Economic Forecast Speaker Bios

Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) was sworn in as a member of the 113th Congress on January 3, 2013 to represent California's second district.

Jason is the president of Bank of America in Napa, Marin & Sonoma. In this role, he is responsible for connecting clients, teammates, and communities to the full power of the franchise, driving integration across our eight lines of business.  He leads the bank's community engagement efforts and philanthropic giving locally with a strong focus on job creation, economic mobility, and addressing issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion both internally and externally.

Jason has been with the bank for over 25 years. In addition to his role as President, he leads the Private Bank team in the North Bay.  In that role, he and his team work closely with high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners to help them achieve their financial goals by delivering comprehensive wealth management solutions.  He has extensive experience in the areas of banking, credit, investment management, trust and estate planning, and philanthropic consulting.  

Prior to joining the Private Bank, Jason held several leadership roles across the bank, including Consumer Market Executive, Premier Market Manager, and Financial Center Manager.  

Jason has a strong connection to the area.  He was born, raised, educated, and has worked his entire life in Marin and Sonoma counties.  He is a longtime resident of Santa Rosa with his wife of 30 years.  

When not working, Jason is happiest spending time outdoors.  He is an avid cyclist, golfer, skier, and traveler.  In addition, he enjoys giving back as a volunteer at the Redwood Empire Food Bank.  He currently serves on the board of the employer-led North Bay Leadership Council.

Dr. Christopher Thornberg has been called many things throughout his career, but his favorite thing to be called is correct.

Notably, he predicted the collapse of the sub-prime real estate bubble in 2006 and the Great Recession that followed. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he was one of the few economists on record to correctly push back against the forecasting community’s panicked predictions of a depression. In the past two years, he has again stood against the grain—and stood out—for accurately forecasting that there would be no recession.

Dr. Thornberg left a teaching position at UCLA’s Business School in 2006 to found Beacon Economics, and under his leadership, the firm has become one of the nation’s most respected economic research organizations. He consults globally for private industry, cities, counties, and public agencies. A dynamic public speaker, he challenges audiences to question popular narratives—and to ask the right economic questions.

Jonathan Eldridge, Ed.D serves as College of Marin’s 11th Superintendent/President. He came to the College in 2013 and most recently served as the College’s Assistant Superintendent/Vice President for Student Learning & Success. Dr. Eldridge supports a diverse group of faculty, staff, and administrators to create a truly coherent and integrated educational program for students. His commitment to student success is rooted in recognizing historical and systemic disparities in opportunity and outcomes and ensuring resources are directed at eliminating those disparities. At College of Marin Dr. Eldridge has developed, expanded, and nurtured partnerships with 10,000 Degrees, Canal Alliance, Marin Community Foundation, Marin County Office of Higher Education, all local school districts, Sonoma State University, Dominican University, Marin Economic Forum, and many others to allow the College to deliver more fully on its mission of providing equitable opportunities and fostering success for all members of our diverse community.

Dr. Eldridge received a bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in political science from Central Washington University, graduating from CWU’s William O. Douglas Honors College. His master’s degree is in student affairs in higher education from Colorado State University and his doctorate is in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California. In addition to working at the University of Washington, he has also served as Dean of Students at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon and Vice President for Student Affairs at Southern Oregon University. These experiences at flagship, land grant, private, and regional institutions have proved to be invaluable in informing his work at College of Marin.

Dr. Eldridge served on the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Board of Directors from 2005-2007, United Way of Jackson County (Oregon) Board of Directors from 2007-2012, Marin Economic Forum from 2019-2024, and is currently on the Boards of Directors of 10,000 Degrees, North Bay Leadership Council, and San Rafael Chamber of Commerce.

Jenny is the Executive Director for the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative (MEHC), and previously served as Board Chair 2022 to 2024. She has been involved in housing advocacy since 2018. She has spoken at numerous public meetings, and has written a number of Marin Voice columns on housing, equity and education. She also served on the Sausalito Housing Element Advisory Committee. Jenny also serves on the Sierra Club Marin Group Executive Committee, and the boards of Kids Cooking for Life and Teaching Lab.

Prior to MEHC, Jenny was an entrepreneur and CEO. She led Sheet Music Plus, an online sheet music retailer based in Berkeley. She previously founded Sign Up For Camp (now ActivityHero), which provides an online marketplace for kids’ summer camps and activities.

She has a BS and MBA from Stanford University. She is an avid hiker, skier and bike rider, and lives in Sausalito, California.

Mr. Baxter is presently the Vice President of Greenbrae Management Inc (GMI), a 70-year running family owned and operated, property management company located in the North Bay. As Vice President, he oversees all aspects of asset management and has led a multi-year digital transformation and restructuring effort to bring GMI into 2025. Additionally, he has campaigned for housing initiatives and been active in community boards and commissions in the City of Larkspur.

Prior to GMI, Mr. Baxter was a Portfolio Manager for Lockheed Martin’s Chief Technology Officer where he led corporate studies and analysis to direct research and design investment of approximately $20B annually. Prior to Lockheed, Mr. Baxter developed and directed technical programs and national security initiatives for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of State’s Bureau of East Asia Pacific.

