ESU to Host 12th Annual Economic Outlook Summit for the Pocono Mountains on May 16

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on May 2, 2025, No Comments

Natalie Nixon, Ph.D., creativity strategist, CEO Figure 8 Thinking, LLC, will present the keynote address at the East Stroudsburg University 12th Annual Economic Outlook Summit scheduled for Friday, May 16, 2025, from 7:30 a.m. to noon at Kalahari Resorts and Conventions in the Poconos.

As CEO of Figure 8 Thinking, LLC, Dr. Nixon advises leaders on how to catalyze creativity’s ROI for inspired business results. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, and Inc. and her clients have included Google, Meta, Deloitte, Salesforce, Coursera and Cooley. Marketing guru Seth Godin has said that “she can help you get unstuck and unlock the work you were born to do.” Dr. Nixon is the author of the forthcoming book Move. Think. Rest: Redefining Productivity and Our Relationship with Time and the award-winning The Creativity Leap: Unleash Curiosity, Improvisation and Intuition at Work. She has been ranked in the 2024 Thinkers50 Radar cohort and among the top 50 keynote speakers in the world by Real Leaders, valued for her accessible expertise on creativity, the future of work and innovation.

Nixon’s experience living in five countries combined with her background in anthropology, fashion, academia, and dance distinguishes her as a one-of-a-kind creativity expert. She received her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College, and her Ph.D. from the University of Westminster in London.

The Summit will also feature presentations by Ryotaro Tashiro, Senior Outreach Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Pocono Economic Scorecard Data Analysis;  and Michael Blaustein, Policy Lead for the Northeast Atlantic at Airbnb, Policy Meets Prosperity: Unlocking the Economic Power of Short-Term Rentals.

As an outreach economist and advisor, Tashiro travels across the Third District, speaking to various groups about the economic outlook and the functions of the Federal Reserve. Tashiro knows the importance of informing the public about what is going on with the economy and also thinks it is important to hear what individuals across the district are experiencing in the economy. Many of his research topics were inspired by these conversations with the public. Those topics include his two main areas of focus, labor economics and demographics. Prior to joining the Bank, Tashiro was a business analyst for Bloomberg, where he conducted research on issues related to equity data quality. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kenyon College and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor.

Blaustein serves as Policy Lead for the Northeast Atlantic at Airbnb, managing public policy and stakeholder engagement from Maine to Virginia. He began his career in the New York State Senate and later worked at Kivvit, a national public affairs firm. Before joining Airbnb, he spent nearly 10 years at the Partnership for New York City, a CEO-driven business organization focused on economic growth and the city’s global competitiveness. He holds degrees from SUNY Albany and Cornell University and lives in New York with his family.

This year’s Summit will also feature a business showcase, highlighting a business in each of the four counties of the Pocono Mountains including Little Leaf Farms in Carbon County, MegaPhase in Monroe County, Milford Hospitality Group in Pike County, and Moka Origins in Wayne County.

A full agenda for the East Stroudsburg University Economic Outlook Summit can be found at esu.edu/economicsummit.

The cost to attend the Summit is $50 per person or $380 for a table of eight. For more information, call 570-422-7956 or visit esu.edu/economicsummit.