Staff
Ernie Goss, Principal Investigator
Ernie Goss is the Jack MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University and is the initial director for Creighton’s Institute for Economic Inquiry. He is also the principal investigator of the Goss Institute in Denver, CO. Goss received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Tennessee in 1983 and is a former faculty research fellow at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. He was a visiting scholar with the Congressional Budget Office for 2003-2004 and hastestified before the U.S. Congress, the Kansas Legislature, and the Nebraska Legislature. In the fall of 2005, the Nebraska Attorney General appointed Goss to head a task force examining gasoline pricing in the state. He has published more than 100 research studies focusing primarily on economic forecasting and on the statistical analysis of business and economic data. His book Changing Attitudes Toward Economic Reform During the Yeltsin Era was published by Praeger Press in 2003, and his book Governing Fortune: Casino Gambling in America was published by the University of Michigan Press in March 2007. He is the editor of Economic Trends, an economics newsletter published monthly with more than 11,000 subscribers, produces a monthly business conditions index for the nine-state Mid-American region, and conducts a survey of bank CEOs in 10 U.S. states. Survey and index results are cited each month in approximately 100 newspapers; citations have included the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, The Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Sun Times, and other national and regional newspapers and magazines. Each month 75-100 radio stations carry his Regional Economic Report.
Scott Strain, Senior Research Economist
Scott Strain has worked as an economist and statistician for more than 20 years providing forecasts and analysis across a wide-range of industries. Scott served as an industry economist, working in new product development regarding both quantitative and qualitative research. Scott was Senior Director of Research for an economic development agency, providing economic impact
and tax incentive analysis to both private businesses and government entities. He served on the business advisory committee that worked with Nebraska state senators and the director of the state’s Economic Development Department to develop the Nebraska Advantage Act – a comprehensive package of business incentives that has helped to add more than $6 billion in new capital investment and over 13,000 new jobs in the state of Nebraska since the Act’s inception in 2006.
Monique Devillier, M.S. Research Assistant
Monique Devillier is a Research Associate at Goss & Associates. She has a Bachelors of Liberal Studies from the University of Iowa. She was a small business owner in Omaha, Nebraska. She has worked for Higgins Law as a project coordinator and legal assistant as well as an office manager for PSC Construction. Monique was one of the original co-founders of anon-profit in Blair, Nebraska and served on the board for more than nine years. She was Sergeant At Arms for the 21-22 year at Suburban Rotary, where she has been a member formore than six years and currently serves on the board.
Shay Devillier
Shay works as a Research Assistant at Goss & Associates. She has an associates degree in Surgical Technology from Carver College in West Virginia, and was inducted into the Technical Honor Society as well. Shay also has a certificate in Data Analytics. She has assisted Goss & Associates in research studies & editing, and was recently a part of Iowa's Association of Electric Cooperatives where they studied economic progress throughout the state.
Jackson Overfelt
Jackson works as a Research Assistant at Goss & Associates. Jackson is a student at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business, where he is pursuing a bachelor's degree in Finance and Economics. Jackson has assisted in research studies at Goss & Associates and was recently a part of Creighton’s research project that studied the Economic Impact of Affordable Housing, Workforce Development, and Childcare Support.
Peter Daood
Peter is a current student at Creighton University studying Finance and a candidate for a Master of Investment Management and Financial Analytics. He plans to pursue a career in investment banking upon graduation in the Spring of 2024. He has been the survey manager for Creighton's Economic Outlook webpage for over three years and has been a research assistant for Goss & Associates on various projects since 2020. Apart from his studies, Peter is the President-emeritus of the Heider Business Senate, previously an executive of the Creighton Students Union, and is currently a manager of Creighton's student-run equity fund with assets totaling over $11 million.
Lily Teunissen
Lily works with Goss & Associates as a Research Assistant. Lily is a student at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. In May 2025 she will graduate with her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with majors in Economics and International Business. Currently, Lily is working on a research project with the Creighton Institute of Economic Inquiry that will greatly benefit a portion of the Omaha community below the poverty line, while also adding to the economic well-being of Omaha as a whole. Lily has received many honors in her time at Creighton including being selected as a Deans’ Fellow Honors Program student, the Anna Tyler Waite Leadership Program member, Dean’s List student, Deans Honor Roll for Social Responsibility student, and the National Society of Leadership and Success member. She also partakes in academic colloquiums, the Women in Business Club, intramural sports, and as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.