Peter C. Rupert, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Dr. Rupert joined the Economic Forecast Project as its executive director in August 2010.  Currently, he is a professor of economics, and Chairman of the UCSB Department of Economics.  He is also Associate Director of the UCSB Laboratory for Aggregate Economics and Finance, founded by Nobel Laureate Finn E. Kydland.  Prior to joining UCSB, Dr. Rupert spent 12 years as Senior Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.  Dr. Rupert has held appointments at the University of Western Ontario, State University of New York at Buffalo, West Virginia University, the University of Southern California, and Birkbeck College, University of London.  Dr. Rupert earned his B.S. from Santa Clara University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Rochester.  His areas of specialization include macroeconomics, monetary economics, economic of the criminal justice system,  labor, and household economics.

Llad Phillips, Ph.D.
Research Director
Dr. Phillips has been a faculty member at the UCSB since 1967.  Dr. Phillips earned bachelor degrees in economics and chemistry from UC Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in economics Harvard University.  Prior to joining UCSB, Dr. Phillips worked as a nuclear chemist at the Lawrence Berkeley Radiation Laboratory’s new element and heavy element group, and he served as an economist for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  At UCSB, Professor Phillips served as Chair of the Economics Department, and, in 1981, he established the Economic Forecast Project with the support of Michael Towbes and Santa Barbara Bank and Trust.  Other duties included serving as Associate Dean from 1987-1991, and as Acting Provost of the College of Letters and Science from 1991-1994.  Professor Phillips’ major fields of specialization are labor economics, the economics of criminal justice, and applied econometrics.  He is the author of several books, and he has approximately 100 published research articles.

Kenneth J. Freeland
Department Resource Manager
Kenneth joined the Economic Forecast Project in 2011.  He earned his B.A. and M.A. in anthropology from UCLA, and his J.D. from the University of Southern California. Prior to joining EFP, Kenneth served as Area Director for California Mentor, Executive Director of Jodi House Brain Injury Support Center, and Director of Program Services at Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County.  Kenneth has lived in Santa Barbara since 1999. He is a member of the State Bar of California.

Research Assistants
Zachary Bethune
Bonnie M. Queen

Interns
Meaghan Binns (Head Intern)
John Harris
Mike Holubowski
Alan Sackrider
Brooke Winrow