-
Marielena A. Villamil
Chief Executive Officer
Outstanding record of accomplishments in higher education and civic leadership. Currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of a growing economic and governmental advisor firm, The Washington Economics Group, WEG, at present in its fifteenth year of successful operations. Twice appointed by Governor Jeb Bush of Florida to the Third District Court of Appeals, Judicial Nominating Commission and served as Vice Chairman of the Commission during her first year of tenure.Read more...
Serves on the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross of Greater Miami and the Keys since June of 2003, and she was recently elected Chairman of the Chapter. Currently serves in the Executive Committee and as Chairperson of the Chapter’s Latin American and Caribbean Leadership Committee. She also serves as the Chair of the South Florida Humanitarian Network for Cuba, a network to coordinate humanitarian assistance for the South Florida community that would be activated when a major humanitarian event, natural disaster or a political transition in Cuba affects the South Florida community.
Among other leadership positions, he is currently Chairman of the Economic Roundtable of the Beacon Council—Miami-Dade County’s official economic development organization. He also serves as Senior Research Fellow and Vice Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors of Florida TaxWatch, an established fiscal and policy research organization of the State. Tony is a member of the Superintendent’s Business Advisory Council of Miami-Dade County Public School System; one of the largest school systems of the nation.
Appointed to the Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College (MDC) by Governor Jeb Bush in 2006 and most recently by Governor Charlie Crist. MDC is one of the largest community colleges in the nation with 8 campuses throughout Miami-Dade County and serving over 160,000 students on an annual basis.
Started higher education career at Miami-Dade Community College as instructor and steadily earned promotions to full professor, while serving for six years as President of the Wolfson Campus Faculty Senate and for two years as President of the Consortium of Faculty Senates of Miami-Dade Community College, as well as President of the Faculty Senates’ Association of Florida. In August 1986 she joined the administration as Associate Dean, InterAmerican Center of the Wolfson Campus, providing administrative leadership for all academic departments at the Center.
Has extensive leadership experience in community and professional organizations at the state, local and College levels. Served as President of the Florida Association of Community Colleges (FACC), Wolfson Campus Chapter, the Executive Committee of Leadership Miami of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the Advisory Board of Florida TESOL, among other organizations. Recently elected to serve on the Board of the Coral Gables Community Foundation. Presently chairs the Advisory Board of the Miramar Campus of the Ana G. Mendez University System, one of Puerto Rico’s largest private universities.
Obtained a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in English and Spanish from St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans, Louisiana and a Master’s Degree from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. Completed Ph.D. coursework at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.Currently resides in Coral Gables, Florida with her husband, J. Antonio Villamil and their teenage son, Tony Jr. She has two adult, professional daughters who reside in Key Biscayne, Florida and Washington, DC.
-
Dustin Thaler
Chief Operating Officer
Dustin graduated Magna Cum Laude in Economics from the University of Florida in 2011. Dustin has been with Floridanomics team since inception, always fascinated by macro trends and their ensuing analysis, especially so when applied to the State of Florida where he was born and raised. A passion in the environment thanks to an upbringing spent outdoors led him to minor in Sustainability Studies and to write his Economics honors thesis on The Determinants of Energy Intensity. Dustin has pursued his strong interests in both economics and the environment through various positions in Washington D.C., Quebec City, Gainesville, and now Miami. Dustin is a proud brother of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and a member of the Omicron Delta Epsilon international society of Economics. He will be attending Johns Hopkins University in Fall 2012 in pursuit of a Masters degree in Energy Policy.
-
TJ Villamil
Founder and President
Jose Antonio Villamil IV, or "TJ," is Founder and CEO of Floridanomics. TJ brings creativity and leadership experience from his time at the University of Florida. TJ is currently the Student Body President at UF, representing all 50,000 students and overseeing the $4.8 million Student Government budget. TJ is also the Student Trustee on the Board of Trustees for UF and is expanding on innovative initiatives such as Bike Sharing, Open Source Textbooks, Prioritizing the Higher Education Budget in the State, and expanding the J.Wayne Reitz Student Union at UF. TJ believes in using Technology to bring Economics to the 21st century. After shadowing his father for most of his life, TJ believes that there is room for Economists in the Digital Age.
Read more...
Born in Fairfax, Virginia, to Cuban-American parents, TJ is the son of Marielena Alejo Villamil and Dr. Tony Villamil, former Undersecretary of Commerce to President George H. W. Bush. In 1992, the Villamil’s moved back to Coral Gables, where they have happily lived for 18 years. TJ went to Georgetown Preparatory in Bethesda, Maryland for two years before graduating from Gulliver Preparatory in Pinecrest, Florida. He was captain of his lacrosse team and Student Body President of the Gulliver Raiders. TJ is the first Gator in his family and currently is a Graduate student at the University of Florida seeking a Masters in Entrepreneurship. TJ is a recent UF Graduate with a degree in Telecommunications- News Major from the College of Journalism. TJ, is a first generation American who speaks Spanish, a proud member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, and one day hopes to change the world through creativity and innovation.
-
J. Antonio Villamil
Principal Economic Advisor
Tony Villamil has over thirty-five years of successful career as a business economist, university educator and high-level policymaker for both federal and state governments. He has served as a Presidential appointee U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, and he is the founder of a successful economic consulting practice, The Washington Economics Group, Inc. (WEG). Since August 2008, Tony is the Dean and Professor of Economics at the School of Business of St. Thomas University, while continuing to serve as Principal Economic Advisor to the clients of WEG.Read more...
Tony is a recent member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations in Washington, D.C. He is the immediate past Chairman of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors of Florida, and during 1999-2000, he directed the Tourism, International Trade and Economic Development Department of the State in the Office of Governor Jeb Bush. Presently, he is on the Board of Directors of the Spanish Broadcasting System (NASDAQ), Mercantil Commercebank, N.A., Pan-American Life Insurance Group (PALIG) and Enterprise Florida – the State’s principal economic development organization.
Among other leadership positions, he is currently Chairman of the Economic Roundtable of the Beacon Council—Miami-Dade County’s official economic development organization. He also serves as Senior Research Fellow and Vice Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors of Florida TaxWatch, an established fiscal and policy research organization of the State. Tony is a member of the Superintendent’s Business Advisory Council of Miami-Dade County Public School System; one of the largest school systems of the nation.
Dr. Villamil earned bachelor and advanced degrees in Economics from Louisiana State University (LSU), where he also completed coursework for the Ph.D. degree. In 1991, Florida International University (FIU) awarded him a doctoral degree in Economics (hc), for “distinguished contributions to the Nation in the field of economics.” He speaks frequently to business, government and university audiences on economic topics, and was until the summer of 2008 a member of the Graduate Business Faculty of Florida International University (FIU).
