Board Member Year: Active

Macrina Wilkins works as senior research analyst for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), the leading trade association for the construction industry. She analyzes industry trends and compiles data products on the construction, labor, spending and material markets. Ms. Wilkins graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. degree in human development and has undertaken post baccalaureate coursework in Economics at George Mason University. She is a member of the National Association of Business Economists and has been affiliated with the National Economist Club since 2019. 

Madeleine Oldstone is the policy analyst for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Center, where she works on the Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) survey. She also assists with special reports and surveys such as the COVID-19 impact surveys, Problems and Priorities, and the SBET Quarterly Industry Report. Before coming to NFIB, Madeleine was a research & data consultant for The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation focusing on small business and entrepreneurship research. Madeleine received her bachelor’s degree in international relations and diplomacy from Seton Hall University and her master’s in public policy from American University School of Public Affairs (SPA). Madeleine is a native of San Diego and a published author.

Harry Tsang is a state and local tax policy expert with the QUEST (Quantitative Economics and Statistics) team at EY. Prior to joining EY, he served as the Assistant Director for the Office of Revenue and Economic Analysis within the New Jersey Treasury Department, where he was responsible for producing the state’s annual tax revenue forecasts. Harry is driven by his passion for economics and public policy in general, and state & local tax policy, more specifically. Harry earned his PhD in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and also has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Chris Chidzik is the Principal Economist at AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology where he examines trends in the overall economy that affect the demand for manufacturing technology. Since he started at AMT in 2018, Chris has managed surveys which compile the data necessary to get a full picture of the U.S. manufacturing landscape.

Prior to AMT, Chris held varied roles in data analytics, research, sales, and marketing in an array of industries and settings. Chris holds a master’s degree in economics from The American University.

Dr. Mark Troutman is an economist, educator, and national security professional. He serves as Chief Operating Officer of Strategic Education International, a non-profit consulting, research and education organization that provides results, thought leadership and executive education for strategic leaders.

Mark has also been a financial planner for 25 years. He founded Fiducia Capital Partners, LLC, a boutique wealth management and financial/economic consulting firm. FCP identifies opportunities and devises solutions for clients who transition from the national security community and other public service roles so that they can care for their families and continue to serve.

Mark’s executive education and consulting experience includes lead for delivery in Turkey, Australia, Sweden, Gulf Region countries, South Korea, and Asia.  His corporate education engagements include firms in the energy, telecommunications, transportation, finance, and water sectors with industry study seminars in the finance and defense sectors.

His academic appointments include adjunct professor for business and national security economics at Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, and George Mason University (GMU). Mark has also served as Dean, Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (National Defense University), and as Director of the Center for Infrastructure Protection (GMU School of Business).

His national security experience includes 28 years in command and interagency level strategic plans/policy and security cooperation assignments. Service assignments include Europe, Asia, and the United States in rapid deployment units, with combat deployments to the Middle East. His security cooperation portfolios included ground, rotary wing aircraft and missile defense systems.

Mark holds a PhD in Economics (Monetary and International Economics) from George Mason University, as well as a Master of Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.  He holds master’s degrees from the Army War College and the School of Advanced Military Studies. Mark’s professional certifications include Certified Financial Planner^® and Certified Business Economist^® (in progress) with qualifications in defense and technology exports. Mark and his family reside in Virginia, where he is an avid hiker, sailor, skier and a scratch golfer.

At Medley Global Advisors, Michael Redmond (CBE) leads the firm’s US macro and policy analysis for financial sector clients. Michael has spent over a decade at the Kansas City Fed and US Treasury. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Notre Dame and a master’s degree in international economics and finance from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Elliott J. Nethercutt is the director of state regulatory policy at the Edison Electric Institute where he works with members on advocacy, policy positions, and initiatives related to the energy transition, rate reform, emerging technologies, and other industry issues. Previously, he worked at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), supporting regulators on topics including resource adequacy, performance-based ratemaking, and the interplay between implementing energy policies and maintaining system reliability. Prior to that, he was a principal economist at the National Regulatory Research Institute, which was closely associated with NARUC. Elliott has also advanced market design enhancements at the California Independent System Operator, developed reliability assessments at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and supported the advancement of smart grid investment grants and transmission siting activities at the U.S. Department of Energy. He holds a master’s degree in applied economics from the Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Colorado.

Lucio Vinhas de Souza is currently an Advisor to the leadership of the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s “Department of State”. Before that, he led the Economics Team at the European Political Strategy Centre, an internal advisory body to the European Commission President. Prior to that, he was Managing Director and Sovereign Chief Economist at Moody’s Investors Service, based at its headquarters in New York. Before joining Moody’s, he was a World Bank official based in Washington, D.C. His main work areas are global macroeconomics, finance and country risk.

Michael Kurtzig was an international economist with the US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service until 2000. He joined the department in the late 1960s as a Middle East expert, first as a country desk officer, then as Assistant Branch Chief and then Chief of the Africa and Middle East Branch. He travelled extensively in the Middle East, particularly Turkey, Israel, Iran, Cyprus, as well as an analyst for Jordan. His work centered on agricultural foreign policy, data, and US trade. He wrote extensively on those subjects. He led a number of missions for the USDA, the World Bank, and USAID to Iran, Jordan, Turkey and Israel, as well as Gaza and the West Bank. After retirement he taught in Congregational and Day schools in Philadelphia and Alexandria on the Holocaust, Anti-Semitism, Hebrew, Israel and Jewish Communities around the World. He has been a member of NEC for many years and values the comradeship and the many excellent interesting speakers who keep us up to date and contribute to the knowledge base of the industry. He lives in DC with his wife Barbara and his rescue dog, Bob.

Ed Kean serves as Senior Economic Policy Analyst and Chief Editor for the Observatory Group. He has worked as an economic policy analyst for the Observatory Group since 2007. In that capacity, Ed has analyzed developments regarding US monetary, fiscal, trade and financial regulatory policy. Prior to joining the Observatory Group, he served as a senior Fed analyst for the G7 Group. Ed also has held various positions with the National Economists Club, including serving as President of the Club in 2011.