The People Behind the Models

Douglas Meade, Ph.D.

Executive Director

Doug previously served as Deputy Chief of the Industry Division at the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Before BEA, he was at Inforum, where he contributed significantly to the LIFT and ILIAD models of the U.S. and the JIDEA model for Japan. He has served as principal investigator on a wide variety of projects for private sector and government clients. Doug has nearly 30 years of experience in economic modeling and data development, including positions at Data Resources Inc. and the Census Bureau, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in 1990.

Ronald Horst, Ph.D.

Director of Research

Ron joined Inforum in 2001 as a Research Assistant and became full-time staff after earning his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland in 2006. He directs research activities, including model development and the application of models to policy analysis and forecasting, and leads production of semiannual macroeconomic-industry forecasts and monthly macroeconomic forecasts. Ron is principal investigator for projects including analysis of the exhibition industry and specialized industry forecasts. His expertise includes the economics of public infrastructure, freight flow projections, energy economics, projections of detailed industry data, and analysis of terrorist attacks and other economic impacts. He has been Inforum’s chief software developer since Clopper Almon retired in 2003.

Julie Gressley, Ph.D.

Senior Economist

Julie has over 18 years of experience in economic impact analysis and input-output modeling. Before Inforum, she was a Consultant and Research Economist at IHS Markit (now S&P Global), specializing in economic development, labor economics, and policy analysis, and working on multidisciplinary projects in regional infrastructure, energy, trade, and transportation. She also served as an Economist in the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Division of International Economics and is a former REMI economist. Julie completed her Ph.D. at The Ohio State University, where her research focused on rural-urban intergenerational divides in education and occupation. She also holds degrees from the Elliott School at George Washington University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Kendel Barber

Junior Economist

Kendel started at Inforum as a Research Assistant while completing her undergraduate degree, and joined the full-time staff in 2024 after graduating from Georgetown University with a bachelor’s degree in International Economics. She collects and processes economic data, produces the databases used by Inforum models, and trains new employees on Inforum software and database maintenance. She also helps prepare presentations and reports, assists in writing business proposals, and updates data and equations in Inforum’s models of the U.S. economy. Kendel became an IMPLAN-certified Economist in 2025 and uses that expertise in Inforum’s economic impact studies. She is a member of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and has received the NABE Certificate in Economic Measurement.