7:30am to 9:00am

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
3900 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, NV 89101

Ample parking in the back

Political columnist Jon Ralston and strategic consultant John Restrepo will lead an engaging and insightful conversation about Nevada's economy at TMA's March event. Topics on the agenda include short-term budget issues, the role of government in economic recovery, the long-term implications of Nevada's budget shortfall and its implications for future growth. Nevada's economy is known for being reliant on a few key industries. Ralston and Restrepo will also talk about the need for economic diversity and the key indicators Nevada needs to see to make progress on this important issue.

Both Ralston and Restrepo bring highly relevant backgrounds to the discussion. Ralston hosts "Face to Face," on KVBC, which is must-see TV for Nevada's business community. He also writes a political column for the Las Vegas Sun and In Business Las Vegas and comments daily on politics and business developments with his "Ralston Flash" electronic newsletter. Restrepo is the founder of Restrepo Consulting Group LLC, one of the dominant and most authoritative sources of information, research and strategic advice related to the economic, demographic, and real estate development of Nevada and the Southwest.

Jon Ralston

Jon Ralston is a political analyst on TV, on the web and in print, he is also a single father with one daughter. He is from Buffalo, NY, has a B.A. in English from Cornell University, 1981 and a M.A. in Journalism from University of Michigan, 1983.

Came to Las Vegas in 1984 as night police reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Later covered general assignment and county government before becoming political reporter in 1986. Became full-time political columnist in January 1989.

Began publishing The Ralston Report, a statewide political newsletter, in January 1993. Until late 1999, was freelancing columns to R-J and doing commentary for Channel 8, the CBS affiliate. In July 1998, I began a daily newsletter sent by e-mail to subscribers.

In December 1999, I sold my newsletter to and signed an agreement to work for the Greenspun Media Group. I continue to edit TRR while also heading up a daily e-mail publication called Flash while writing a column for the Las Vegas Sun and appearing on Channel 8 and Las Vegas One. I host a daily public affairs show on LV One called "Face to Face with Jon Ralston." In 2000, I had a book on Nevada politics published called "The Anointed One."

Won Outstanding Young Journalist of the Year in 1986 and Best Columnist of the Year in 1991,1992, and in 2000, 2002 and 2003 Best Non-Staff Columnist, all from Nevada State Press Association.

John Restrepo

John Restrepo is the Principal of RCG in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he directs the firms economic and financial consulting activities. For eight years, John was the Director of Financial Advisory Services in Las Vegas for Coopers & Lybrand LLP. Before joining Coopers & Lybrand in 1990, he managed the Las Vegas office of Mountain West Research, a regional economics firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. Prior to Mountain West, he was the Chief Operating Officer of a 40-person regional planning and civil engineering firm based in New Orleans.

For 28 years, John has analyzed regional economic and real estate trends in a number of markets, including Nevada, Arizona, California, Texas, and the Southeast U.S. His 20 years of urban economics experience has given him a broad range of skills and technical expertise in assessing the effects of local, regional, and national economic trends on urban real estate markets. His clients include some of the most prominent private and public organizations in Nevada concerned with development and growth.

John has spoken before a variety of business groups on a wide range of topics related to real estate, gaming and economic trends in Nevada, and has been quoted extensively in the local, regional and national media on real estate and economics issues facing the Western U.S.

John has a BA in Economics from the University of Louisiana. He also holds a MA in Latin American Studies/Economics from Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge.

He was the 2008 president of the Las Vegas chapter of NAIOP, a member of SIOR, and a Steering Committee member of the Urban Land Institute chapter in Las Vegas. Additional, John was appointed by Governor Jim Gibbons to the Nevada Economic Forum for a two-year term, where he is responsible for providing forecasts of the state's general fund revenues.

• Entrance To Event
• Full Breakfast

*For more information, please view the Cancellation Policy.