2024 Beaufort Regional Economic Forecast
Bringing our region’s economic future into focus.
On February 16, 2024, leaders from around the region will gather at the Center for the Arts on the USC-Beaufort Campus for the annual Economic Forecast – a special networking event that shares the latest data about our region, bright spots in our local economy, and insight from a panel of experts on today’s most pressing issues. This is a great opportunity to gather information, make connections and have the knowledge to position your business for success in 2024.
The event includes a delicious breakfast with ticket purchase.
2024 Beaufort County Regional Economic Prosperity Report
2024 Beaufort County Economic Update - Dr. Laura Ullrich & Sierra Latham
2023 Beaufort County Regional Economic Prosperity Report
2023 Beaufort County Economic Update - Dr. Laura Ullrich
2022 Beaufort County Regional Economic Prosperity Report
2022 Beaufort County Economic Update - Dr. Laura Ullrich
Presenting Sponsors:
Forecast Sponsors:
Keynote Speaker | Dr. Laura Ullrich, Research Economist
Dr. Laura Ullrich
Senior Regional Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
Laura Ullrich is a regional economist at the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Previously, Ullrich was associate dean for undergraduate programs and a professor of economics at Winthrop University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Georgia and a master’s and doctorate in economics from the University of Tennessee. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a business consultant for Ernst & Young, specializing in executive compensation determination. In 2014, she served as a Fulbright Scholar teaching economics in Kosovo and has spent considerable time working on local economic development issues in Bolivia.
Ullrich’s research interests include higher education, school finance reform, local and state level tax and expenditure analyses, welfare policy, and the economic impact of local development. She is an active member of her community, currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. She also serves on the board of Family Promise of York County, the Rock Hill Technology Incubator, the Carolina Immigrant Alliance and the Winthrop Eagle.
Sierra Latham, Research Analyst
Sierra Latham, a senior research analyst with the Regional and Community Analysis team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
In her role, she studies emerging economic and community development trends affecting communities in North and South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. While she specializes in housing, her research interests also include community development, equitable access to economic opportunity, public finance, and mission-driven investment.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Mary Washington, a master’s in applied economics from Georgetown University, and a master’s in public policy from the University of Chicago. She previously served as the director of a statewide affordable housing pilot program in Indiana, the demographer for the City of Alexandria in Virginia, and as a researcher with the Urban Institute’s Metropolitan Housing and Community Development policy center.
Header photo by Tony Pierro