Brian Kelsey is president and founder of Civic Analytics, an economic development consulting firm based in Austin, Texas. Brian started the business as a part-time venture in October 2007 and has since completed research, consulting, and training projects for clients in California, Georgia, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington D.C.

Brian is also director of community and economic development at the Capital Area Council of Governments, where he publishes research on the Austin economy and advises local officials on economic development strategies. Brian is a frequent public speaker and media contributor in Austin, and his work at CAPCOG has received two awards from the National Association of Development Organizations.

Before joining CAPCOG in 2005, Brian worked for the Council on Competitiveness, a non-partisan think tank in Washington D.C., where he co-authored Measuring Regional Innovation: A Guidebook for Conducting Regional Innovation Assessments with Randall Kempner. The Guidebook helped establish the framework for the $300 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative launched by the Employment and Training Administration in 2005.

Brian has also worked in economic development at the local and state levels, including positions at the Sonoma County Economic Development Board in Santa Rosa, California, and the Center for Transportation Research in Austin, Texas.

Brian was a double-major in economics and history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Highest Distinction. Brian also earned a master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.