work with empirical models and dynamic simulation models to assess the impact of policies on the overall economy. I also work on developing new models and methodologies to gain insight into policy questions. I have held this position about two years.
What is the main focus of your company or organization?
Our focus is mainly on policies at the federal government level, both domestic and foreign. We study and propose policies based on free enterprise principles that promote individual freedom and a strong national defense.
What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
Prior to this job, I was an adjunct professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, where I also earned my Ph.D. in economics. I also worked as accountant/financial manager for my father’s businesses. The main business is a coffee contract packaging company.
Why did you join NABE?
I joined NABE for professional development, to keep track of the latest developments in business economics, and keep a pulse on the ways policies affect businesses and for networking opportunities.
What drew you to economics?
I have been interested in economics since I was a kid (but didn’t realize it then). Growing up watching my father struggle to get his business off the ground, I remember wondering often how the economy worked, where money came from, how things got produced, how people got and grew wealth, etc. It wasn’t until late high school and early college that I realized there was a discipline, economics, that could help me answer and understand my questions.
 Yen Chen
Automotive Business Statistical Analyst
Center for Automotive Research
Ann Arbor, Michigan
What is your current position?
I am an automotive business statistical analyst in the Labor and Industry Group at the Center for Automotive Research. My work focuses on national and regional macroeconomic analyses, forecasting national and industry trends, and formulating international business strategies. I started in this position about one month ago.
What is the main focus of your company or organization?
The Center for Automotive Research is a nonprofit organization, focused on a wide variety of trends and changes related to the automobile industry and society at the international, federal, state and local levels.
What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
My recent work includes a forecast of U.S. light vehicle sales, a forecast of automotive industry employment, and research on automotive temporary workers. I also participate in international marketing activities for Michigan’s automotive industry. I am a coauthor of CAR’s Research Memorandum: “The Economic and Fiscal Contributions of the "Cash for Clunkers" Program,” “Beyond the Big Leave” study, and a research paper: “The Major Determinants of U.S. Automotive Demand.”
Prior to joining CAR, I worked as a public policy analyst for the Legislative Yuan, the legislative body of the Republic of China (Taiwan). I have a Master’s in economics and an M.B.A., both from Eastern Michigan University. I have a Bachelor’s degree in cooperative economics from National Taipei University in Taipei, Taiwan.
Why did you join NABE?
NABE is a great source for me to get continuous training in economics. It is also a great place to meet with other economists and business analysts.
What drew you to economics?
After completing my study in cooperative economics, I was more interested in business management than economics. But when I finished the M.B.A. program, it became clear to me that a lot of business strategies are in fact derived from economic theories, and many business decisions cannot be made without thorough economic analyses. So I went back to school and finished my Master’s degree in economics.
 Anders Linnhag
Researcher
Research Service
Swedish Parliament
Stockholm
What is your current position?
I am a researcher at the Research Service of the Swedish Parliament. Presently my work is focused on transportation issues and I am finalizing a comprehensive report on high-speed trains for the committee on transportation. I am also responsible for some questions (from MPs and their staff) regarding public finances.
Transportation is an area I only have worked on, at the Parliament, for the past two years. This change was partly motivated by my year in Beijing, China. There I wrote a report on transportation infrastructure, logistics, and the effects on economic growth by developments in these fields. As all economists spending an extended period in China, I was deeply impressed by the Chinese achievements. The Chinese energy, entrepreneurship, and striving for a higher scientific level are all aspects that make you think deeper of your own country’s global position in the future.
What is the main focus of your company or organization?
The Research Service conducts studies in all areas of policy. A major part of the studies is economic calculations and analyses. The overall task of the Research Service is very similar to the one assigned to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, just a lot smaller. Also, some of my colleagues do similar things to parts of what the Congressional Budget Office does. There are approximately 45 research officers in Stockholm.
What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
My career started at the major forecasting institute in Sweden—the governmental institution called National Institute of Economic Research. Then I worked at the Ministry of Labor, the Competition Agency, Reuters, and then the Parliament. I have left the Parliament, on leave, to work for the Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA) and the Swedish Institute for Growth Policy Studies, Beijing (2007).
I only stayed a year at ISA, but that was an eye-opener in the sense that it was the first job I had where I was expected to find positive aspects of the Swedish economy. It made me realize how well Sweden works. Comparing and analyzing other countries is actually what I find most interesting. To fulfill this desire I have recently started to write freelance articles, now on Brazil.
