2024 Speakers

Principal in Crescent Title and the law firm of Bergeron, Douglass, Frosch and Mack, Bob Bergeron is in his 20th year of managing residential and commercial real estate transactions. Bob is recognized throughout the area as an expert on Louisiana real estate law. He lectures frequently to investors and home buyers on the legal aspects of buying and selling property. He also is certified to provide state-mandated continuing education courses to REALTORS® and teaches hundreds of real estate agents annually. Throughout the metropolitan New Orleans area, Bob is considered a leading authority in the field of 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges. Presently, Bob manages and conducts approximately 1500 real estate transactions a year, which includes commercial and residential closings. Bob graduated from Loyola University in 1984 where he earned a B.B.A. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School, where he obtained membership on the Moot Court Board. In addition to his practice of law, Bob is a retired major in the Louisiana Army National Guard. Bob is admitted to practice before all courts, both federal and state, in Louisiana. Additionally, he is a member of the American Bar Association, New Orleans Bar Association, Louisiana Association of Independent Title Attorneys and the Louisiana Land Title Association. He also is a trustee of the endowment fund for St. Georges School. Under Crescent Title LLC, Bob is an affiliate with both the Louisiana Mortgage Association and the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of REALTORS®.

Jerry Bologna serves as President & CEO of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO). Since 2000, Jerry has played a significant role in industry recruitment, business retention efforts and major projects throughout Jefferson Parish. He brokered the $1 billion investment of global industry leader Dyno Nobel America and played an influential role in the acquisition of the Avondale Shipyard, one of the region’s greatest physical assets. Jerry has also attracted international headquarters and publicly traded brands, such as Sleep Number Corporation, Amazon, and US Foods to Jefferson. In 2011, he was recognized by the International Economic Development Council as the New Economic Development Professional of the Year and achieved the Certified Economic Developer designation that same year. Jerry’s work with Ochsner Health System has supported the development of an underutilized stretch of Jefferson Highway into an international healthcare destination through nearly $400 million in capital improvements and the creation of an additional 3,200 jobs. In addition to his work at JEDCO, he serves on the Boards of Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Jefferson Chamber, Greater New Orleans, Inc., and the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association, where he served as President in 2017. He also serves on the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic. Jerry received notable recognitions during his many years at JEDCO, including: “40 Under 40” in international economic development (Development Counsellors International); “Business Person of the Year” for 2018 (Biz New Orleans Magazine) and one of the Top 50 Economic Developers in North America (Consultant Connect). In 2016, the Bureau of Governmental Research recognized him for Excellence in Government. Under his leadership, JEDCO was named to the inaugural UNO25, a list of high performing regional businesses and organizations led by University of New Orleans alumni.

Jay Cicero began his career in sports in Group Sales and Marketing for the Shreveport Captains AA Baseball Club in 1986. He joined the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation in 1990 as Director of Special Projects and Director of Sales for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. In February 1993, Cicero was named the first General Manager of the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs Baseball Club. In 1995, he returned to the Sports Foundation as Vice President of Operations and was named President/CEO in June 1997. As the President/CEO of the Sports Foundation, Jay has served in numerous senior leadership roles, including as the Executive Director of the 2002, 2013 and 2024 New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committees and the 2008, 2014 and 2017 NBA All-Star Game Host Committees, as well as serving on the Executive Committees of four Super Bowls, four Men’s Final Fours, four Women’s Final Fours, seventeen New Orleans Bowls, three NBA All-Star Games, two WrestleMania’s and the College Football Championship Game.

KC Conway is a nationally recognized economist and appraiser with a nearly 40 year career including positions in commercial banks, government service, and academia. Among his more notable career achievements are (i) his role as the commercial real estate subject matter expert providing counsel to the Federal Reserve during the Great Recession of 2007-2010; (ii) serving as the Chief Economist for the CCIM Institute from 2017-2023; and (iii) acting as an instructor for real estate trends at the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council continuously from 2006. In addition, he presently serves as a director of a publicly traded REIT and testifies as an expert witness on valuation and tax appeals in various state and U.S. courts.

