Ted Abernathy (Economic Outlook: National and State Trends)
Managing Partner, Economic Leadership LLC
Ted is the Managing Partner of Economic Leadership LLC, a consultancy that is currently working in more than a dozen states to develop economic and workforce strategies. Ted has 35 years of experience in directing economic development and workforce development programs. From 2008-2013, Ted was the Executive Director of the Southern Growth Policies Board, a 42-year old public policy think tank that provided economic development research, strategy and marketing advice, to states and communities across the South. He also served as economic development policy advisor to the Southern Governors Association. Read More

Mark Behrens (The Urgent Case for COVID-19 Liability Protections)
Co-Chair / Public Policy Practice Group, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, L.L.P.
ark Behrens co-chairs Shook’s Washington, D.C.-based Public Policy Practice Group. Mark has been involved in civil justice issues, liability law and defense litigation for more than 25 years. A substantial part of his practice is working to improve the civil litigation environment through state and federal legislation; in the courts through amicus curiae briefs on behalf of business, civil justice and defense lawyer organizations; through legal scholarship and judicial education; and in the court of public opinion. Read More

Chuck Hatfield (Ethics Landscape in a Post-Election Period)
Partner, Stinson
Chuck draws on 25 years’ experience litigating and negotiating very high profile cases, primarily involving some sort of government action, to help offer clients a broad and insightful perspective on Missouri’s government and judiciary. In its annual 100+ List, The Missouri Times newspaper said: ChuckHatfield’s “time at the highest levels of state government havemade him very sought after as an attorney in private practice.There is probably no attorney who knows more members of the judiciary and the executive branch in the state. He is also knownfor his quick wit on social media and willingness to take on toughcases.” He has personally handled more than a dozen major casesbefore the Missouri Supreme Court. Chuck regularly appears before administrative agencies as well as trial and appellatecourts at both the state and federal levels. Read More

Beth Kadoun (Applying Other States’ Concepts to Missouri’s Budget)
Vice President, Tax & Fiscal Policy, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
Beth joined the Chamber in October 2012. Prior to joining the Chamber, she was Administrator for the Minnesota Senate Tax Committee in the 2011 and 2012 sessions and was Assistant Commissioner for Tax Policy with the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Beth also was Senior Policy Adviser on tax, labor and economic development issues for Governor Tim Pawlenty. In the private sector, Beth lobbied the Minnesota and North Dakota legislatures on behalf of an energy services company. In addition, she was Finance Policy Director for the Minnesota Business Partnership from 1995-2000. Beth graduated with honors from William Mitchell Law School and from University of North Dakota with a Bachelor’s degree in banking and finance. Beth enjoys spending time with her family at a cabin in Otter Tail County and enjoys hiking, kayaking and reading.

Pat McFerron (Economic Outlook: National and State Trends)
Founding Partner, CMA Strategies
Insight. Execution. Efficiency. Those are three words used to describe CMA founding partner Pat McFerron. McFerron brings more than 30 years of election, grassroots, lobbying, and voter opinion research experience to help CMA clients win both at the ballot box and in the legislature. McFerron cut his campaign teeth in the once reliably Democratic parts of Oklahoma. He was intricately involved, either directly, through the state party, or through an independent expenditure, in every Republican takeover in the Oklahoma State House and State Senate from 1994 through 2008, when both chambers became Republican controlled for the first time in state history. This net change of more than 50 legislative seats has helped usher in a new era of leadership in Oklahoma, and McFerron remains at the forefront. Read More

Lowell Pearson (Ethics Landscape in a Post-Election Period)
Office Managing Partner, Husch Blackwell
Lowell has more than 30 years of experience navigating the intersection of business and government at both the state and federal levels. A wide range of clients – including regulated businesses in manufacturing, aviation and healthcare; individual political candidates and political action committees (PACs); and political subdivisions – rely on Lowell’s extensive experience in administrative law; election law and political campaign finance law; as well as government contract and procurement matters. A trusted litigator, he has handled numerous cases in the federal and state courts challenging government action, and has made multiple appearances before the Missouri Supreme Court in employment and constitutional cases. Read More

