Dr. Bill Farley holds a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California Price School of Public Policy. His Ph.D. studies concentrated on urban and regional studies and his dissertation is titled “The Just Host: Addressing the wage structure problem in the tourism industry.” His research interests include urban theory, local economic development, social equity and economic history. His research is published in refereed economic development, political science and history journals. Prior to his work as an independent scholar, he headed the strategic planning and real estate acquisition programs for Southern California Edison (EIX) and Granite Construction (GVA) and led the economic development division for the City of Sacramento. He also served on planning and redevelopment commissions in San Marino and Sacramento, California, and taught graduate courses in public policy, program evaluation and public finance at USC’s Price School.