James Cook serves as the Americas Director of Retail Research at JLL, based out of Indianapolis, IN. He oversees the production of national retail research. He speaks regularly at events, with clients and the media about how retail real estate will change with tomorrow’s economy. James was ranked in the 2024 list of top 50 LinkedIn CRE influencers by CREiSUMMIT. James hosts the Where We Buy podcast, a show about retail and real estate. Where We Buy was awarded a 2020 Gold MAXI award from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). The show was listed by FeedSpot as one of the Best Retail Podcasts You MustFfollow in 2022. He hosts the video series Everything We Know About Retail. James also hosts the podcast Trends & Insights: The Future of Commercial Real Estate. His focus includes the development and implementation of research strategy, methodology, platform deliverables and broad sector analyses for the retail property markets in the United States, Mexico and Canada. He creates industry-leading research and thought leadership for both owners and occupiers of retail developments. Additionally, James sits on JLL’s Research Leadership Council, which focuses on the team’s strategic vision, team management and development of best practice standards and collaboration across the global research platform and brand. James was previously the National Director of Analytics at Xceligent, a national commercial property research firm. In that role he recruited and managed a new Analytics department; a national team of regional analysts tasked with producing quarterly market reports and thought leadership pieces. James has worked in the commercial real estate industry since 1999, beginning as a Phoenix market research analyst with Insignia/ESG. He has served as U.S. Director of Research at Colliers International, where he oversaw the commercial property research services provided to Colliers International clients in the United States. Before that, he built the Colliers national GIS platform, as the GIS Manager for the U.S. region.

Louis David is the President and CEO for New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA). In this role, Louis is focused on highlighting opportunities for business and economic growth within our New Orleans communities. He leads the NOLABA team's efforts to create programming and initiatives that is in line with NOLABA’s mission of creating inclusive and holistic economic development so that all people of New Orleans are financially secure and prosperous through growth, opportunity and by eliminating economic disparity. Louis has been with NOLABA for eight years and formerly served as Vice President of Industry Attraction & Retention. In this role, he led the organization’s efforts to retain current and recruit new businesses in the technology, manufacturing, trade, and transportation industries. Within the past two years, he has led the economic development support of Big Easy Bucha’s acquisition by a major Latin American bev-tech company, played a key role in the new launch of Propel Park at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, and helped to create and launch the Xbox Studios Game Camp experience in New Orleans, generating tech jobs for our New Orleans workforce. Louis has continued to expand NOLABA’s footprint across the nation, connecting with site selectors, and hosting them in-person and virtually through the organization’s ongoing Virtual Site Tours, which showcase commercial real estate opportunities in the city. He also leads NOLABA’s signature Real Estate Breakfast Series in partnership with the Urban Land Institute.

Dr. Jessica Lautz is the Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®. She has been with NAR since 2007. The core of her research focuses on analyzing trends for both NAR members and housing consumers. She is in demand as a speaker and by major media outlets to provide commentary on the real estate market. She has testified before Congress on behalf of NAR. She also volunteers at Nottingham Trent University as an industry fellow mentoring real estate graduate students, is a committee chair at the National Association of Business Economics, bakes birthday cakes for underserved youth with Cake4Kids, and sits on the board of the Food Recovery Network. Dr. Lautz has been recognized by Housing Wire's Women of Influence and RISMedia's Newsmaker award. Jessica received her Doctorate of Real Estate from Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. She also holds a Master's in Public Policy from American University and undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Law and Justice from Central Washington University.

Walt Leger is the President and CEO of New Orleans & Company, the official destination sales and marketing organization for New Orleans. An experienced attorney, business executive, and speaker, he has a demonstrated history of working as a civil litigator and criminal prosecutor and in government as a State Legislator as well as in the non-profit community. Celebrated for pragmatism and effectiveness, Leger is an expert in Legislative Affairs and strategic planning with strong relationships in the business community and in local, State and Federal Government. His particular areas of expertise include transportation, tourism and hospitality industry, economic development, state fiscal matters, tax and budget policy, healthcare, education, public safety, and the civil and criminal legal systems. He is an award-winning advocate and collaborator. Between 2008-2020, he authored more legislation that eventually became law than any other member of the Louisiana Legislature.

Chris Masingill has led the St. Tammany Corporation as Chief Executive Officer since July 2018, where he launched a newly established economic development organization with a reimagined vision, mission, scope of work, and team. Under his leadership, the organization initiated, adopted, and is now implementing THRIVE2023, St. Tammany’s 5-Year economic development strategic plan. Since July 2018, St. Tammany Corporation has announced multiple major business recruitment and expansion projects representing over $60 million in capital investment and 1,177 new and retained jobs. In 2020, Masingill was named by Consultant Connect as a Top 50 Economic Developer and the organization was also named a First-Rate Economic Development Organization in the South by Southern Business & Development Journal. During Masingill’s seven years as federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority, the DRA leveraged more than $90 million in DRA funds into nearly $1.6 billion in total privateand public-sector investments in Delta communities. Overall, DRA investments under Masingill assisted in the creation and retention of more than 5,700 jobs and nearly 3,000 workers received training for 21st-century employment. He has a proven track record of creating sustainable, collaborative partnerships with a variety of local, regional, state, and federal agencies, as well as with business and community leaders, legislators, and nonprofit organizations. He also holds professional designations for economic development, project management, and emergency management and disaster preparedness, including the Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) from the International Economic Development Council and the Economic Development Master Practitioner (EcDMP) from the Advanced Economic Development Leadership Executive Education Program. Masingill serves as a board member of the International Economic Development Council and serves on the Membership Development Advisory Committee and Economic Development Research Partners; the Louisiana Director on the Southern Economic Development Council Board of Directors; is an advisory board member for Greater New Orleans, Inc.; serves on the board of directors for the American Red Cross of Southeastern Louisiana; and is a Commissioner for the New Orleans Regional Planning Commission.

Meaghan McCormack has led the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation (SBEDF) as CEO since April 2020, where she launched a newly established economic development organization with a reimagined vision, mission, scope of work, and team. With her at the helm, the organization initiated, adopted, and is now implementing St. Bernard’s 5-year economic development strategic plan, which was created with input from numerous community members and partners. Under her leadership, St. Bernard has been named the fastest-growing Parish (County) in Louisiana, the Parish (County) with the 2nd-highest GDP in Louisiana, and SBEDF has announced multiple major business recruitment and expansion projects representing nearly $2 billion in capital investment and over 2,500 new and retained jobs. She has a proven track record of creating equity and prosperity through mutually beneficial, diverse partnerships with a variety of local, regional, state, and federal agencies, as well as with business and community leaders, legislators, and nonprofit organizations. McCormack proudly serves on many boards and committees, including: GNO, Inc.’s Public Policy Committee, the Coalition for Coastal Resilience and Economy, Public Affairs Research Council (PAR)’s Future Leaders Council, the United Way of Southeast Louisiana’s Women United, and the boards of Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans, the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute, the St. Bernard Family Violence Program, and the St. Bernard Community Center.

