Debb Brunell is the CEO of Upper Peninsula Michigan Works!, where she plays a vital role in fostering strong internal organizational culture and enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of services provided for businesses, talent, and communities throughout the Upper Peninsula. With experience in the field since 2005, Brunell brings significant expertise and training to her role. She holds a Bachelor of Science in organizational leadership and communication as well as Certified Program Planner (CPP) and Certified Instructor designations. Brunell is a former administrator at Macomb Community College and a current member of the National Association of Workforce Boards. Under Brunell’s leadership, Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! teams are not only led with integrity and innovation but also guided by strategic focus. She is dedicated to aligning Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! solutions to meet employer demands while anticipating and adapting to the evolving needs of the Upper Peninsula workforce.

David Flynn is research director at the Institute of Policy and Business Analytics at the Nistler College of Business and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota. He is also the Aarestad Endowed Chair in the Department of Economics and Finance at Nistler College. He regularly analyzes and forecasts employment, tax, and economic and demographic variables in the regional and North Dakota economy, as well as at the sub-state level. Flynn’s other recent projects include economic effects of unmanned systems in native and rural areas, analysis of factors impacting development of the critical minerals/rare earth elements industry in the state and the region, and changes in fertility rates and patterns due to natural disasters.

Bob Frenzel is chairman, president, and CEO of Xcel Energy, a leading energy provider headquartered in Minneapolis. Prior to becoming CEO, Frenzel served as president and chief operating officer, where he led Xcel Energy’s four utility operating companies, as well as its transmission, distribution, and natural gas operations. He joined Xcel Energy as chief financial officer in 2016 from Energy Future Holdings Inc., where he served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for Luminant, its competitive power generating subsidiary.

Frenzel held previous roles as vice president at Goldman Sachs and manager and senior consultant at Arthur Anderson. He began his career serving in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear engineering officer and weapons officer for six years and then as lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserves following active duty.

Frenzel earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He also graduated from the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power School.

He serves on the board of directors for both Greater MSP and the Minnesota Business Partnership. He also serves on boards of directors for various industry associations, including the Edison Electric Institute, Nuclear Energy Institute, and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. He is vice chairman of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board.

Neel Kashkari [cash-CAR-ee] is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, one of the Fed’s 12 regional banks. The Minneapolis Fed serves the public by pursuing a growing economy that works for all of us, and the Bank’s district includes Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Kashkari serves as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets the nation’s monetary policy.

Kashkari began his career as an aerospace engineer developing technology for NASA space missions. He later held a variety of roles in public service and finance, most notably as assistant secretary of the Treasury during the 2008 financial crisis, where he oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Kashkari and his wife, Christine, have two children, Uly and Tecumseh, and a Newfoundland dog named Webster.

Matthew Kures is a distinguished community economic development specialist and researcher with the Community Development Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Extension. Kures works in partnership with extension’s statewide network of resources to assist communities and organizations in the areas of regional economic analysis, labor force research, and industry sector competitiveness. He has authored numerous studies on Wisconsin’s economy and makes frequent presentations to local, regional and national audiences. Kures has worked at the University of Wisconsin for more than 20 years and has his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Jeffrey Michael is the director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research and research professor at the University of Montana. Michael has 30 years of experience in regional economic forecasting, economic impact, and public policy analysis with a focus on economic development and environmental issues related to infrastructure, housing, and employment growth. He has been principal investigator on over $10 million in university grants and contracts, has published over 100 articles and reports on economic development and policy, and has been cited or interviewed over 1,000 times in various national and regional media outlets. Prior to joining the University of Montana, Michael spent 16 years at the University of the Pacific in California, where he served as executive director of the Center for Business and Policy Research, professor and director of Public Policy Programs, and director of the Business Forecasting Center. In addition, he spent nine years at Towson University in Maryland, where he served as the director of the Center for Applied Business and Economic Research, an associate dean and a professor.

Angelina Nguyễn is the director of the Labor Market Information Office for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Her office conducts surveys and research to produce Minnesota’s employment statistics and provide information on labor market trends.

Nguyễn brings a strong background in labor market data as well as experience at various state agencies and a passion for creating strong and equitable communities. She joined DEED’s senior leadership team after managing the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s Research and Statistics Unit, where she served as the liaison with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prior to that, she provided data analysis and research for the Minnesota Department of Human Services in its Child Support Division. Nguyễn also served as the capacity director for the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, a state agency established to advise the governor’s office and Legislature on issues of importance to the Asian Pacific people of Minnesota.

Nguyễn earned a Master of Development Practice from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in economics and mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Minnesota.

Joseph M. Santos is the director of the Ness School of Management and Economics at South Dakota State University, where he also leads the Dykhouse Program in Money, Banking and Regulation. His teaching portfolio has included undergraduate and graduate courses in macroeconomic theory and policy and financial institutions. His research includes measuring the burdens of financial regulation and the credibility of monetary policy, chronicling and assessing the efficiency of early 20th-century commodity futures markets, and evaluating the distribution of instructional resources across institutions of higher education. In his spare time, he is the voice of Monday Macro, which airs on select Mondays on South Dakota Public Radio’s In the Moment with Lori Walsh. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from The College of New Jersey and his master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Rutgers University.