Tim Pitts (Applying Other States’ Concepts to Missouri’s Budget)
President/CEO, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce
Ted Pitts took over as President and CEO of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce in January of 2015. Ted came to the Chamber after serving first as Deputy Chief of Staff and then Chief of Staff for South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley during her first term in office. Prior to that, Ted served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2003-2010 representing Lexington County. Ted comes from the business community where he was a successful commercial real estate broker and Partner with the South Carolina firm Wilson Kibler. Ted also serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the South Carolina Army National Guard and is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan. Pitts is a graduate of Presbyterian College, where he now sits on the Board. He and his wife, Christina, have three children and call Lexington home.

Representative Dean Plocher, Floor-Leader Elect
Missouri House of Representatives
Representative Dean Plocher, a Republican, represents part of St. Louis County (District 89) in the Missouri House of Representatives. The district includes the municipalities of Chesterfield, Country Life Acres, Crystal Lake Park, Des Peres, Frontenac, Huntleigh, Kirkwood, Ladue and Town & Country. Rep. Plocher was elected in a Special Election in November, 2015. Read More

Representative Crystal Quade, Minority Floor Leader
Missouri House of Representatives
Rep. Crystal Quade, a Democrat, represents part of Greene County (District 132) in the Missouri House of Representatives. She was elected to her first term in office in November 2016 and re-elected in 2018. She was elected by her caucus to serve as the House Minority Floor Leader for the 100th General Assembly. Read More

Senator John Rizzo
Missouri Senate
Senator John Joseph Rizzo, a Democrat, represents Independence, Sugar Creek and NE Kansas City within Jackson County (District 11) in the Missouri Senate. He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives to his first two-year term in November 2010. He was elected by the House Democratic Caucus to the position of Minority Whip in 2013 and again in 2015. He was elected to the Missouri Senate in November 2016. Read More

Senator Caleb Rowden, Majority Floor Leader
Missouri Senate
Senator Caleb Rowden was elected to the Missouri Senate in 2016, representing Boone and Cooper Counties. Prior to his election to the Senate, Rowden served two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives. He was first elected to the Missouri House in 2012, becoming the first Representative in the history of Missouri to beat two former State Senators in a Missouri House race. Rowden currently serves as the Senate Majority Floor Leader. Read More

Cary Silverman (The Urgent Case for COVID-19 Liability Protections)
Partner, Shook, Hardy & Bacon
Cary Silverman is a partner in Shook, Hardy & Bacon’s Washington, D.C.-based Public Policy Group. His practice includes a mix of legislative and appellate advocacy, litigation, regulatory counseling, and scholarship. Cary has tracked over 5,000 COVID-19 related complaints. He has worked with national and state-based civil justice and business groups to develop reasonable constraints on COVID-19 liability, several of which have become law. Cary serves as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School.

Ashli Watts (Applying Other States’ Concepts to Missouri’s Budget)
President and CEO, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Ashli Watts was named the President and CEO for the Kentucky Chamber, the state’s largest business association, in November 2019. Ashli joined the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in November of 2012 and during her tenure a Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at the Chamber led efforts in passing significant pieces of legislation such as felony expungement in 2016, right to work legislative in 2017, workers’ compensation reform in 2018 and reinstating arbitration agreements in 2019. As part of the Chamber’s leadership team, the Kentucky Chamber was named National State Chamber of the Year in 2017. Prior to joining the Chamber, she worked at the Kentucky Bar Association and the Legislative Research Commission. Ashli graduated from Campbellsville University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History in 2004 and holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Louisville. She served as the commencement speaker for Campbellsville University’s graduation in 2019 and was also awarded the Algernon Sydney Sullivan award. Ashli is a 2016 graduate of Leadership Kentucky and currently serves on the boards for Campbellsville University and Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky. She currently resides in Frankfort with her husband Ryan and two children, Emma and Carter.