WASHINGTON PANELISTS

Bret Bertolin has been with the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC) since its inception in 1984. The ERFC is charged with preparing economic analyses and revenue forecasts for the Governor and the Legislature.

Prior to joining the Forecast Council, he worked as an Economist with Seattle-First National Bank.

When he is not crunching numbers, Bret enjoys hanging out on his sailboat with his wife and seven-year-old daughter.

Bret received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in economics from Yale University.
 

Dr. Bill Conerly is the consultant who connects the dots between the economy and business decisions. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University and was formerly Senior Vice President at First Interstate Bank.

Dr. Conerly is author of Businomics: From the Headlines to Your Bottomline — How to Profit in Any Economic Cycle, which provides business leaders with a framework for understanding current economic news. He is co-author of Thinking Economics, a multi-media high school economics curriculum used in 24 states.

Dr. Conerly has been interviewed on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, CNN and local television and radio stations across the country. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, and USA Today.

Dr. Conerly is chairman of the board of Cascade Policy Institute, a member of Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski's Council of Economic Advisors, and a Senior Fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis.