��ֱ����

Leke Agiri has served as chief financial officer at Gevo since May 2025. He previously held the roles of executive vice president of finance, vice president of finance and director of project finance. A seasoned finance executive, Agiri brings expertise in corporate and project finance, corporate development, financial planning and portfolio evaluation. His experience spans onshore and offshore oil and gas operations, including LNG projects across global markets, as well as the commercialization and financing of net-zero biofuel, carbon capture and renewable energy projects. Prior to joining Gevo, Agiri held roles at Bank of America, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Accenture.

Brian Bird is the president and CEO of NorthWestern Energy, appointed Jan. 1, 2023. With over 17 years as CFO, he played a pivotal role in the company's financial turnaround, leading to significant growth and credit rating upgrades. As president and COO, he managed operations across various sectors, including energy supply and customer care. Prior to NorthWestern, Bird held key financial positions at Insight Energy and NRG Energy, contributing to substantial growth. He also has experience with Land O’ Lakes, Northwest Airlines, Minnesota Viking Ventures and Deluxe Corp. Bird serves on the boards of Edison Electric Institute, American Gas Association, Energy Insurance Mutual, Feeding South ��ֱ���� and North Central Electric Association. He holds an MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota and a double major in accounting and finance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, along with a CPA certificate.

Sam Chandan is the founding director of the C.H. Chen Institute for Global Real Estate Finance at the NYU Stern School of Business, where he leads the institute’s industry and policy engagement activities, research initiatives and MBA and undergraduate real estate programs, ranked No. 2 and No. 3 respectively among business schools by U.S. News and World Report. The Chen Institute was established in September 2022 and is supported by the largest-ever gift for an institute or center at Stern.

Prior to joining the faculty of Stern’s Finance Department in January 2022, Chandan was the Silverstein Chair and academic dean of the Schack Institute of Real Estate at the NYU School of Professional Studies, one of the world’s largest centers of real estate continuing education. He is a contributor to the World Economic Forum and co-author of its , published in late 2024 and presented at Davos in January 2025.

A Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, Royal Society for Public Health, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and Real Estate Research Institute, Chandan’s multifaceted research interests address real estate capital markets, housing finance and affordability, innovation in financial technology and its application to real estate, urban epidemiology, and the preparedness of global cities and other systemically important urban areas in managing and mitigating novel public health threats.

Chandan’s commentary on commercial and residential real estate markets and the broader economy has been featured regularly in national and global press, including the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, CNBC and Bloomberg. He holds an honorary appointment as the economist laureate of the Real Estate Lenders Association and has served on the real estate advisory council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Chandan received his Ph.D. in applied economics from the Wharton School and was a doctoral scholar in the Economics Department at Princeton University. He served previously on the faculties of the Wharton School and the Economics Department at Dartmouth College. In addition to his doctorate, he holds graduate degrees in epidemiology from Yale University and in economics and engineering from Penn State. He received his undergraduate degree in economics, finance and public policy from the Wharton School.

Thomas J. Christoffel, FeRSA, AICP, formed Regional Intelligence – Regional Communities, LLC in 2006 to bring his 35 years of experience as a regional planner in Virginia for the Lord Fairfax Planning District/Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission to the academic communities which knew little about Sub-State District based regional planning. Inspired in 2003 to produce a Prototype Global Geocode to supplement FIPS codes and promote regional community alignment, he has been bringing the practitioner perspective to regional science and other academic audiences. “Think Local Planet, act regionally” is the meme he created in 2000.

Steven Deller is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a community economic development specialist with the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension. His research focuses on regional economic growth, community economic development, the economics of tourism and the impact of social capital on local economic outcomes. He is the author of "Community Economic Development: Building for the Future" and has published extensively in journals across economics, planning and regional science. Deller has worked with communities across the U.S. on economic development strategies and currently leads the Wisconsin Rural Livability Project.

 Xiaozhou Ding is an assistant professor of economics in the Ness School of Management and Economics at South ��ֱ���� State University. His research focuses on urban and regional economics — including real estate economics — and labor economics, examining how local policies and public goods, such as education policies and place-based investments, affect neighborhood dynamics, housing markets and mobility.

Ding holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Kentucky, an M.S. in economics from Tufts University and a B.S. in finance from Chongqing Technology and Business University in China.

Ding serves as co-editor-in-chief of the Review of Regional Studies, a scholarly journal dedicated to advancing research on regional economic issues.

Jeff Eckhoff’s career path includes 16 years as executive director of the Lincoln and Minnehaha county economic development associations, seven years as state director of the South ��ֱ���� Small Business Development Center and four years with the City of Sioux Falls.

Eckhoff earned a bachelor’s degree at South ��ֱ���� State University and a master’s degree at the University of South ��ֱ����.

Jason Edleman is the senior vice president of business development for the northwest business development area within the Farm Credit Services of America footprint, which includes offices in South ��ֱ���� and Wyoming. Retail volume within the area currently exceeds $6 billion in outstanding loan volume along with a robust crop insurance portfolio. Edleman also leads FCSAmerica’s Young and Beginning Farmer Team and related strategy.

Edleman earned his B.A. from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, with double majors in economics and finance. His lending career began with FCSAmerica in Omaha in 1992. Shortly thereafter, he and his family relocated to Huron, South ��ֱ����, where he served producers in a financial officer role for 15 years and as the regional vice president of the west-central South ��ֱ���� region for 13 years.

Mike Eriksen is a professor of economics and the director of the Dean V. White Real Estate Finance Program at Purdue University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and biology from Gonzaga University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Syracuse University. Eriksen was previously on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati, University of Georgia and Texas Tech University before joining Purdue University in August 2022. In 2019, Eriksen was a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Eriksen’s research focuses on the interaction of government, businesses and households in housing markets, especially low-income markets. His research appears in top-tier academic journals in public economics, urban economics and real estate. His work has also been cited or featured in the Los Angeles Times, The Economist, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Frontline, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, Money Magazine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, MoneyWatch and U.S. congressional testimony.

Eriksen is currently on the editorial board of the Journal of Housing Economics and previously served on the board of directors of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, for which he served as the chair of the national conference in 2019 and 2020. Financial support for his research has been provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Institutes of Health, Research Institute for Housing America, AARP Foundation, Ohio Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Ty Eschenbaum grew up on a row-crop farm and seedstock Charolais cattle operation in east central South ��ֱ����, which brings a deep-rooted background in business and production agriculture to the A1 Team.

Eschenbaum attended South ��ֱ���� State University as a Briggs Scholar, receiving degrees in agricultural business and entrepreneurship before spending time in economic development for the South ��ֱ���� Department of Agriculture and in operations for Rembrandt Foods.

Eschenbaum remains heavily involved in his family’s operation and also founded and manages a nonprofit that supports critically ill children and youth cancer survivors and funds missionary work. A big believer in leadership and personal development, he is a South ��ֱ���� Ag and Rural Leadership graduate and has served as a board member or adviser to the American-International Charolais Association, Avera Rural Cancer Care Advisory Board, Bush Foundation, South ��ֱ���� Cattlemen’s Foundation, South ��ֱ���� Charolais Association and the First National Bank of Sioux Falls Ag Advisory Board.

Bill Even is the commissioner of the South ��ֱ���� Governor’s Office of Economic Development, where he leads a team whose mission drives the economic development environment that ensures the next generation can succeed in South ��ֱ����.

Prior to his leadership role with South ��ֱ���� Economic Development, Even served nine years as CEO for the National Pork Board, where he led Pork Checkoff-funded research, promotion and education projects on behalf of America’s 60,000 pork producers. Preceding his CEO tenure, Even served as the global industry relations lead and commercial unit lead for DuPont Pioneer/Corteva from 2010 to 2016.

Even also served as South ��ֱ���� secretary of agriculture from 2007 to 2010, managing six department divisions, namely Agriculture Regulatory Services, Agriculture Development, State Fair, Wildland Fire, Resource Conservation and Forestry, and Agricultural Policy. Even served as deputy secretary of tourism and state development, director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, state energy policy director, and policy advisor and executive branch lobbyist for South ��ֱ���� Gov. Mike Rounds.

Even holds an A.S. in agricultural production from Lake Area Technical Institute, a B.S. in agricultural business from South ��ֱ���� State University and a juris doctorate from Drake University Law School. While in law school, he served as executive editor of the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law, clerked for the law firm of Hefner and Bergkamp, P.C., and interned with the Soil and Water Conservation Society and the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee in Washington, D.C.

Even and his family own and operate a crop and livestock farm near Humboldt, South ��ֱ����. The farm was homesteaded in 1884 by his great-grandfather, and Even began farming in 1983. Even and his wife, Janell, have three children and live in Tea, South ��ֱ����.

Christine Gaffney is the senior vice president of treasury services at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, where she oversees the bank’s U.S. Treasury operations and maintains strong relationships with partners at the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Treasury services is currently the largest division at the bank.

Prior to serving in her current role, Gaffney served as the senior vice president for supervision, regulation and credit at the bank, where she oversaw the consumer and safety and soundness supervision of state member banks and bank holding companies in the Ninth District. Gaffney was also responsible for the bank’s lending to Ninth District depository institutions and managing the resulting credit risk. She lead the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility, which was one of the most critical government responses to the pandemic-induced economic crisis.

Gaffney joined the bank in 2001 in the supervision, regulation and credit department as a consumer affairs examiner and continued in that role through 2008. In the examiner role, she spent one year at the Board of Governors and four years as key support for the Federal Reserve System’s examiner training efforts. She managed supervision, regulation and credit’s quality assurance and training functions before becoming an assistant vice president in 2011, vice president in 2014, and senior vice president in 2017.

