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Speaker Biographies
Moderator
Raphael W. Bostic is president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. From 2012 to 2017, Bostic was the Judith and John Bedrosian Chair in Governance and the Public Enterprise at the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California (USC), where he was director of the master's of real estate development degree program and founding director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast. Bostic also served USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate as the interim associate director from 2007 to 2009 and as the interim director from 2015 to 2016. From 2016 to 2017, he was the chair of the center's Governance, Management, and Policy Process Department. From 2009 to 2012, Bostic was the assistant secretary for policy development and research at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Bostic worked at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 1995 to 2001, first as an economist and then a senior. He served as special assistant to HUD's assistant secretary of policy development and research in 1999. He was also a professional lecturer at American University in 1998. He graduated from Harvard University in 1987 with a combined major in economics and psychology. He earned his doctorate in economics from Stanford University in 1995.
Speakers
Michelle Bowman took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on November 26, 2018, to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2020. She was reappointed to the Board on January 23, 2020, and sworn in on January 30, 2020, for a term ending January 31, 2034. Prior to her appointment to the Board, Bowman served as the state bank commissioner of Kansas from January 2017 to November 2018. She also served as vice president of Farmers & Drovers Bank in Kansas from 2010 to 2017. In addition to her experience in the banking industry, Bowman worked in Washington, DC, for US Senator Bob Dole of Kansas from 1995 to 1996 and served as a counsel to the US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight between 1997 and 2002. In 2002, Bowman became director of congressional and intergovernmental affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. From 2003 to 2004, she served as deputy assistant secretary and policy advisor to US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Following her time in Washington, DC, Bowman led a government and public affairs consultancy based in London before returning to Kansas in 2010. Bowman received a BS in advertising and journalism from the University of Kansas and a JD from the Washburn University School of Law. She is a member of the New York Bar.
Christopher J. Waller took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on December 18, 2020, to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2030. Prior to his appointment, he served as executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 2009. Previously, Waller served as a professor and the Gilbert F. Schaefer Chair of Economics at the University of Notre Dame. He was also a research fellow with Notre Dame's Kellogg Institute for International Studies. From 1998 to 2003, Waller was a professor and the Carol Martin Gatton Chair of Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics at the University of Kentucky. During that time, he was also a research fellow at the Center for European Integration Studies at the University of Bonn. From 1992 to 1994, he served as the director of graduate studies at Indiana University's Department of Economics, where he also served as associate professor and an assistant professor. Waller received a BS in economics from Bemidji State University and an MA and PhD from Washington State University.
Panelists
Kate Burke, chief operating officer of AllianceBernstein, is responsible for overseeing the firm's corporate functions. She is also head of private wealth, overseeing wealth advisers, client service, investment strategists, and engagement. Burke was previously chief administrative officer and head of human capital and chief talent officer. She joined Bernstein Research in 2004 in institutional sales and rose to senior vice president and managing director, overseeing institutional sales teams in the Midwest, New York, and Canada. She has been named to American Banker's 100 Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance, Nashville Post's 2021 Most Powerful Women in Nashville, and was the recipient of Markets Media's 2021 Positive Impact Award. Burke holds a BA in economics from the College of the Holy Cross and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
José González is one of the co-founders of Conexión Américas, one of Nashville's most respected nonprofits, with a mission to build a welcoming community where Latino families can belong, contribute, and succeed. González was instrumental in launching several of the organization's economic prosperity programs: homeownership, financial literacy, and microenterprise development. He played a significant role in bringing to life the vision of Casa Azafrán, the nonprofit collaborative community center at the gateway to Nashville's International District, home to Conexión Américas and nine nonprofit partners providing services to immigrant origin families. He is also a professor of entrepreneurship and management at Belmont University in Nashville.
Laurel Graefe is the regional executive at the Nashville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. As the senior officer leading the Federal Reserve in Nashville, she is responsible for the branch's board of directors and strategic direction, oversees its economic research activities, and advises on monetary policy. Her work gathering and synthesizing insight from Tennessee business executives and community leaders brings Main Street perspectives to national monetary policy deliberations. Graefe represents the Fed in regular speeches about current economic conditions, the economic outlook, and the functions and history of the US central bank. She joined the Bank in 2005 specializing in international economics and labor market analysis. She earned an MBA with honors from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management and a bachelor's degree in economics, summa cum laude, from Agnes Scott College.
Shanna L. Jackson, the fifth president of Nashville State Community College, joined the college in 2018 following a distinguished career as associate vice president at the Williamson campus of Columbia State Community College, headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. From 2010 to 2016, she was dean of extended services at the Williamson campus. From 2007 to 2009, Jackson was executive assistant to the president at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tennessee.
Janet Miller joined Colliers Nashville as chief executive officer and market leader in September 2014, following 21 years as the chief economic development officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Miller is responsible for strategy, business and brand development, talent development, and all operations for the Colliers Nashville office, which had a 2021 transaction volume of $1 billion. Miller also holds key leadership roles with the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, the YWCA, and the Rotary Club of Nashville. At the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, Miller led the 10-county region's top agency for recruiting new companies and working with existing companies on retention and expansion projects. She worked on major job-creation projects with over 400 corporations.
Joshua Mundy is the owner, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Pivot Technology School and owner of ZAM Investments, a real estate holding firm and small business investment company. He launched Fortitude Homes in 2012. The Fortitude Group is a 501c3 organization that provides housing for the homeless and individuals with mental illness. Mundy is a native of Nashville who was inspired at an early age to generate income in creative ways. His forecasting and visionary skills have developed him into an entrepreneur with the ability to think of an idea or need in the community and quickly take action to set a goal to meet the need. He is passionate about entrepreneurship and believes in empowering and mentoring others in the community.
E.J. Reed is an experienced financial analyst and the "man behind the numbers" as a cofounder and chief financial officer at Slim & Husky's. Reed completed his BBA in economics and finance before earning an MBA from Belmont University's Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business. With fellow cofounders Clint Gray and Derrick Moore, Reed built, grew, and sold The Green Truck Moving & Storage Company for seven figures before starting Slim & Husky's. Their venture has allowed Reed and co-owners Moore and Gray to live their dream of providing an impact to underserved communities.
Cristina (Crissy) Wieck, chief sales officer at Western Express, is a business and sales leader with 12 years at a Fortune 50 Industry Leader (Dell Inc.) and one of the nation's largest trucking companies (Western Express). She joined Western Express in 2012 as general manager and vice president of sales before becoming a senior vice president. She started her current role in 2019. She received a BA in history and business from Maryville College.