Steve is the Director of Research and Education. He is also an emeritus professor, Department of Economics, University of Connecticut (UConn), where he has been a member of the graduate faculty for over 20 years. Also at UConn, he was also the founder and first director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis. Steve served as President of Cunningham Systems Corporation; Research Assistant to the Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Manager of Corporate Revenue, Gross Profit, and Pricing at AT&T Paradyne Corporation; staff mathematician and senior engineer at Harris Corporation; and senior scientist at ENSCO, Inc. At the University of South Florida, Steve did extensive undergraduate and graduate work in mathematics and computing, and left with a B.A. in mathematics. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University, where he studied Macroeconomics, Monetary Theory and Policy, International Trade and Finance, Mathematical Economics, Econometrics, and Statistics.
Our Staff
David joined AIER as Chief Financial Officer in 2008. He has more than 30 years of international financial and operating experience in a wide variety of roles in both public and private organizations. Prior to joining AIER David served as Chief Financial Officer at an early stage development company, Starfire Systems, Inc. Before joining Starfire he served as Vice President of Treasury, Tax, and Chief Risk Officer for Albany International Corp. David also held positions at Veeco Instruments, Inc. and the New York State Department of Audit and Control. David earned his Bachelor of Science degree with dual majors in accounting and finance and a minor in economics from the University at Albany and did graduate-level coursework at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University.
Polina Vlasenko joined the AIER research staff as a Research Fellow in December 2008, after being a Visiting Research Fellow. From 2005 to 2008, Polina was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Manchester College in Indiana. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Professor at the Economic Education and Research Consortium's Program in Economics (currently Kyiv School of Economics) in Kyiv, Ukraine. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from University of Maryland, College Park
Shelly X. Liang joined the AIER research team as a Research Fellow in January 2012. Her research interests are in labor economics, applied econometrics and financial markets. Prior to joining AIER, she held faculty positions in Texas Christian University and University of Texas at Arlington, and worked as an economist for Virginia executive branch. She received her M.S. in Applied Statistics and Ph.D. in Economics from Syracuse University, NY.
Walker F. Todd, research fellow and conference organizer for AIER, lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, near Cleveland, and has been affiliated with AIER in one capacity or another since 1995. An instructor in the AIER Summer Fellowship Program, he teaches a course on the history and origins of competing theories of property rights. He is an attorney admitted to practice in Ohio and New York and is an economic consultant with 20 years’ experience at the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Cleveland. He has been an instructor in the Special Studies program at Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY, since 1997. He holds a Ph.D. in French from Columbia University and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. A director and program organizer for the Committee for Monetary Research and Education, he was an adjunct faculty member of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, for 13 years. He has numerous publications, both for AIER and for others, on banking, central banking, monetary and property rights topics, including those related to international debt, the International Monetary Fund, and the regulation of the banking system and financial markets.
Zinnia Mukherjee joined the AIER research staff as a Research Fellow in August, 2011. She completed her Ph.D. in economics at the University of Connecticut, and was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Connecticut College, New London, CT, where she continues teaching as a part time faculty. More detailed information about her research and work experience is available on her personal website. www.zinniamukherjee.com
Julie Ni Zhu joined the AIER research staff as a Research Analyst in April 2011. Julie writes articles for AIER publications, maintains databases, and assists senior staff. She also responds to readers’ questions, supervises summer interns, and has helped coordinate interviews with the Asian press. Her articles have been well-received, and have earned mention in the press. Julie holds a BA degree in economics and statistics from Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
Campbell Bridges, Director of Information Technology
Kelly Fox, Member Services Manager
Bruce Gore, Facilities Manager
Gretchen Hayn, Executive Assistant
Cathy Marchand, Customer Service Team Leader
Laurie Pshenishny, Assistant Comptroller
Gail Roger, Director of Human Resources
Declan J. Sheehy, Director of Development & Outreach
Marcia Stamell, Editor/Creative Director
Jon Sylbert, Director of Marketing and Communications
Eric S. Taylor, Graphic Designer & Web Content Manager
Sarah Todd, Editor
Samantha Woodson, Librarian