Gaffney holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Jamestown in North ��ֱ����.

Jim Jansen is an agricultural economist at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His work guides landowners, lenders and policymakers on trends shaping the agricultural land industry. Jansen conducts research and outreach in agricultural finance, policy and real estate and leads the annual Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey and Report.

With over a decade of experience, Jansen holds master’s degrees in business analytics from Purdue University and in agricultural economics and agronomy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He completed his undergraduate studies at South ��ֱ���� State University. Jansen’s work primarily serves the agricultural industry in Nebraska and the broader Midwest.

Tom Kersting's has served as South ��ֱ���� Soybean Processors’ chief executive officer since March 28, 2011. As CEO, he has been responsible for the entire operation of South ��ֱ���� Soybean Processors. Prior to serving as the CEO, he served as commercial manager from 1998 to 2011 and as procurement manager from 1996 to 1998. He is a licensed commodity broker and a former director of the National Oilseed Processors Association. He graduated from the University of Minnesota’s College of Agriculture with a B.S. in agricultural business administration with an emphasis in operations management.

Kyle A. Kopplin is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the College of Business at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD. His research areas are broadly defined in urban economics and public finance, and some projects include Census Bureau data using RDCs that focus on sorting, house prices and information networks. Other projects in applied microeconomics have been involving undergraduate students at BHSU, creating opportunities to involve future researchers early in their academic careers. He engages with South ��ֱ���� residents by contributing state-level analysis to the ��ֱ���� Institute focusing on property taxes, local public finance, and changes in state policy. Kopplin earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 2023, holds a Masters in Economics from South ��ֱ���� State University, and attended Augustana as an undergraduate Economics student.

Hoanh Le is an assistant professor of economics and land valuation in Ness School of Management and Economics. Her research areas include real estate economics, including farmland markets and housing markets. At the Ness School, Le conducts research on farmland markets and the private factors and public policies that affect farmland markets. She collaborates with colleagues on the annual SDSU Extension Farm Real Estate Survey. Le joined SDSU in August 2023 after earning her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Houston.

Eric Lynch is an economist in the survey research group at the National Association of Home Builders, where he is responsible for conducting and assisting with surveys targeting multifamily housing, remodeling and other related topics. Additionally, Lynch provides data and information on housing-related issues to association members, staff, financial institutions and other stakeholders. Prior to joining the National Association of Home Builders, he worked as a senior associate in the research and knowledge department at the American Society of Interior Designers, gaining industry knowledge on the built environment and residential market. Lynch holds a B.A. in political science/economics and Spanish from Towson University and a M.S. in applied economics from the University of Maryland.

Lynch is a certified business economist, the certification in business economics and data analytics developed by the National Association for Business Economics. The certified business economist (CBE) certification documents a professional's accomplishment, experience, abilities and demonstrates mastery of the body of knowledge critical for a successful career in the field of economics and data analytics. CBE and certified business economist are certification marks owned by the National Association for Business Economics.

Malcolm J. Kass is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Dallas. His research uses panel data and causal inference methods to study how labor-market institutions and place-based policies—including casino development—shape household formation and migration outcomes. At this conference, he will present joint work (with John Soriano) on the family and community effects of casino openings. Kass earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Gary Painter is the BEARE chair and academic director of the Center for Real Estate at the University of Cincinnati. Painter received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and his undergraduate degree in quantitative economics and decision sciences from the University of California, San Diego.

Painter has extensive expertise in housing, urban economics and social innovation. His work in real estate is shaped by understanding issues of housing affordability and how changing demographics impact U.S. housing markets. His research has appeared in numerous top journals and media outlets.

Painter has previously served as president of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association. He has held leadership positions at the National Association of Realtors, Andrew Davidson Co., Fannie Mae, and the Research Institute for Housing America and served as an expert witness on several real estate and fair housing cases.

David K. Palmer is a professor of management in the Ness School of Management and Economics at South ��ֱ���� State University with a Ph.D. in organizational behavior/human resource management from Purdue University. He has a long-running interest in demographics and population dynamics as they relate to organizations, with a particular interest in the workforce phenomenon of “brain drain.” He is also the co-author of one of the seminal research articles discussing ways to improve the quality of the employment selection interview through structuring. His research has appeared in such outlets as Current Directions in Psychological Science, Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Management, Journal of Managerial Psychology and Personnel Psychology.

Jay Parsons is a rental housing economist and consultant. He has advised numerous multifamily and single-family rental housing stakeholders, from institutional investors, real estate investment trusts, owner-operators, developers, lenders, regulators and government agencies.

