2023 Economic Conference

“National Economic Trends: Balancing Inflation, Consumer Spending, and Employment” – Gus Faucher, PNC Financial Services Group [PPT, PDF]

“International Economic Trends: The Global Perspective” – Ken Kim, Senior Economist, KPMG [PPT, PDF]

“Looking Ahead: Demographics, Population, and Workforce” – Mat Barewicz, Economic & Labor Market Information Chief, Vermont Department of Labor [PPT, PDF, Additional Materials]

“Vermont’s $8 Billion State Budget: Where Does it Come from and Where Does it Go?” – Adam Greshin,  Department of Finance and Management, Craig Bolio, Department of Taxes [PPT, PDF]

National Economic Trends: Balancing Inflation, Consumer Spending, and Employment

Augustine (Gus) Faucher is senior vice president and chief economist of The PNC Financial Services Group, serving as the principal spokesperson on all economic issues for PNC. Prior to joining PNC as senior macroeconomist in December 2011, Faucher worked for 10 years at Moody’s Analytics (formerly Economy.com), where he was a director and senior economist. He was responsible for running the firm’s computer model of the U.S. economy, edited a monthly publication on the U.S. economic outlook, covered fiscal and monetary policy, and analyzed various regional economies. Previously, he worked for six years at the U.S. Treasury Department, and taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was named senior vice president in March 2015, deputy chief economist in February 2016, and to his current role in April 2017.

Faucher is frequently cited in international, national, and regional media outlets including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He has appeared on ABC World News, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and Nightly Business Report, and is regularly featured on CNBC, CNN and Fox Business. In addition, he appears regularly on CBS Radio, NPR and Marketplace. He serves on the board of directors of The Economic Club of Pittsburgh – the local chapter of National Association of Business Economics (NABE). He is also co-chair of the Financial Roundtable of NABE. Faucher earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania, with concentrations in labor economics and public economics. He also has a B. A. in economics from Cornell University.

Balance of Power: A Post-Election Economic Outlook

Eva McKend joined CNN’s Washington D.C. bureau in September 2021 as a National Politics Reporter. She previously served as an on-air Congressional Correspondent, reporting for Spectrum’s 24-hour news stations across the country from the nation’s capital. She is known in Washington for her pointed questions to people in leadership, getting then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to confirm on the record that climate change is being exacerbated by humans and that he wasn’t going to be an “impartial juror” in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial. Her question to McConnell on reparations for slavery elicited his most robust rejection of the concept to date and drove the news cycle nationwide for several days. Eva is a regular guest on the WAMU/NPR program 1A, distributed to more than 400 public radio stations across the U.S. She also is regularly asked to join PBS’ Washington Week panel.

From 2015-18, she served as an anchor at WCAX-TV, the market-leading CBS affiliate in Vermont where she was also known for her strong interviews with elected officials. She was named a Rising Star by Vermont Business Magazine in 2017. Before Vermont, Eva worked as a reporter for Spectrum News Hudson Valley from 2012-14. Prior to this work, she spent a summer as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for Springfield, Mo., CBS affiliate KOLR/KOZL. Eva is a graduate of Swarthmore College and earned her master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University through the Turner Diversity Fellowship. She is a proud member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Looking Ahead: Demographics, Population, and Workforce

[Jost Foundation Room]

Mahew Barewicz is the Director of the Economic & Labor Market Information Division for the Vermont Department of Labor. He has ~20 years of professional experience as an economist across both the public and private sector. Additionally, he has provided economic instruction at the collegiate level. Prior to his work in economics, he was employed in the brokerage industry as an equity trader. Mathew graduated from the University of Vermont with a double major in economics and French. He earned his master’s degree in economics from San Diego State University. In his free time, Mathew and his family support music and the arts.

Vermont’s $8 Billion State Budget: Where Does it Come from and Where Does it Go?

[Sugar Maple Ballroom]

Adam Greshin was appointed by Governor Phil Scott as the Commissioner of the Department of Finance in Management in June of 2017.  Prior to his appointment, Greshin was a Representative, I-Warren, and served since 2009 in the House of Representatives, where he worked on education, health care and tax issues. Greshin was a partner in Summit Ventures NE LLC, the owner of Sugarbush Resort. Over 18 years of ownership, he directed many different departments and helped oversee Sugarbush’s transformation into a 4-season resort. Additionally, he sat on the executive committee. Prior to his employment at Sugarbush, he worked for 16 years as a research analyst and lead portfolio manager in the global bond group at Scudder Stevens & Clark in Boston. He was educated at Bowdoin College (BA magna cum laude in romance languages and economics, 1982) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University (master of arts in law and diplomacy, 1984). He became a Chartered Financial Analyst in 1990. Adam is married to Anne (Cassin) Greshin and they have three children.

Craig Bolio, Commissioner, Department of Taxes

Craig Bolio was appointed as Commissioner of the Department of Taxes by Governor Phil Scott in December of 2019. Commissioner Bolio has served the Department since 2011, with much of his time spent supporting and improving the operational side of the Department, both as Deputy Commissioner and in his prior work where he focused on ensuring successful implementation of the Department’s integrated tax processing system; VTax. He grew up in Vermont and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Vermont. Craig lives in Essex Junction with his wife, Kristen, and their dog, Frankie.

Remarks From Senator Peter Welch

Peter Welch has been a champion for working Vermonters throughout his career. Since his election to the House of Representatives in 2006, he has been widely recognized as a thoughtful and effective legislator who chooses governing over gridlock.

Peter’s record reflects his strong commitment to addressing difficult challenges facing our state and nation: affordability, childcare, climate change, and protecting our democracy. In an era of partisanship, he has worked across the aisle to advance common-sense solutions to the issues that matter to Vermonters.

Peter was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1947. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in 1969. After working in Chicago fighting housing discrimination as one of the first Robert F. Kennedy Fellows, he enrolled in law school at the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated in 1973.

After law school, he settled in White River Junction, Vermont, where he worked as a public defender before founding a small law practice. He was first elected to represent Windsor County in the Vermont Senate in 1980. In 1985, he was unanimously elected by his colleagues to lead the chamber, becoming the first Democrat in Vermont history to hold the position of President Pro Tempore.

In 2006, Peter was elected to Vermont’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. His campaign gained nationwide attention for being the only contested congressional race in the country where both candidates refused to air negative ads.

In Congress, Peter has been a leading advocate for clean energy and energy efficiency, cutting the price of prescription drugs, investing in infrastructure, and expanding broadband and telemedicine in rural America.

Peter served as a Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus and a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. He also served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

In 2022, he was elected to the United States Senate, where he plans to continue working across the political spectrum to serve Vermonters.

He is married to Margaret Cheney, commissioner of the Vermont Public Utility Commission. They share a home in Norwich, Vermont.

Vermont’s $8 Billion State Budget: Where Does it Come from and Where Does it Go?

[Sugar Maple Ballroom]

Craig Bolio was appointed as Commissioner of the Department of Taxes by Governor Phil Scott in December of 2019. Commissioner Bolio has served the Department since 2011, with much of his time spent supporting and improving the operational side of the Department, both as Deputy Commissioner and in his prior work where he focused on ensuring successful implementation of the Department’s integrated tax processing system; VTax. He grew up in Vermont and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Vermont. Craig lives in Essex Junction with his wife, Kristen, and their dog, Frankie.

International Economic Trends: The Global Perspective

[Chittenden Bank Room]

Kenneth Kim is a Senior Economist at KPMG LLP where he brings his depth and knowledge to help KPMG leadership and clients to assess the constantly evolving U.S. and international economic environment.  Ken engages with CEOs, CFOs, corporate board directors and business leaders from numerous industry sectors including banking and capital markets, consumer and retail, insurance, M&A, private equity, and real estate.  He is actively involved with KPMG’s Board Leadership Center, CFO Peer Exchange, M&A Roundtable Events, and National Association of Corporate Directors. Ken has more than 20 years of experience conducting macroeconomic research and communicating his findings to clients. Prior to joining KPMG, Ken served as an economist at Merrill Lynch and later became a founding member of Stone & McCarthy Research Associates, the first independent economic research service on the Bloomberg terminal.

Hickok & Boardman Insurance Group will accept the 2022 Outstanding Business of the Year Award, presented by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and VermontBiz.

The Outstanding Business of the Year Award is presented annually to the Vermont business that demonstrates a commitment to community, workforce well-being, environmental stewardship, and growth in sales or employment.

8:00 AM – Registration/Coffee & Conversation

8:45 AM – Welcome – Betsy Bishop, President, Vermont Chamber of Commerce

8:55 AM – Morning Keynote: “National Economic Trends: Balancing Inflation, Consumer Spending, and Employment” – Gus Faucher, Senior Vice President, and Chief Economist, PNC Financial Services Group

10:00 AM – Remarks – Senator Peter Welch (D-VT)

10:45 AM – Breakout Sessions:

• “International Economic Trends: The Global Perspective” – Ken Kim, Senior Economist, KPMG

• “Looking Ahead: Demographics, Population, and Workforce” – Mat Barewicz, Economic & Labor Market Information Chief, Vermont Department of Labor

• “Vermont’s $8 Billion State Budget: Where Does it Come from and Where Does it Go?” – Adam Greshin, Commissioner, Department of Finance and Management, and Craig Bolio, Commissioner, Department of Taxes

11:45 AM – [Lunch]

12:35 PM – Afternoon Keynote: “Balance of Power: A Post-Election Economic Outlook” – Eva McKend, National Political Reporter, CNN

1:20 PM – 2022 Outstanding Business of the Year Award Presentation