School of Management

Faculty

Bill Watkins, Ph.D.

Bill Watkins is the Executive Director of CLU's Center for Economic Research and Forecasting and Associate Professor of economics at CLU. Watkins formerly served as the Executive Director of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Economic Forecast Project. In his nine-year tenure, he expanded the project's publications and geographic scope and enhanced the organization's reputation. He also has served as an economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, DC.

"The primary benefits of the program include learning to produce and analyze forecasts. Students will be able to analyze and discuss the impacts of changes in policy and the economic environment. You will come away with a deep understanding of economics and forecasting, increased technical ability and enhanced communication skills. This should prepare you for careers as an economist for government, financial institutions, and other businesses."

Interview with Bill Watkins:

Dan Hamilton, Ph.D.

Dan Hamilton, Director of Economics at CERF, began working with economic forecast models in 1997 while at Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates (now known as Global Insight). He served as Director of Economics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Economic Forecast Project, where he built a variety of forecast models in Eviews, including models for the United States, California and Oregon.

Kirk M. Lesh, MBA

Kirk M. Lesh is CERF's Senior Economist. In addition to his work at CERF, Lesh is completing his doctorate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to CLU, Lesh was the Real Estate Economist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Economic Forecast Project, where he prepared and presented annual real estate forecasts for several communities in Central California. Before entering the PhD program, Lesh worked as a manager of finance for several companies in Orange County.

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