In addition to independent consulting and speaking, Parsons serves as a partner in WayMaker (a Texas-based multifamily investment group focused on attainable housing), a principal for Madera Residential (a multifamily owner/operator) and an economics adviser to JPI (a leading apartment developer and builder). Previously, he was the chief economist at RealPage.

Parsons has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Financial Times, The Economist, The New York Times and NBC News, and he has appeared on CNBC and Bloomberg TV. His commentaries have been published by Barron’s, the Pension Real Estate Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association and American Banker, among others.

Parsons' social media posts attract an average of a half-million impressions per week. He hosts a weekly podcast called "The Rent Roll with Jay Parsons," which ranks among the top real estate podcasts on Apple. GlobeSt., a leading trade publication, named him one of its "2023 Influencers in Multifamily Real Estate.” He also serves on the board of advisers for Apartment Life, a faith-based nonprofit serving apartment residents and operators.

Parsons is a graduate of the University of Maryland. He resides in the Dallas area with his wife and their five children.

Applied Digital builds and operates next-generation artificial intelligence data centers in communities around the U.S., delivering high-performance infrastructure while fostering local economic development. With billions of dollars of projects under construction, Applied Digital is leading the way in large-scale AI factories in the US.

As executive vice president of external affairs, Nick Phillips leads Applied Digital’s public affairs strategy, overseeing government relations, real estate acquisition and community engagement. With a career in the data center industry since 2005 and more than a decade of leadership in government affairs and legislative advocacy, Phillips plays a pivotal role in aligning public policy with corporate objectives.

He manages relationships with local, state and federal officials, regulatory agencies and industry partners, while driving sustainable site development and ESG initiatives. Known for navigating complex regulatory landscapes and building trust with stakeholders, Phillips ensures that Applied Digital is both community-focused and business-ready.

Paul Rann is the Ness School program manager for urban economic development, located at the school's outpost at Startup Sioux Falls. Rann earned a B.S. in political science and public relations and advertising from the University of South ��ֱ���� and an MBA from the University of Sioux Falls. Most recently, he led at Talent Plus (Lincoln, Nebraska). Earlier, he served as the executive director of Huron Regional Medical Center Foundation.

Diane Swonk is the chief economist for global auditing firm KPMG. Swonk has more than 30 years of experience in financial services and serves on advisory committees to the Federal Reserve Board and its regional banks. She is currently on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce economic advisory board. Having advised the Council of Economic Advisers for the White House under three presidents, she served the maximum two terms on the Congressional Budget Office’s panel of economic advisers.

In 2018, Swonk brought her consultancy firm DS Economics to the audit and consulting firm, Grant Thornton, where she served as chief economist until 2022. She had joined Mesirow Financial after 19 years with Bank One Corporation and its predecessors, working as director of economics, chief economist and senior vice president. She started her career with the legacy First Chicago Corporation in 1985 and quickly moved up the ranks, proving herself as a regional economist with her forecast for a renaissance in the Industrial Midwest just one year later.

Chicago magazine once said about Swonk, “Her name seems the very heartbeat of the business pages.” Listed as one of the “Top Forecasters in the Country” by The Wall Street Journal and rated as one of the most accurate economic forecasters by MSNBC, she has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of all things economic. Swonk offers audiences a deep, nonpolitical dive into global and domestic economic issues, including where the economy is headed, trade issues, regulation, taxes and the effects of government policy on the markets.

Swonk serves on the board of the Posse Foundation in Chicago, an organization dedicated to improving access to higher education. She also serves on the boards of the Chicago Conservation Center and the National Association of Business Economists Foundation, which awards scholarships to study economics. Additionally, Swonk was a member of the sitting committee and the gender task force at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; she continues to advise the economics department at the University of Michigan.

Swonk earned her B.A. and M.A. in economics with top honors from the University of Michigan. She was awarded an MBA in finance and strategic planning with top honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Sean C. Turgeon is a partner at Rogers Appraisal Service Inc., an independently owned real estate appraisal and advisory firm specializing in commercial real estate throughout the Sioux Falls metropolitan area and surrounding region.

Since 1998, Rogers Appraisal Service Inc. has provided trusted appraisal insights to financial institutions, law firms, family offices and individuals relating to mortgage origination, estate planning, acquisition/divestiture, divorce settlements, foreclosures, etc.

As a state-certified general real estate appraiser (highest level), Turgeon’s practice areas include, but are not limited to: development land, commercial land, general and medical office, general retail, retail center/malls, restaurants, light/heavy/flex industrial, mini-storage warehousing, traditional and condominium contractor shops, automotive and implement dealerships, car wash facilities, convenience stores, grocery stores, laundromats, hotel/motels, event centers, multifamily apartments, affordable housing, mobile home courts, campgrounds, etc.

A Sioux Falls native, Turgeon holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in economics and Master of Business Administration from the University of South ��ֱ����.