Dr. Allison Plyer is the Chief Demographer for the Data Center of SE Louisiana. Dr. Plyer is co-author of Pathways to Prosperity, developed in collaboration with National Conference on Citizenship, which details both the impacts of climate change and the potential for federal investments to target the inequities these impacts create and compound. And Dr. Plyer is co-author of The New Orleans Prosperity Index which examines the extent to which economic outcomes have improved for black New Orleanians since the end of the Civil Rights era. She is also author of The New Orleans Index series, developed in collaboration with the Brookings Institution to analyze the state of the New Orleans recovery and later to track the region’s progress toward prosperity. She served as an editor for the Brookings Institution Press volume entitled “Resilience and Opportunity: Lessons from the U.S. Gulf Coast after Katrina and Rita.” Allison is recognized as an international expert in post–Katrina demographics and disaster recovery trends. Allison spearheaded the City of New Orleans’ challenge to the Census Bureau’s 2007 and 2008 population estimate, resulting in an upward revision of nearly 75,000 to the Bureau’s estimate of the city’s population — ultimately bringing the estimate for New Orleans within 6 percent of the 2010 Census count. She frequently provides commentary on regional recovery and development to local and national media such as Fox8 television, WBOK radio, the New Orleans Times Picayune, NPR, the Associated Press, and the New York Times. Allison joined The Data Center in 2001 with 8 years experience developing the management capacity of nonprofit and micro–enterprise organizations in New Orleans, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Guatemala. Additionally, she has almost a decade of experience in the for–profit sector as a marketing and data mining consultant to large and small companies including AT&T, Barnes and Noble, Lexus, and Inc. Magazine. Allison received her Doctorate in Science from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine with a dissertation entitled “An analysis of administrative data for measuring population displacement and resettlement following a catastrophic U.S. event.” She has an MBA in marketing and organizational behavior from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, a BA in religious studies and Spanish from Vanderbilt University, magna cum laude, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Plyer is most recent past Chair of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Scientific Advisory Committee (CSAC). She served on CSAC from 2015-2021 and as Chair from 2018-2021. Allison served as Racial Reconciliation Co-Chair for the 2018 Tricentennial Commission of the City of New Orleans, appointed by then Mayor Mitch Landrieu. She is also a Life Fellow of the Louisiana Effective Leadership Program.

Michael J. Sawaya is President and CEO of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC). A 45-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Mr. Sawaya came to New Orleans in 2018 from San Antonio, TX, where he served as Executive Director of the Convention and Sports Facilities Department and as Interim Aviation Department Director for the City of San Antonio over a 15-year municipal government career. Before joining the City of San Antonio, he served as General Manager of the Omni Severin Hotel in Indianapolis, IN, and 11 other hotels around the country over a 20-year career as a Hotel GM. Mr. Sawaya is a Board Member of the Greater New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the NFL Super Bowl 2024 Host Committee, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. He was named one of the most influential Business Leaders in the New Orleans Area for 2022-2024. In 2023, Mr. Sawaya was selected as Biz New Orleans Magazine’s 2023 CEO of the Year. In 2024, he received a New Orleans CityBusiness Icon Award that honors outstanding business leaders who have had a lasting influence on the city’s economic development and made their mark on the city overall. The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (ENMCC) is the nation’s sixth largest convention center and is the largest facility in the nation to be designated as LEED Gold under the Operations and Maintenance guidelines. In 2023, the ENMCC received the International Association of Venue Managers Venue Excellence Award and is an 8-time Top Workplace Award recipient.

Rachel Shields serves as the Chief Engagement Officer at Louisiana Economic Development. She is responsible for leveraging and enhancing LED’s relationships with the corporate and private sector to ensure Louisiana businesses are better served by the state. She is a member of the executive staff team with a significant role in the agency’s overall business modeling and strategy development. Prior to her role at LED, Rachel served Chief of Staff at Greater New Orleans, Inc., southeast Louisiana’s regional economic development agency. At GNO, Inc. Rachel was a member of the executive strategy team, she coordinated the organization’s special events including international business summits, and business conferences. She also managed the activities of the organization’s Boards and Committees including the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, NextGen Council, and the SoLA Super Region Committee. Rachel holds multiple program certificates from a number of institutions including the International Economic Development Council [IEDC] and University of Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business. She is a graduate of The New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute [NORLI] and Jefferson Leadership, and a Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy Fellow. She has served in leadership positions on a number of boards including the Industrial Development Board of the City of New Orleans, Algiers Economic Development Foundation, United Way Southeast Louisiana, WWOZ Radio, and St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce. She was also recognized as a 2022 CityBusiness Woman of the Year, and a 2023 Young Leadership Council Role Model. Rachel and her husband have four children, are lifelong Louisianans, and currently reside in St. Tammany Parish.

