2024 Speakers

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.

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 Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of REALTORS®. The core of her research focuses on analyzing trends for both NAR members and housing consumers. Through the management of surveys, focus groups, and data analysis, she presents new and innovative ways to showcase results. She effectively utilizes Research data to educate and impact policymakers on the state of the housing market and discusses research findings in major media outlets and international presentations. In 2021, Dr. Lautz was named one of Housing Wire’s Women of Influence, a list representing 100 of the most influential women in leadership in the housing industry. In 2022 and 2023, Dr. Lautz was named a RISMedia Newsmaker in the Influencer and the Crusader categories, respectively. She also volunteers at Nottingham Trent University as an industry fellow mentoring real estate graduate students.

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.

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.

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 flourishing 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.

Guy Williams is the president and co-founder of Gulf Coast Bank & Trust. The bank focuses on local development and real estate finance.
Gulf Coast Bank was recognized by American Banker as one of the top twenty banks in America. He leads Gulf Coast Bank with a shared vision of building a true community institution backed by cutting-edge banking technologies, equipping individuals and businesses with the strength and resources they need to succeed.