Speakers Bureau

Dejan Eskic, M.R.E.D.

Dejan Eskic is a senior research fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

Eskic is involved in housing, construction and real estate research, fiscal impact studies and economic and demographic analysis. His professional career has focused on providing the best information to key decision makers, whether they’d be local or state officials, executives of national retailers or publicly listed REIT’s. Prior to joining the Gardner Policy Institute, Eskic worked in the retail research industry where he evaluated current and future sales performance for retail sites through statistical gravity modeling reflecting market demographics throughout the Country. Additionally, he has worked on a number of public-private-partnerships relating to Tax Increment Financing, along with numerous real estate market studies and economic development plans.

Before earning a Master’s in Real Estate Development, Eskic earned a B.S. in Urban Planning, both from the University of Utah. He also serves as an adjunct professor of Real Estate Market Analysis at the University of Utah.

Jennifer Robinson, Ph.D.

Dr. Jennifer Robinson is the Chief of Staff at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. She directs the institute’s operations team, including communications, events, human resources, and finances.  As Chief of Staff, she conducts in-depth research and oversees the institute’s four research units focused on Utah demographics, economics and public finance, industries, and community research.

Dr. Robinson provides insightful information about Utah’s economy, changing demographics, and public policy to community leaders, public officials, and business leaders throughout the state.  She recently co-authored The New Utah: Keepers of the Flame monograph. This publication highlights six significant transitions associated with growth and change in Utah.  This project is one of many high-impact projects Dr. Robinson has worked on throughout her career. She has directed the widely praised Utah Informed booklet, the Economic Report to the Governor, the Diversity in Utah Data Book, and significant policy assessments.

She serves on the boards of the Community Foundation of Utah, Visit Salt Lake, the Utah Foundation, and the Veterans Day Committee at the University of Utah.  In 2014, Governor Herbert appointed Dr. Robinson to the Utah Women in the Economy Commission, where she served until 2020.

Utah Business Magazine recognized her as one of 30 Women to Watch in 2017. In 2021, she received the Ethics in Education Award from the Daniel’s Fund and the Empathetic Global Leadership Award from the David Eccles School of Business.

Dr. Robinson is the co-author of two books, “Native Vote: American Indians, the Voting Rights Act, and the Right to Vote (Cambridge University Press, 2007) and “The Rise of the West in Presidential Elections” (University of Utah 2010), and numerous book chapters and journal articles on voting rights, legal issues in higher education, and public administration.

Dr. Robinson earned her  Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Utah, where she is an adjunct professor in the Political Science Department. Before her work at the Gardner Institute, Dr. Robinson was the Center for Public Policy and Administration Director in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the U.

Natalie Gochnour, M.S.

Natalie Gochnour serves as an associate dean in the David Eccles School of Business and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. She also serves as the chief economist for the Salt Lake Chamber. In these roles, she provides policy leadership that helps Utah prosper.

Gochnour’s experience includes a diverse mix of public service and business experience. During her public service, she advised Utah governors Norm Bangerter, Mike Leavitt, and Olene Walker. She also served as a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration, serving as an associate administrator at the EPA and counselor to the secretary at Health and Human Services. For seven years she led the public policy business priorities of the Salt Lake Chamber.

Gochnour has authored over 250 published columns in Utah Business magazine and the Deseret News and co-hosts the weekly public radio program Both Sides of the Aisle on KCPW.

She has been recognized by the Downtown Alliance, YWCA of Salt Lake City, South Valley Chamber, Friends for Sight, Girl Scouts of Utah, and other community-focused organizations for her service and example in the community. Gochnour also serves the community by serving on the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, Utah Transportation Commission, O.C. Tanner, and Altabank boards. She is also vice-chair of Envision Utah and World Trade Center Utah.

Gochnour has both an undergraduate and master’s degree in economics from the University of Utah and specializes in and teaches public finance.

Mallory Bateman, M.Sc.

Mallory Bateman is the Director of Demographic Research and State Data Center Coordinator at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Ms. Bateman has authored research on a range of topics including community research on Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, generations, fertility, transportation, and commuting. She is an expert in Census Bureau data, products, and programs. With this expertise combined with a background in research and public involvement, Ms. Bateman provides presentations, training, and technical assistance for diverse public, private, and media audiences.

Ms. Bateman serves on the national State Data Center Steering Committee and the American Community Survey Data Users Group Steering Committee. Ms. Bateman chaired the 2020 Census Technical Advisory Committee at the Gardner Institute, which monitors the activities and processes that require local participation for the 2020 Census. She was also a member of the Utah State Complete Count Committee.

Ms. Bateman earned her B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Utah and an M.Sc. in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics.

Phil Dean, M.S., M.P.A.

Phil Dean is the chief economist and public finance senior research fellow at the Gardner Institute. His research focuses on the Utah and U.S. economies and public finance issues such as state and local taxes and budget management over the business cycle. He also teaches economics, public policy, and public finance as an adjunct instructor and is Co-Chair of the Utah Economic Council.

Before joining the institute in 2021, Dean most recently served as former Governor Herbert’s Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) after having previously served in the Herbert administration as the State Budget Director and Chief Economist. In this capacity, he directed the work of GOMB in preparing the Governor’s budget recommendations and oversaw GOMB’s state revenue estimates and economic analysis. He served the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) on the Executive Committee and as Western Regional Director.

Before joining GOMB in 2013, Dean worked for the Utah Legislature for nearly a decade, specializing in tax and education. He began his professional career in Sacramento, working on the state budget at the California Department of Finance, where he specialized in education.

Dean holds master’s degrees in public administration from BYU and economics from the University of Utah, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from BYU.

Nate Lloyd, M.S.

