Geoffrey Black, PhD, is a Boise, Idaho-based economist with Strategic Element. The company also has an office in Toronto, Canada. Strategic Element has been providing non-legal services to the legal and EB-5 industries since 2010, including economic impact reports, feasibility studies and business plans. Since the company’s inception, it has been involved on the development team of projects that are collectively raising (or have raised) over $3 billion in EB-5 capital. Strategic Element’s services have covered various industries such as health care, franchise operations, hotels, entertainment venues, restaurants, assisted living, manufacturing, shipping and transportation, and municipal infrastructure, among many others.
Strategic Element was founded by Phil Cohen, who has over two decades of experience in developing businesses, business concepts and products, with a focus on transforming concepts into viable business models for start-ups, large-scale public corporations, and everything in between. He regularly speaks at EB-5 industry events and blogs on EB-5 topics. Mr. Cohen also founded, edited and served as the lead author for The EB-5 Definitive Guide, and he is one of the primary authors and co-editors of The EB-5 Book.
The Strategic Element team in charge of economic impact analysis and report development is led by Dr. Black. The economic report team focuses on ensuring that proper economic methodologies are applied, while also ensuring compliance with EB-5 rules and limitations. In addition to his role at Strategic Element Inc., Dr. Black is a professor in the Department of Economics at Boise State University and a research associate of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies. He obtained his PhD from the University of Washington with fields in Natural Resource Economics, Public Finance and Public Policy Economics. He performs research on economic development, public policy and energy strategy.
In addition, Dr. Black performs analyses on the economic impacts of public and private research and development activities, deployment strategies for new energy technologies, and fiscal implications of state and national economic policy proposals. He works with both domestic and international entities, and has given numerous presentations to industry and legislative groups, academic conferences, research institutions and development agencies across the United States and internationally.
The Strategic Element economic report team also consists of Steven Peterson, a Clinical Assistant Professor in Economics at the University of Idaho, where he has been employed for 25 years. His research specialty is local and regional economic analyses, specializing in economic impact assessments. Mr. Peterson has conducted over 100 economic impact assessments, touching on nearly every industry.
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