31st Economic Outlook Conference

Dr. Michael Clark
Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research, University of Kentucky

Dr. Michael Clark is an Associate Professor of Economics and the Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research in the Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky. He earned a B.A. in Management and an M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Kentucky. Prior to coming to UK, Dr. Clark was the Chief Economist for the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. His research focuses on labor, health, and economic development and has been published in the Journal of Labor Research. He has conducted research for various Kentucky state agencies including the Department of Public Health, the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, and the Department of Income Support.

Dr. Jessica Cunningham
Executive Director, Kentucky Center for Statistics

Dr. Jessica Cunningham is the Executive Director of the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS). She formerly served as the Research and Analytics Director for three years. Dr. Cunningham leads the development, maintenance, and reporting for one of the nation’s leading longitudinal data systems (Kentucky Longitudinal Data System) and the Kentucky Labor Market Information.
During her tenure, she has led the Kentucky research through three biannual strategic agendas to inform policymakers, practitioners, and the public on topics related to program outcomes across education, public assistance, criminal justice, and workforce. She serves as an executive committee member for the Southern Regional Collaborative, and she leads the multi-state collaborative effort for cross-state postsecondary education and workforce outcomes out of the Mid-West Collaborative.
She has a Doctorate in Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation from University of Kentucky specializing in Measurement and Statistics, as well as M.S. and B.S. degrees in Mathematics from the University of Kentucky and Georgetown College respectively. She brings with her experience in writing, managing, and evaluating state, federal, and philanthropic grants as well as teaching and research experience from her time as faculty in North Carolina and Kentucky.

Dr. Kathleen Montgomery
Acting Director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, University of Kentucky

Dr. Kathleen Montgomery, Associate Professor and Acting Director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky, spent more than a decade leading USAID-funded trade projects as 'Chief of Party' before coming to the Patterson School. These assignments include the East Africa Trade Hub in Nairobi, the Trade Facilitation Project in Ramallah, West Bank and the Southern Africa Trade Hub in Gaborone. She also worked in other capacities in development and commerce-related projects in Islamabad, Amman, and Kabul. Montgomery received her B.A. from the College of William and Mary and immediately afterward served in Benin as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching physics and chemistry, as well as helping develop a small batik business with a local women's group. She later received an M.S. (Agricultural Economics) and Ph.D. (Economics) from Pennsylvania State University and taught economics for five years at UK's Gatton College of Business.

Dr. Mark E. Schweitzer
Senior Vice President of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Dr. Mark Schweitzer is Senior Vice President of Research and Advisor to the Research Director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. He is responsible for making economic presentations to the Bank and branch boards of directors, business advisory councils, and internal and external groups, along with undertaking other projects that focus on special topics. Dr. Schweitzer’s own research has focused on the macroeconomic impact of labor market developments and the identification of factors contributing to regional economic growth.
Dr. Schweitzer joined the Bank in 1992 as an economist. From 2000 to 2002, he took leave to serve as a senior economist at the Bank of England. After returning to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, he was promoted to assistant vice president and director of the Regional Economic Issues Program in 2004. He left Cleveland in 2007 to serve as vice president and branch executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Denver Branch. In 2008, he returned to the Cleveland Reserve Bank to serve as its research director, and from 2015 to 2017 he oversaw the external outreach and regional analytics unit.
An economics graduate of the University of Chicago, Dr. Schweitzer holds both an MA and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. A native of Seattle, Washington, Dr. Schweitzer lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He is married and has two daughters and a son.