I spent my first year in the United States at the University of California, Santa Barbara. A couple of years later I came back, to the Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago. Unfortunately, that year (1992) Sweden, in the middle of a deep economic crisis, let the currency “float,” leaving the fixed currency regime. The Swedish krona did not float, it sank like a stone, loosing about a quarter of its value. Because of this (and, I admit, lack of preparation for studies at Chicago) I returned to UCSB getting my M.A. from there.
What drew you to economics?
My educational start at university level was actually engineering. I’m glad I realized, two years on, that I wasn’t meant to be an engineer. Initially, I was drawn to economics because of a desire to work with the financial markets. Now I’m grateful for a position with varied tasks, and I am constantly learning. Still, what interests me the most is how different countries work, and why some work so poorly. Because of this, during my visit to Washington and the NABE conference I got a copy of “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville. I am already a little wiser when it comes to understand why the United States is so fundamentally different from most western European countries.
 Rose Lo Ricco
Performance Modeling Analyst
Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
What is your current position?
I am a performance-modeling analyst for Mortgage Guaranty Corporation (MGIC). My primary responsibilities include forecasting home price change rates for various markets across the United States, as well as analyzing housing markets conditions, economic trends, and risk elements that affect the mortgage insurance business. I’ve held this position for five years.
What is the main focus of your company or organization?
MGIC is the founder and leader of the private mortgage insurance industry, serving more than 3,300 lenders with locations across the country and in Puerto Rico.
What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
I graduated from Marquette University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration, majoring in economics. In 2003, I earned a Master’s of Science in applied economics from Marquette. Currently, I am the president of the Marquette University Economics Advisory Board.
From 2004-2005 I was a fiscal and management analyst in the Department of Administrative Services for Milwaukee County. In this position, I performed policy and economic analyses as well as helped prepare and monitor the county's operating and capital budgets. Currently I also serve on the Creative Council of FUEL Milwaukee, an economic development initiative addressing talent attraction, retention, and community engagement for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce.
Why did you join NABE?
I joined NABE to continue to expand my working knowledge of business economics and connect with other economists in various industries.
What drew you to economics?
I took an economics class in high school and the subject matter, from the theory to the problem solving techniques, came naturally to me. In college, I saw that economics was more than just supply and demand graphs, and could be applied not only to business and government, but also to personal daily decisionmaking. Little did I know that I was thinking in terms of opportunity cost as a kid when I had to decide between going to the movies or going out for pizza with friends! I was drawn to the fact that economics is a dynamic and flexible field, and I could choose from a variety of career paths.
 Matt Peaslee
Economic Analyst
P&H Mining Equipment
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
What is your current position?
I am currently an economic analyst at P&H Mining Equipment in Milwaukee. I study the lead indicators of demand for our products that serve the mining industry. I have been with the company since July of 2008 and have held this position for about one year.
What is the main focus of your company or organization?
P&H Mining Equipment manufactures and distributes electric hoist-rope shovels, blasthole drills, dragline shovels, and crushing and conveying equipment for use in surface mining operations. The company is part of Joy Global Inc., headquartered in Milwaukee, which also has an underground equipment division, Joy Mining Machinery.
What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
Prior to joining P&H, I earned a Bachelor’s of business administration from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee with a double major in economics and marketing and certificate in international business. I will be starting the Master’s of Science in applied economics program at Marquette University in Milwaukee in the fall. In 2003 as a member of the United States Marine Corps, I was deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Why did you join NABE?
I joined NABE to further immerse myself in economics and meet people who have done the same.
What drew you to economics?
Early in my undergraduate studies it became clear to me that economics is more than just a discipline, it is a way of thinking. Learning how to think strategically has enabled in me a skill set that is transferable to any career.
 Jenny Ross
Economic Analyst
San Diego Daily Transcript
San Diego, California
What is your current position?
I am an economic analyst for The Daily Transcript. I provide our readers with current market and business conditions by compiling, tracking, and analyzing local, regional, and national economic indicators. I have been at The Daily Transcript for eight months.
What is the main focus of your company or organization?
The Daily Transcript at SDDT.com is a source for daily business news, data
and information, relied on by generations of business readers since 1886.
What are your career highlights and education--before your current job?
Prior to working at The Daily Transcript, I was the marketing project coordinator for Link It Software Corporation. I led research for the company's 2009 market development plan by conducting nationwide research of major business-to-business vendors and advertising venues.
I graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in political science: international relations from the University of California, San Diego.
Why did you join NABE?
I joined NABE because the organization is a forum for leading economic analysis, in addition to providing educational and professional development for its members.
What drew you to economics?
I am fascinated with economics because it is a tool to explain the complexities of human behavior.
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