About Me

I am a vice president and senior economist in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta with responsibility for leading the financial research economics team. In this role, I serve as advisor to the president and research director on economic matters, oversee the finance economists, and participate in decisions regarding the strategic direction of the research department.

My research concentrates on estimating mutual fund performance, probability of default, and stochastic volatility. In recognition of this research, I received the 2012 Arnold Zellner Award for my paper entitled, "Bayesian Semiparametric Stochastic Volatility Modeling," as the most significant paper published in the Journal of Econometrics in 2010 and the 2016 Best Paper Award for my paper "Robust Estimation of Nonstationary, Fractionally Integrated, Autoregressive, Stochastic Volatility," as the best paper published in Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics.

I have been heavily involved with the Federal Reserve System's Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review annual stress tests, as a member of the risk evaluation team that validates and reviews bank holding companies’ loss forecasting models of their retail holdings. In addition, I was a member of the Federal Reserve’s Model Validation Group, where I helped validate the Federal Reserve's asset-backed security models.

Before joining the Bank in 2005, I was an associate professor in the department of economics at Brigham Young University from 2001 to 2005. Before that I was an assistant professor at the University of Missouri and Southern Illinois University–Carbondale.

I am an associate editor of the Journal of Empirical Finance. I am also the past chair of the Economics, Finance, and Business Section of the International Society of Bayesian Analysis, and a senior fellow at the Remini Center for Economic Analysis. In the past I served as president and treasurer of the Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics and was a member of its executive committee. I also served on the advisory board of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research. My published works include articles in the Journal of Econometrics, Econometric Theory, the Journal of Monetary Economics, and the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, and I have presented my research at a number of professional conferences and academic institutions.

I earned my bachelor's degree in economics, magna cum laude, from Weber State University, and my master's and doctoral degrees in economics from Washington University in St. Louis.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Economics (May, 1994) , Washington University in Saint Louis.

  • B.A. (magna cum laude) in Economics (May, 1988), Weber State University.

Positions Held

  • Vice President and Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Sep 2017 - present.

  • Financial Economist and Policy Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, July 2013 - Aug 2017.

  • Financial Economist and Associate Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, July 2005 - July 2013.

  • Associate Professor of Economics, Brigham Young University, August 2001 - July 2005.

  • Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Missouri -- Columbia, August 1997 - July 2001.

  • Assistant Professor of Economics, Southern Illinois University -- Carbondale, August 1994 - July 1997.

Editorial Positions

  • Associate Editor, Journal of Empirical Finance, 2009 -.

Professional Service

  • Scientific Committee Member of the Rimini Centre for Economic Anaylysis, April 2020 -

  • Chair, Economic, Finance and Business Section of the International Society of Bayesian Analysis, 2017.

  • Senior Fellow, The Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis, 2015-present.

  • Advisory Board Member of the European Commissions Seventh Framework Programme for Research

  • and Technological Development, 2012-2015.

  • Program Advisory Committee Member of the Economics, Finance and Business Section of International

  • Society of Bayesian Analysis, 2013–2014.

  • Advisory Board Member of the European Commission, Macro-risk Assessment and Stabilization Policies

  • with New Early Warning Signals, 2013–present.

  • Executive Committee Member of the Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics, 2000–2014.

  • President of the Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics, 2009–2011.

  • Treasurer of the Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics, 2003–2009.