EB5 Investors Magazine Volume 4 Issue 1 | Page 69

EB-5 COMMUNITY ECONOMISTS Elliot Winer NorthEast Economic Analysis Group Winer Economic Consulting Elliot Winer is the founder of Northeast Economic Analysis Group (NEEAG) and Winer Economic Consulting and its chief economist. The companies provide professional economic analysis and assistance, focusing on analyzing TEAs in the EB-5 program. Winer works with clients to organize authoritative documentation which address the unique requirements of each individual state, presenting these documents to the local or state-governing department/ entity for quick verification and expected designation of the requested TEA. As the chief economist for NEEAG since 2010 and Winer Economic Consulting since 2015, Winer has extensive expertise in evaluating and developing potential TEAs, and has received well over 700 TEA designations in over 35 states. Winer has a breadth of experience working with state and local governments across the country to secure TEA certifications which adhere to USCIS and individual state rules and regulations. He has watched the EB-5 program grow and evolve into a stronger program today. Prior to establishing NEEAG, Winer worked as a labor economist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, serving as the chief supervisor of economic research for the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development (DWD), where he managed all of the major U.S. Bureau of Labor (BLS) federal-state cooperative research programs including the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. Winer subsequently served for 12 years as the director of economic analysis and chief economist for the DWD. In this role, he directed the development of widely-acclaimed labor market information publications, managed Massachusetts’ occupational employment and industry forecasts, and designed and developed a new job vacancy survey. Winer was the recipient of the 2005 Commonwealth Corporation Excellence in Research and Evaluation Award. He has been frequently quoted in the media for his economic expertise and currently is a member of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) Executive Advisory Board. industries of hotel, senior living, oil and gas, technology, and medical projects in the EB-5 space. Further, Wright is responsible for the creation of more than 175 Regional Centers in the United States. Wright began working on EB-5 projects in 2006 when the industry was still in its infancy and became one the preeminent figures in the rise of EB-5 after the economic downturn that propelled the program to prominence in the following years. During that time Wright has seen EB-5 grow from an obscure program that was utilized by less than 20 Regional Centers and administered by a few department heads with little guidance, to a robust program that is overseen by a USCIS department of more than 150 adjudicators, economists, and supervisors. Today the adjudication of projects is fairly well understood, but along the way there have been many iterations of change including tenant occupancy, refinements in Regional Center geography, standards for independent verification of economic inputs, and TEA refinement. Fast forward to 10 years later, and Wright Johnson has completed more than 600 economic impact studies related to the EB-5 program and employs a large team of economists, analysts, and business plan writers. Due to his breadth of knowledge and experience in the EB-5 field, Wright is a highly sought after speaker in the industry. He is invited to speak at conferences in numerous cities across America, as well as international events in China, Vietnam, Russia, the Middle East, and South America. His dedication to his clients and the growth of the EB-5 program has led Wright to spend several months of the year in China, working with investors and migration agents on a daily basis to improve their understanding of the EB-5 program and input/output analysis. Profile Profile Kevin Wright Wright Johnson LLC Kevin Wright, Chief Executive Officer of Wright Johnson, is a world renowned EB-5 expert and is considered one of the foremost authorities on the EB-5 Immigration Visa program. As an accomplished researcher, EB-5 economist, and professional author, he has completed economic impact studies for more than 500 projects in such diverse WWW.EB5INVESTORS.COM 67