Nate Lloyd serves as the Director of Economic Research at the Gardner Institute. He is an applied economist with a background in data analytics, statistical modeling, and economic research.

Prior to his current role, Lloyd led research and analytics at Western Governors University for the team responsible for developing innovative financial aid solutions for students and forecasting student outcomes such as graduation and income. Additionally, he worked for Zions Bank as a financial analyst in commercial real estate and as a quantitative researcher developing models to stress test capital adequacy and to forecast net revenue. At the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Lloyd contributed to research studies covering topics such as the implied “too-big-to-fail” government subsidy of large banks, money market mutual fund industry reforms, and unconventional monetary policy’s effects on bank lending.

As a student-athlete, Lloyd competed on the Utah State University cross-country and track & field teams. Lloyd developed a passion for public service and well-informed public policy as an intern for the late Senator Bob Bennett. He holds a dual B.S./B.A. degree in Economics and Political Science and an M.S. degree in Economics from Utah State University.

Dianne Meppen, B.S.

Dianne Meppen is the director of community research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, specializing in several aspects of survey research: client relations, establishing research objectives, developing research strategies, formulating concise and understandable survey instruments, overseeing data collection, evaluating data results and presenting key findings and insights to clients.

Recently Meppen has led research projects evaluating employee satisfaction in the Department of Workforce services that included a survey of more 1,300 employees and focus groups throughout the state with employees. In 2014, she completed surveys of businesses in Utah, Arkansas, Indiana and Kansas examining their satisfaction and use of services available through state government websites. Meppen is frequently a guest instructor in graduate courses on survey research at the University of Utah.

Meppen has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Utah State University and more than 30 years of experience in the survey industry. Prior to joining the University of Utah she worked as the research director at Dan Jones & Associates collaborating with a diverse set of clients to conduct high quality survey research.

Laura Summers, M.P.P.

Laura Summers serves as the director of industry research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, conducting research on health care data, policies, and impacts to the Utah health care sector.

Summers has expertise in health care, economics, and public policy. Her professional experience includes research for the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In health care, Summers’ research focus is state-level health reform, with a particular focus in Medicaid, public health, and health insurance markets.

Prior to joining the Institute, Summers was the senior director of state intelligence at Leavitt Partners, where she prepared detailed studies of state-by-state comparative data and analyzed national and state health care programs, policies, and trends. In addition to providing research and consulting services to payers, providers, and other health care companies, Summers led health care reform initiatives in states such as Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and Washington State. Summers also oversaw the Leavitt Partners teams in designing, managing, and facilitating stakeholder engagement processes for state government projects.

Summers previously served as the research director of the Utah Foundation – a nonprofit research firm that publishes reports on issues affecting government policies. Summers received her master of public policy with an emphasis in public economics from Brigham Young University and her bachelor’s degree in economics from Westminster College.

James A. Wood

James Wood is the Ivory-Boyer Senior Fellow at the Policy Institute. He specializes in several research areas including housing, construction, real estate and economic development.

Wood has published over 100 articles and studies related to the Utah economy. This includes housing markets, community development, regional economics and economic development. Wood has conducted numerous studies on local housing market conditions and was the principal investigator on a sustainable communities grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was also the principal investigator on a two-year cost-benefit study of homeless participants in Utah’s Housing First Program. For 15 years, Wood directed a BEBR contract with the State of Utah for economic development research, which included the completion of thirteen industry-specific studies including Utah’s aerospace, natural resource, machinery and electronics industries and the machinery industry.

Wood is a member of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors and serves on the board of the Salt Lake Home Builders Association, the Salt Lake County Housing Trust Fund, NeighborWorks Salt Lake and is a member of the State of Utah Revenue Assumptions Working Group.

A graduate of the University of Utah with a B.S. in finance and four years of graduate study in economics, Wood joined the business school in 1975 and spent over 25 years as a researcher and senior research analyst. He served as director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research from 2002 to 2015.

Jennifer Leaver, M.A.

Jennifer Leaver is the senior tourism analyst at the Gardner Policy Institute, specializing in local, regional, and statewide tourism research.

Leaver authors Utah’s annual travel and tourism industry report, county tourism profiles, and visitor economy-related blogs. In addition, she has conducted economic research for the Utah Film Commission and Utah’s Coal Country Strike Team. Leaver presents her research statewide at conferences and visitor bureau meetings. In 2019, she served as a speaker and panelist at Stanford University’s Rural West Conference.

Prior to joining the Institute, Leaver worked for Utah’s Department of Human Services in a variety of roles that included policy specialist, research consultant, and information analyst. Leaver received her master of applied anthropology with an emphasis in natural resources and community values from Oregon State University and her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Puget Sound.

Mike Hollingshaus, Ph.D.

Mike Hollingshaus is a Senior Demographer at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, where he researches, writes, and presents on Utah demographics. He is an expert in population projections, birth rates, death rates, racial and ethnic demographics, and the aging population.

Dr. Hollingshaus holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Utah, with certificates in Demography and Diversity. He previously worked as a researcher at the Utah Population Database in the Huntsman Cancer Institute, identifying genetic and social factors contributing to human health and behavior. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Utah, including Social Statistics, Epidemiology, Family Health History, and Demographic Methods. He has published several pieces of applied research specific to Utah, and also in multiple peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Dr. Hollingshaus designs, programs, maintains, and operates Utah’s demographic projection modeling system: the Utah Demographic and Economic Model (UDEM). He is a member of the Federal-State Cooperative for Population Projections where he is proud to represent Utah. This group convenes researchers from the Census Bureau and state demography offices to improve research and communication of the country’s future population trends. Dr. Hollingshaus also serves as a member of the Utah Commission on Aging.