David Brown serves as project leader. He is a 40 year veteran of Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development Organization leadership in Michigan, Indiana, South Carolina and Nebraska. He recently retired as president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber, one of the nation’s largest and most highly accredited chambers. Under his leadership, the Chamber partnered with the United Way of the Midlands and the Urban League of Nebraska to develop Omaha 2040, a 20-year vision for the region. David joined NGC in May of 2022 as lead consultant, bringing a client perspective to the team. David served as the Board chair for the American Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and led ACCE’s Horizons 2025 initiative. David is a graduate of Dartmouth College with academic specialties in industrial location and environmental studies. David works from Omaha, NE.  LinkedIn​

Rebecca Ryan, APF is a futurist, economist, consultant, and author of The Next Big Things: The Next 20 Years in Local Government (2015); ReGENERATION: A Manifesto for America’s Future Leaders (2013); and Live First, Work Second: Getting Inside the Head of the Next Generation (2007). Rebecca will facilitate most meetings and workshops and support the project’s management. Rebecca is the founder and owner of NEXT Generation Consulting and has held residencies at the Alliance for Innovation, the Governing Institute, the Association of Government Risk Pools (AGRiP), among others. She has a professional certificate in Strategic Foresight from the University of Houston and BA degrees with honors in Economics and International Relations from Drake University. Rebecca works from Madison, WI. LinkedIn​

Yasemin Arikan, MA will serve as the project research lead. Yas is a futurist who uses foresight and social science methods to help clients understand how the future could be different from today and then use these insights to inform strategy and vision. Her background includes developing and using scenarios with public sector clients and allies. Earlier in her career she developed national and local scenarios on the futures of public health in 2030 for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Kresge Foundation, among other projects in health and healthcare. A native speaker of German and Turkish, she earned degrees in psychology and sociology from the University of Rochester and the University of Chicago. Yas works from Northern Virginia.  LinkedIn​