INTRODUCTION
IMPLAN Education Services provides paid expert support options with Economists for users seeking specialized guidance. Customers can purchase 60-minute Project Consultations for one-on-one advice on study design, data organization, best practices, and results interpretation, though final modeling assumptions remain the customer's responsibility. For feedback on written deliverables, Project Reviews offer a read-through of up to 50-page economic impact reports with written feedback and an optional 30-minute follow-up consultation (excluding raw data or model analysis). Both consultation and review purchases must be used within one year while maintaining an active subscription.
For comprehensive assistance, the Premium Support package offers direct, prioritized email access to the Education Services team, with initial responses within one business day and up to two 60-minute consultations included per month during standard business hours. When external consultants are involved, all communications and meeting attendance require the active subscriber's presence. Inquiries and custom support requests can be directed to support@implan.com.
MEET THE TEAM
ERIC CLOWER - DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION SERVICES
Eric Clower serves as Director of Education Services at IMPLAN, bringing over 15 years of experience at the intersection of quantitative modeling, software development, and technical enablement. He holds an M.A. in Economics and an MSc in Petroleum Engineering, giving him a unique dual foundation in macroeconomic theory, engineering systems, and complex analytical frameworks. Prior to IMPLAN, Eric directed training and applications initiatives in the economic analytics software space, where he spearheaded technical enablement, documentation strategy, custom tutorials, and product launch support for analytical platforms.
Eric’s technical and research interests center on system interoperability, API integration strategy, leveraging AI to streamline complex economic modeling, and multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis. Driven by a passion for translating deep technical complexity into practical, scalable learning, he bridges the gap between sophisticated data platforms and real-world execution. At IMPLAN, Eric leverages his background in quantitative analysis to lead strategic training initiatives, project consultations, and custom educational content—empowering organizations to seamlessly adopt IMPLAN’s economic models and data tools with confidence.
WHITNEY MCKINZIE - EDUCATION SERVICES ECONOMIST
Whitney McKinzie serves as an Education Services Economist at IMPLAN, bringing a deep blend of academic expertise and practical analytical experience to her role. She holds an M.S. in Agricultural Economics, laying a strong foundation in quantitative policy and market analysis. Her hands-on background with Input-Output (IO) modeling began during her graduate studies, where she leveraged IMPLAN for her Master’s thesis to quantify the regional economic impacts of local procurement programs in Louisiana schools. She further honed her data expertise by processing and analyzing agricultural data for the U.S. government, before later bridging analytical rigors with client applications at IMPLAN.
Whitney’s research interests center on multi-sectoral modeling, regional multipliers to evaluate localized policy changes, substitution effects, and broad economic contributions. She is particularly passionate about examining agricultural supply chains and the barriers to market integration under agricultural and environmental policy frameworks. Technically proficient in the inner algebraic workings, core assumptions, and structural nuance of IO methodology, Whitney leverages IMPLAN to solve real-world problems. Her primary modeling focus includes analyzing construction and operational impacts, building custom queries in the IMPLAN Data Library, evaluating trade flow and supply chain dynamics, and designing tailored economic scenarios that drive sound business and policy decisions.
Nadège Ngomsi - Education Services Economist
Nadège Ngomsi serves as an Education Services Economist at IMPLAN, where she combines expertise in economic modeling, systems analysis, and applied research to help users design and interpret economic impact, contribution, and related regional economic studies. She holds an M.A. in Economics from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and an MBA from the University of Kansas. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Economics at UMKC, examining how economic structures organize the distribution, circulation, and reproduction of resources across households and institutions. Her dissertation uses input-output analysis and political economy frameworks to analyze households as distinct structural positions in the economy, showing how income, consumption, transfers, and capital flows shape their role in economic reproduction and surplus distribution.
At IMPLAN, Nadège focuses on translating complex economic concepts and modeling techniques into accessible workflows for diverse users, helping them look beyond raw impact results to understand the underlying mechanisms, assumptions, and economic relationships at play. Her expertise spans regional development, public policy, multi-regional modeling, and Social Accounting Matrices, with broader research interests in economic systems, distribution, social reproduction, institutional economics, and matrix algebra. Drawing on a background in research, business, and education, she approaches analysis as a quantitative and structural exercise that connects data and model designs to show how economic structures shape opportunities for households, organizations, and communities.
Lauren Benavidez-Brouk - Education Services Economist
Lauren Benavidez-Brouk serves as an Education Services Economist at IMPLAN, where she leverages her deep technical background to help users navigate complex economic modeling and scenario design. Currently completing her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics—building on an M.S. in Agricultural Economics and a B.S. in Agribusiness—she combines academic rigor with hands-on industry experience from her background in coffee processing pricing and cost analysis. At IMPLAN, Lauren applies her expertise in input-output and computable general equilibrium (CGE) models to guide organizations, researchers, and policymakers through advanced scenario workflows, distributional impact analyses, and data-driven decision-making.
Her broader research interests center on how food systems, agriculture, climate change, and sustainability policies ripple across supply chains, households, and the environment. Dedicated to demystifying complex quantitative tools, Lauren focuses her work at IMPLAN on educational enablement—translating intricate modeling techniques into practical applications and helping clients understand how baseline assumptions, data constraints, and model design directly influence analytical results and strategic outcomes.