Featured Speaker

Dr. Sean Snaith

Sean Snaith, Ph.D., is the Director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting and a nationally recognized economist in the field of business and economic forecasting.

An award-winning forecaster, researcher and professor, Snaith applies academic expertise to solve real-world problems. He has served as a consultant for local governments and multi-national corporations such as Compaq, Dell and IBM. Before joining UCF’s College of Business Administration, he held teaching positions at Pennsylvania State University, American University in Cairo, the University of North Dakota and the University of the Pacific.

Snaith frequently is interviewed in national and regional media and is a sought-after speaker. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, The Economist and CNNMoney.com and has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business Network and Business News Network, based in Toronto.  

Known for his engaging presentations, Snaith earned praise from one business editor for “(having) an uncanny knack of making economics not only understandable but interesting.”  

Snaith is a member of several economic organizations and national economic forecasting panels, including The Wall Street Journal's Economic Forecasting Survey, the Associated Press’ Economy Survey, CNNMoney.com’s Survey of Leading Economists, USA Today's Survey of Top Economists, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Survey of Professional Forecasters, Bloomberg and Reuters.  

Snaith was named by Bloomberg News as one of the nation's most accurate forecasters in 2008. In 2007, he was named California’s most accurate forecaster by the Western Blue Chip Consensus Forecast.  

Snaith holds a B.S. in Economics from Allegheny College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Pennsylvania State University.   Snaith is also the host of “Money Clips With Sean Snaith,” a weekly segment produced by UCF TV, which aims to break down complex issues into digestible news about subjects ranging from the job market and housing to the cost of food.