Mr. Baxter holds graduate degrees in Strategic Studies, Asian Studies, and an MBA from the University of Virginia.

Monahan Pacific is a fully integrated real estate investment, development, and management company based in Marin County, CA. For the last 40 years, the company has overseen the acquisition, design, development, construction, and management of projects valued at over $1.5 billion. Property types include residential, commercial, retail, and senior housing projects.

As a private equity company, we strive to achieve exceptional returns on invested capital and our award-winning designs create buildings that add value to the surrounding communities. Our team of professionals brings decades of experience to create win-win solutions to the challenges of substantial growth in the Bay Area.

Most recently, Tom and his team completed the AC Marriott Hotel in Downtown San Rafael and have several housing projects in process in San Rafael.

Carrie Sager is the Chief Operating Officer of Homeward Bound of Marin, which provides permanent housing, shelter, and job training. In her previous role as Senior Homelessness Program Coordinator for Marin County Health and Human Services, she worked with local nonprofits and city and county governments to create a coordinated system of care to house the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness in Marin.

Prior to working in Marin, Carrie worked for HomeBase, a nonprofit law firm that works with cities and counties to implement responses to homelessness, where she worked primarily in Solano and Sacramento Counties.

She has a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law.

Brian grew up in Bethel, Connecticut, as part of the first African-American family to live in the area. He attended Oberlin College, earning degrees in Political Science and Theater, and later pursued advanced studies at the University of Chicago, obtaining both a law degree and a degree in Public Policy. After five years practicing law and exploring entrepreneurship, he moved to Turkey with his wife, Nihal, teaching International Relations at the Izmir University of Economics for over three years. In 2007, they moved to San Francisco and settled in San Anselmo in 2011.

Brian has led regional efforts to improve public spaces, support local businesses, and advance sustainability. He spearheaded the Reimagining Creek Park project, transforming a flood plan into a vibrant downtown park, and supported local businesses during the pandemic as part of the inaugural Economic Vitality Strategic Plan committee. He holds leadership roles with the Transportation Authority of Marin, Marin Transit, and Fire Safe Marin, focusing on sustainable transportation, community connectivity, and public safety. His commitment to community service and professional excellence reflects his dedication to fostering inclusive, thriving environments in both his personal and professional endeavors.

Anne Richman is the Executive Director of the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM), a role she has served in since 2019. She has diverse experience in policy development, project and program management, and forging strong partnerships. 

Past positions have included work for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, United Airlines, and the US Department of Transportation, as well as in private sector consulting.  

Anne has a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Anne lives in Marin with her family.

Nancy Whelan has more than 30 years’ experience as staff and manager within public transportation agencies and as a consultant to public transportation agencies. Ms.Whelan is the General Manager of Marin Transit, the local transit service provider in Marin County.

Prior to joining Marin Transit in 2014, she operated her own consulting firm for 15 years. In that capacity she provided financial planning and management services to transit agencies throughout California. She has held senior management positions at SFMTA (Muni) and LA Metro.

Eddy Cumins is the General Manager of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) District.  As General Manager he is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of SMART’s transit and freight services.  Eddy is also responsible for the planning, development, and construction of SMART’s multi-use pathway network and rail extensions.

Prior to joining SMART as General Manager on November 29, 2021, Eddy served as Chief Operating Officer for the Utah Transit Authority (UTA).  As UTA’s Chief Operating Officer, he led 2,234 employees who provided commuter rail, light rail, fixed route bus, route deviation, paratransit, vanpool, rideshare and coordinated mobility management services to 43 million riders annually.  He was also responsible for the agency’s asset management program, maintenance of way, and transit police.  His area of responsibility included seven counties covering nearly 1400 square miles with a population of 2.3 million residents.  Prior to his role as UTA’s Chief Operating Officer, Cumins was the Regional General Manager of UTA’s Mt. Ogden Business Unit.

Eddy began his career at UTA in 2011 after a distinguished 20-year military career in the United States Air Force.  During his time in the Air Force, Eddy served in numerous capacities in the Vehicle Management field and 4 years as an Airman Leadership School Commandant.  His assignments included bases in California, Alaska, Portugal, Utah, and Japan.

Eddy earned a Master of Science Degree in Organizational Leadership from Colorado State University and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resource Development from Southwestern College.

Lisa Klein is Deputy Executive Director for Mobility for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).

In this role, Lisa leads a team that delivers mobility solutions and essential traveler services, including transit coordination, transit fare and toll payments, express lanes, bicycle and pedestrian trails, bike share, traveler information, 511 emergency response and asset management for the region’s toll bridges.

Lisa’s extensive tenure in transportation planning at MTC began in 1993. She has led teams responsible for MTC’s work on toll bridge asset management, maintenance and rehabilitation, and incident management and disaster preparedness. She launched the agency’s Express Lanes program; developed initial performance targets and project-level benefit-cost framework for the regional transportation plan; and has overseen low-income discount programs, bike access on toll bridges, transportation demand management, and has experience with travel demand forecasting.