Tim Temple was elected as Commissioner of Insurance in 2023. Tim worked in the insurance sector for over two decades and is dedicated to leveraging his extensive industry experience to shape a regulatory and statutory environment that not only ensures competitiveness, but also enhances the attractiveness of Louisiana's insurance market. As the state's top insurance official, Tim is committed to protecting the interests of policyholders while promoting a competitive insurance market that benefits all residents and businesses in the great state of Louisiana. Prior to becoming Commissioner of Insurance, Tim served as President of Temptan, a family-owned investment management business in Baton Rouge. Additionally, Tim is a former Chair of the Louisiana Committee of 100 for Economic Development, working outside of government to provide leadership and resources with a focus on growing Louisiana's economy. Tim is a native of DeRidder. He and his wife Amy live in Baton Rouge with their two daughters.

Dr. Gary Wagner is an economic researcher and advisor with interests ranging from regional economics to state and local public finance issues, with a particular focus on state rainy day funds, municipal borrowing costs, and public pension plans. Wagner has authored or coauthored more than 40 professional articles and reports on a variety of state and local policy issues and has delivered more than 200 public and non-academic presentations over his career. He is a respondent in the Survey of Professional Forecasters, the oldest quarterly survey of national economic forecasters in the United States. Prior to joining the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Dr. Wagner was Vice-President & Senior Regional Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (2016-2018) and Regional Economic Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (2015-2016) where he conducted research on emerging regional economic issues. He was Professor of Economics at Old Dominion University (2011-2015) and University of Arkansas- Little Rock (2008-2011), Associate Professor of Economics at University of Arkansas- Little Rock (2006-2008), Associate Professor of Government at University of North Caroline- Chapel Hill (2005-2006), and Assistant Professor of Economics at Duquesne University (2001-2005) and University of Arkansas- Little Rock (2000-2001). Wagner earned a Ph.D. and master’s degree in economics from West Virginia University and his bachelor’s degree in economics and political Science from Youngstown State University.

Emery Whalen is the co-founder and CEO of QED Hospitality, a restaurant operations management group with locations in New Orleans, Nashville and Clermont, Kentucky. She was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the city’s rich culinary traditions and her grandmother’s cooking inspired a passion for both food and the preservation of the region’s indigenous culture. After graduating from Princeton, Emery taught French and Spanish to public high school students before falling in love with the restaurant industry in 2010. She also served as a founding director of a foundation providing scholarships to minority recipients for Culinary School and micro-loans to local farmers. In 2017, with partner Brian Landry, she founded QED Hospitality, which currently operates nine bars and restaurants across New Orleans, Nashville and along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. QED now manages all of the food and beverage outlets in the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans and the Thompson Hotel in Nashville, and they most recently opened The Kitchen Table, a full service restaurant onsite at the James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky. Emery has been named a Forbes "30 Under 30" and lives in New Orleans.

Guy Williams co-founded Gulf Coast Bank & Trust in 1990. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer for the past 34 years. Mr. Williams is a past chairman of GNO, Inc. He has also provided leadership in the banking industry as well, serving as president of the Louisiana Bankers Association and on the Board of Directors of the American Banking Association. He currently serves as a board member for the Jefferson Business Council, Greater New Orleans, Inc, Baptist Community Ministries, and City Park of New Orleans. He is also a founding and continuing board member of Community Sailing New Orleans, and Baptist Community Health Services. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Williams received a bachelor's degree from Emory and a master's degree in finance from Georgia State University. His educational involvement includes serving as a member of the visiting committee at Loyola University, serving as a Foundation Board member at Nunez Community College, and as member of the business school advisory board at the University of New Orleans. He is actively involved in his church serving as a Deacon and a Bible Study Leader. In his free time, he enjoys flying, sailboat racing, motorcycle riding and spending time with his wife Dale, and his two adult children Gregory Williams and Bonnie Williams Anasetti.