James Robey, Ph.D.
As a research consultant and associate with Kleinhenz & Associates, Inc., Jim is responsible for producing economic development and economic impact and contribution studies. He currently serves as research director for Team NEO and was recently director of project studies and research at the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, specializing in regional economic studies and analysis.
Jim is a member of the adjunct faculty of Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. He has taught various courses at CSU in the undergraduate program as well as in the Masters/Ph.D. programs. His teaching includes courses in Methods, Urban Economics, Public Finance/Microeconomics and Economic Development Planning/Economic Impact Analysis in the Masters/Ph.D. program.
Prior to joining the Growth Association, Jim was part of the Economic Development team at Cleveland State University’s Economic Development Program within the Levin College of Urban Affairs, and served as project manager for the Ohio Economic Development Database Project. Responsibilities included completion of the application process to the State of Ohio to obtain data, manage data cleaning teams, and interaction with the MIS group for physical data management as well as providing data in usable forms to end users and clients. Additional projects included research into privatization of public agencies and regional economic analysis, as well as economic development issues in rural and isolated communities. Prior to returning to the University, Jim managed retail automobile business including sales and marketing, and inventory and financial controls as well as personnel functions.
Jim earned a Ph.D. in Urban Studies and a Masters in Public Administration from the Cleveland State University, Levin College of Urban Affairs. His graduate studies concentrated on economic development and public Administration. He holds an undergraduate degree from Edinboro State College.
Russ Smith Ph.D.
As a research consultant and associate with Kleinhenz & Associates, Inc. Russ is involved with economic development and market studies. For the better part of three years performed cost/benefit analysis of research tasks funded by the Gas Research Institute. In this capacity he assessed benefits of safety standards as well as benefits of software and hardware development. The results of his work are used by the Gas Research Institute to measure organizational productivity (Corporate Performance) and file annual reports with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He has also been a Principal Investigator of a research project for the Illinois Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition assessing the economic impact on the state of Illinois of upcoming federally mandated clean fueled vehicle purchases. He was Principal Investigator of a cooperative bio-fuels project with the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicago Police Marine Unit, and the Chicago Dept. of Environment.
At Chicago State University, Russ taught in the Department of Political Science and Economics and served as an Extension Research specialist in Ohio and an Economist at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Russ earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Ohio State University and a Masters in Agri-Business also from the Ohio State University. He holds an undergraduate degree from the American University.
Robert Kleinhenz, Ph.D.
As a research consultant and associate with Kleinhenz & Associates, Inc., Robert specializes in transportation, real estate and land use studies. He currently serves as deputy chief economist for the California Association of REALTORS which gathers and publishes information on the housing markets, and conducts survey research.
Robert earned his bachelors degree from the University of Michigan, a Masters degree and a Doctorate from the University of Southern California, all in Economics. He previously taught Economics for over 15 years, most recently at California State University, Fullerton.
Katie C. Morgan
With over ten years of experience working in government, non-profit & the private business sectors, Katie is a consultant focusing on market research and analysis.
Katie recently served as an analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago specializing in marketing and communications of the financial services of the Federal Reserve System. While at the Federal Reserve, Katie also became the coordinator of the sales and marketing of the Federal Reserve’s domestic and international Automated Clearing House (ACH) Payments. She has conducted market research throughout the payments industry for the Federal Reserve and received her Accredited ACH Professional Certification (AAP) through NACHA, the Electronic Payments Association.
In Chicago, Katie directed an award-winning program of the Annenberg Public Policy Institute of the University of Pennsylvania teaching young people public policy in the Chicago Public Schools.
Katie graduated Summa Cum Laude from Denison University where she also served as a research assistant.