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Upon completing graduate school, if you had told me I'd spend my career teaching economics, I probably would've laughed. I was ready to take everything I'd learned, jump into the business world, and, as we'd say today, "Let's go!"

I began my career as a Risk Management Analyst with AIG, where I had a front-row seat to one of the most significant financial crises in modern history. My team evaluated and priced insurance on more than $10 billion in mortgage-backed securities, assessing the credit quality of mortgage portfolios as the housing market reached historic highs.

At first, everything looked great. The portfolios were strong, homeownership was climbing, and confidence was everywhere. But as lenders loosened underwriting standards and credit became easier to obtain, we watched the quality of those portfolios steadily deteriorate. Working through AIG's collapse and the government bailout was one of the hardest experiences of my career, but it taught me something no textbook ever could: Economics isn't just about numbers. It's about people, incentives, and the decisions we make when the future is uncertain.

After the crisis, I spent the next decade helping financial institutions rebuild and strengthen the mortgage insurance, mortgage servicing, and student loan industries. My work focused on credit risk, predictive analytics, underwriting strategy, regulatory compliance, and portfolio management, helping organizations make better decisions in an environment where risk had suddenly become very real.

Somewhere between building statistical models and rewriting underwriting guidelines, I realized I needed my own professional bailout. I loved economics and didn't want to spend the rest of my career staring at spreadsheets. I wanted to help people understand the decisions behind them.

That realization led me to ÂÒÂ×ÊÓƵ, where I now serve as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics. I teach principles of economics and applied economics & consulting, bringing real business problems into the classroom through consulting projects, historical case studies, simulations, current events, and experiential learning. My goal has never been to help students memorize economics. It's to help them think like economists.

I believe the best way to learn economics is to experience it. My students don't simply study business decisions. They become consultants, conduct research, compete in national competitions, and present their work alongside students and faculty from across the country. As faculty advisor for Omicron Delta Epsilon, the international economics honor society, and Business Fellows, I enjoy helping students discover opportunities they never imagined for themselves. Some of my favorite days are spent leading students to the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and New York, the Issues in Political Economy Conference, and other experiential learning opportunities where classroom concepts suddenly become real. That commitment to experiential learning earned me the Love School of Business Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Outside the classroom, I founded Elite Economic Advisors because I wanted to help organizations solve real-world problems. Today, I work with businesses, real estate professionals, nonprofit organizations, local governments, and community leaders to translate economic data into practical decisions. I also deliver economic forecasts, keynote presentations, and executive briefings for business leaders, trade associations, and community organizations.

Whether I'm discussing housing markets, commercial real estate, labor markets, inflation, tariffs, entrepreneurship, public policy, or economic development, I keep coming back to one simple question:

What does this mean for the people getting up every morning trying to build a better life while chasing their dreams?

This passion has led me into public media. I regularly provide economic commentary for national and regional media outlets, including Bloomberg, CNBC, USA TODAY, and television and news organizations across the country. I enjoy helping people understand not just what's happening in the economy, but why it matters and what they can do about it.

Whether I'm teaching students, mentoring future economists, consulting with organizations, delivering an economic forecast, or talking with reporters, my mission never changes. Behind every economic headline is a person making an important decision. My life's work is helping people think like economists so they can make better ones.