Reading Chapter 2017 Economic Forecast and Trends and Pa. Business Update

Kamran Afshar

Kamran Afshar is president of Kamran Afshar Associates, a Bethlehem-based consulting firm. KAA provides market research, customer satisfaction surveys and economic analysis to global, national and regional firms. Kamran also is chief economist of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, director of the Lehigh Valley Consumer Research Center and managing editor of the Lehigh Valley Economic Review.
Kamran resides in Bethlehem, but has had an international upbringing and education. He was born in Paris, grew up in Iran, and studied at Cambridge and Oxford. After emigrating to the U.S., he received his Ph.D. from Florida State University.  He has taught economics on the undergraduate and graduate levels at area universities. 

In his very limited spare time, he enjoys his favorite hobby – flying.

David Patti

Dave Patti joined Sacunas after more than 30 years in Pennsylvania government, politics,
and business leadership. He spent decades interfacing with business and public policy
leaders.

For the last 14 plus years, Dave was the President and CEO of the Pennsylvania
Business Council (PBC) and one of its forerunners, Pennsylvanians for Effective
Government (PEG). There Dave worked with the largest employers in the
Commonwealth. And, through a network of state business roundtable executives, Dave
worked with firms across the nation.

Prior to PBC and PEG, he worked as an executive in an internet software firm.
Dave served in the Ridge Administration as a Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Chief
Operating Officer of Team Pennsylvania.

From 1990 to 1999, Dave served as the President and CEO of the Pennsylvania
Chemical Industry Council — a trade association representing more than 80 percent of
the chemical manufacturing and distribution capacity in the state.
Previously, he served in the Senate of Pennsylvania as the Executive Director of the

Local Government Committee, and as a policy analyst for economic development. He
was also the Communications Director for the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee.

Dave is a life-long resident of Berks County where he served on the board of the Industrial Development Authority for 18 years, five as the Chairperson.