Description

The Kenosha Area Chamber of Commerce and Department of Revenue will host an in-person and virtual economic outlook roundtable on Tuesday, October 25th at Gateway Technical College from Noon-1pm. This FREE event is available to attend in-person or live via Zoom. Lunch will be provided to in-person attendees.

The agenda includes SBA Midwest Regional Administrator Geri Aglipay discussing federal small business initiatives. DOR Secretary Barca will outline recent state business initiatives. Wisconsin’s Chief Economist will present the latest information on the Wisconsin Economic Outlook, followed by visualization data such as employment levels, personal income, wages and sales tax data.  The meeting concludes with a business and economic development roundtable discussion.

This discussion is part of DOR's program to assist our small business community: Business Development and Government Relations (BDGR).

Secretary Barca, a lifelong citizen of Kenosha and Somers, served in the state legislature as the representative from the 64th Assembly District from 1985 until 1993, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He returned to the state legislature in 2009 and served until January 2019. During this time, he spent seven years as the Assembly Minority Leader where he passed a wide range of bills related to economic development and workforce training. Additionally, he worked to improve and strengthen the legislative process. This included working with the Assembly Speaker to develop an agreement on rules and to create productive bipartisan taskforces. Following his time in Congress, Secretary Barca served for nearly five years as the Midwest Regional Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. He was also appointed to lead the National Regulatory Fairness Program, an initiative aimed at making regulatory enforcement more small business friendly. Secretary Barca later spent nearly a decade as vice president and then president of Aurora Associates International, an international project management company that conducted international development projects in more than 25 countries.

John Koskinen serves as Chief Economist for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. John has testified on the Wisconsin economy before multiple standing committees of the state legislature. He has presented on Wisconsin's economic outlook to various groups including state and regional economic development associations, colleges and universities, financial institutions and trade associations. He is a frequent commentator on the Wisconsin economy for a variety of media outlets throughout the state and the country. Prior to joining the Department of Revenue in 2007, John served as the Staff Economist for the Governor's Budget Office, Wisconsin Department of Administration from 1979 to 2007. He has also served in the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau and the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. John has his B.A. and M.A. in Economics from Marquette University. He has done additional graduate studies in Economics at Northwestern University and computer science at the University of Wisconsin.