PNREC 2026 was held in scenic Portland, Oregon on May 19-21, 2026 at the Benson Hotel.
Scroll down to see the agenda and links to presentation slides.
Special thanks to the supporting organizations who helped make it possible:
Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank – Federal Reserve Education
Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Oregon Council on Economic Education
Western Washington University – College of Business and Economics
Princeton Williams, Outreach Senior Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Using Primary Documents to Teach Monetary Policy
Chair: Hart Hodges, President of PNREC, Western Washington University
Speakers:
Tom Potiowsky and Scott Bailey, Conference Co-chairs
The Honorable Keith Wilson, Mayor of Portland
Speakers:
Dr. Patrick Newport, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Chair: Anna Johnson, Oregon Employment Department
Speakers:
Gail Krumenauer, Oregon Employment Department
Anneliese Vance-Sherman, Washington Employment Security Department
Sam Wolkenhauer, Idaho Department of Labor
Kate Flavin, Montana Department of Labor and Industry
Chair: Massoud Jourabchi
Speakers:
Ariadna Villavicencio, Whitmand College
"Inside the Loop: AI Data Center Expansion in the Pacific Northwest"
Rejo Jose, PGE
"Navigating Data Center Growth: Demand, Flexibility, and Grid Integration"
Robert McCullough
Chair: Tom Potiowsky
Speakers:
Katherine Kelley and Chris Berg, Portland Metro Regional Government
"Forecasting and Impact: Lessons from a Regional Homelessness Initiative"
Andy Silver, Vancouver (WA) Housing Authority
Jill Sherman, Edlen & Co. (affordable housing developer)
Paul Del Vecchio, Ethos Development (affordable housing developer)
Chair: Princeton Williams
Speakers:
Chikumboso Namuchile, Whitman University
Zharyck Lopez, Linfield College
Hyeonchoel Kim, Portland State University
Margot Hutter and Abby Murphy, Western Washington University
"The Impacts of Washington's Millionaire's Tax - What Does the Literature Suggest?"
Chair: Massoud Jourabchi
Speakers:
Clifford Harrell, Beaverton School District
Brad Beauchamp, Blue Bird Corporation
Luke Whittemore, PGE
Chair: Anneliese Vance-Sherman
Speakers:
Anna Johnson, Oregon Employment Department
Aditya Gadkari, ECOnorthwest
Nelson Gomes, Oregon Employment Department
Kate Flavin, Montana Department of Labor and Industry
"Montana Businesses and the Impact of Child Care Access: Results From a Survey"
Chair: Billy Leung
Speakers:
Josh Harwood, Portland Metro Regional Government
Daniel Stickel, Alaska Department of Revenue
Tomas Nilsson, Alberta Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services
Chair: Wisnu Sugiarto
Speakers:
Carl Riccadonna, State of Oregon
Oregon Economic Outlook 2026: Resilience underpins, but risks abound
Dr. Chris Sands, Center for Canadian Studies, Johns Hopkins University
Canada - U.S. Relations
Chair: Scott Bailey
Speakers:
James Sterns, Oregon State University
Amanda Hoey, Oregon Wheat Commission
Jeff Stone, Oregon Association of Nurseries
Shannon Neibergs, Washington State University
Chair: Terry Morlan
Speakers:
Jake Kennedy, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Dor Hirsh Bar Gai, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
"Resource Adequacy: A Multi-Metric Approach for Assessing a Complex System"
Tomas Morrissey, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
"Capital Expanson: Investing for an Uncertain Future with Preliminary Results"
Steve Simmons, Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Chair: Princeton Williams
Speakers:
Hayden Hobbick, Central Washington University
"Gaze Aversion: Door Placement's Effect on Classroom Attendance"
Natalee Rizzo, Central Washington University
Yurim Lee, Central Washington University
Sureerath Auengpradijporn and James Mark Gbeda, Western Washington University
"Housing and Rental Market Trend Analysis: National vs Metropolitan Areas"
Chair: Jenny Liu
Speakers:
Jeff Renfro, Economist, Multnomah County Budget Office
"The Calculus of Local Governance in Portland: Navigating Restricted Funds and Local Realities"
Peter Hulseman, Economist, City of Portland
Josh Harwood, Fiscal and Tax Policy Director, Portland Metro Regional Government
Chair: Mark Weimer
Speakers:
Brittany Tarufelli, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
"The Value of Hydropower as a Grid-Scalre Storage Resource: A Commodity Market Approach"
Mark Weimar, Argonne National Laboratory
"Does Matching Pumped Storage Hydropower With Offshore Wind in Southern Oregon Make Economic Sense"
Mark Parrish, Army Corps of Engineers
"Justifying Turbine Investments: A Decade of Exploring the Capability of USACE Hydropower Fleet"
Chair: Chris Lawless
Speakers:
Sahan Dissanayake, Portland State University
Richard Monahan
"The Impact of Corporate Sociopolitical Activism on Consumer Behavior"
Seth Urbanski, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife
Chad Wassell, Central Washington University
"How Federal Crop Insurance Absorbs Persistent Drought: Evidence from Western US Counties"
Speakers:
James Bohnaker, Cushman Wakefield
Cameron Schwab, Keller Williams
Chair: Chris Lawless
Speakers:
Magda Kondarize, Gonzaga University
Abdelmoumine Traore, Washington State Office of Financial Management
"Crosswinds Ahead: The Turbulent Tariff Toll on Washingtonians"
Gail Krumenauer and Damon Runberg, Oregon Employment Department and Business Oregon
Chair: Scott Bailey
Speakers:
Sathiavanee Veramoothoo, Whitman College
"Beyond Output Generation: Pedagogical Frameworks for AI Proficiency and Human Authority"
Sarah Davis, 3D Educational Consulting
Tobias Peterson, Clark College
Amy Maceira, Everyday Future
Chair: Terry Morlan
Speakers:
Massoud Jouabchi
John Fazio
Robert McCullough
Chair: Billy Leung
Speakers:
Lewis Lem, Port of Portland
"PDX International Airport Air Cargo - Economic and Transportation Impacts and Network Effects"
Lizbeth Martin-Mahar, King County, WA
Chair: Tom Potiowsky, Portland State University
Speakers:
Amber Sweetski (virtual), State of Alaska
Felicia Mutheardy (virtual), City of Edmonton
Bryan Yu, AVP & Chief Economist, Central 1 Credit Union
"British Columbia"
Dr. Greg Piepmeyer
Kate Flavin, Montana Department of Labor and Industry
Chris Lawless
Nick Beleiciks, Oregon Employment Department
Lance Carey, Washington Economic and Revenue Forecast Council
