Western Insights: Regional Economic Impacts and Forecasts

covid19 in front of a stock market graph

WHEN
Friday, September 18, 2020
10:00-11:00 a.m. PDT

LOCATION
Online

PRICE
FREE


 

Brought to you in partnership with the College of Business and Economics and the WWU Alumni Association

Spring became Summer and Fall is upon us. The Coronavirus is still with us.  Most students are in remote learning, some businesses remain closed, some operate at a percentage of capacity while others are booming.

We invite you to join Western Insights in a discussion with Western Economics faculty members Sharon Shewmake, PhD and, Hart Hodges, PhD in a discussion about what is going on within our region’s economy and where it might all be heading. 

The discussion will be moderated by Don Goldberg, Director of Economic Development for the Port of Bellingham. Don brought an extensive background in real estate and business development to the Port, where he is focused on creating family-wage job opportunities in Whatcom County.

Western Insights is an online panel series created in response to COVID-19 to provide the broader region, Western alumni, friends, and students with access to information on current events drawing from the University’s nationally respected experts. This free series is offered entirely online and is open to everyone.

Click here to view past webinars.

Hart Hodges

Dr. Hart Hodges is Co-Director of Western's Center for Economic and Business Research. He received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1994 from the University of Washington. He joined the faculty at Western in the Fall of 2000. His research interests include natural resource and environmental economics, health economics, and applied business economics. Hart is currently managing several research projects and public service efforts with an emphasis on economic development.

Sharon Shewmake

Dr. Sharon Shewmake is both a professor at WWU and Washington State Representative from Whatcom County where she is Vice Chair of the Rural Development, Agriculture and Natural Resources committee, and sits on the Energy and Environment and Transportation committees. Dr. Shewmake received her Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California, Davis and her bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Policy and Economics from Duke University.

Dr. Shewmake also sits on the COVID economic recovery group in the Washington State legislature and her research examines how our transportation and housing decisions impact the environment. She has examined the implication of policies meant to reduce air pollution and congestion such as High Occupancy Vehicle lanes and how consumers respond to environmental labels including labels for agricultural products.

Don Goldberg

Don Goldberg is the Director of Economic Development for the Port of Bellingham. His focus is to create powerful partnerships amongst multiple stakeholders in the region including the City of Bellingham, Whatcom County and major employers. The Port of Bellingham’s Economic Development efforts as an Associate Development Organization reports to the State Commerce Department and works closely with other ADO's to bring quality jobs to the State of Washington and more specifically to the Whatcom County/Bellingham area.