EB5 Investors Magazine is pleased to announce the Top 5 Economists of 2023. To be eligible, distinguished economists needed to draft economic impact studies for the EB-5 industry.

For more information or to contact any of these professionals, we invite you to view their listings at www.EB5Investors.com/directories.

Kim Atteberry

Vermilion Consulting

Kimberly Atteberry is the president of Vermilion Consulting LLC. Vermilion helps varied organizations leverage the benefits of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Vermilion Consulting provides expert advice on project feasibility, EB-5 compliant business plans, job creation analyses, and targeted employment area analyses. Prior to Vermilion, Atteberry was the chief economist of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In 2000 and 2002, she taught economics and marketing at the United States Air Force Academy as one of a select group of civilian instructors.

Scott Barnhart

Barnhart Economic Services

Scott W. Barnhart is president of Barnhart Economic Services LLC, a consulting firm specializing in EB-5 and non-EB-5 economic job creation studies, business plans, TEA designations and legal consulting services. He is also an associate professor of finance and the program director of the Certified Financial Planner program at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. The firm has analyzed a wide variety of projects, from destination resort hotels to large strategic infrastructure projects, with capital expenditures of more than $20 billion with associated gross revenues of $14 billion and job creation estimates of over 450,000 jobs.

Jeffrey Carr

Economic & Policy Resources, Inc.

Jeffrey Carr is president and senior economist of Economic & Policy Resources, Inc. (EPR). EPR professionals have worked extensively in the EB-5 industry as economists and business plan writers for over 20 years. In addition to EPR’s national economics and business plan writing practice, Carr has lectured on the EB-5 program throughout the U.S. and internationally and has completed more than 325 assignments under the program including impact studies, business plans, TEA analysis, and regional center business plans. Carr also has served on various committees pertaining to key EB-5 issues as part of the IIUSA Public Policy Committee since 2013.

Ismael Fernandez

Greengate Consulting

Ismael Fernández, originally from Madrid, Spain, is the founder and president of Greengate Consulting, an Atlanta-based consultancy firm. A published author in the field of technology valuation with a PhD and MBA from Georgia Institute of Technology, Fernández extended his career into start-up consulting, as well as real estate planning and financing given his experience in financial and economic modeling and forecasting. Prior to funding Greengate, Fernández was a senior manager at GE Power. Since 2010, he has assisted hundreds of clients getting established in the U.S. and is also the executive vice president of World Trade Center Atlanta.

Michael Kester

Impact DataSource

Michael Kester is partner and lead EB-5 economist with Impact DataSource. Established in 1993, Impact DataSource, a Texas-based firm, specializes in high-quality economic and fiscal impact research services. The firm began offering specialized EB-5 services in 2010 and has become a leading resource for the industry. Kester leads the firm’s specialized EB-5 economics team, which offers EB-5 consulting services, analyses and deliverables that reflect the evolving needs of EB-5 clients and ever-changing requirements of USCIS. The EB-5 team has completed more than 500 comprehensive EB-5 economic studies and assisted clients in obtaining more than a thousand TEA certifications.

EB5Investors.com Staff

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are solely the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher, its employees. or its affiliates. The information found on this website is intended to be general information; it is not legal or financial advice. Specific legal or financial advice can only be given by a licensed professional with full knowledge of all the facts and circumstances of your particular situation. You should seek consultation with legal, immigration, and financial experts prior to participating in the EB-5 program Posting a question on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. All questions you post will be available to the public; do not include confidential information in your question.