The Utah Chamber, Salt Lake Chamber and the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute hosted the Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit on January 16, 2026 at the Grand America Hotel.
As the state’s premier economic forecasting and public policy event, this summit brings together policy and academic thought leaders from across the state to share insights on the future of Utah’s economy and the business community’s policy priorities for the upcoming legislative session. This is an event that no one who is invested in Utah’s economic future should miss.
2026 Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit
January 16, 2026
7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
The Grand America Hotel
555 S. Main Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Registration
Location: Grand Ballroom
*Breakfast will be provided.
Welcome
Location: Grand Ballroom
Presenter:
Economic Report
Location: Grand Ballroom
Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute will provide an overview of the 2026 Economic Report to the Governor, which has been a key resource for information on the Utah economy over the past 38 years. The report’s central objective is to enhance economic literacy among readers, enabling decision makers in the public and private sectors to make informed plans, budgets and policy decisions.
Presenter:
Economic Report Presentation
Location: Grand Ballroom
Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute will present the 2026 Economic Report to the Governor which has been a key resource for information on the Utah economy over the past 38 years. The report’s central objective is to enhance economic literacy among readers, enabling decision makers in the public and private sectors to make informed plans, budgets and policy decisions.
Participants:
Commentary from the Governor
Location: Grand Ballroom
The Governor will provide commentary on the Economic Report and addresses the business community.
Presenter:
Opening Keynote
Location: Grand Ballroom
More information to come.
Salt Lake Chamber Legislative Priorities
Location: Grand Ballroom
Presenter:
The Salt Lake Chamber will unveil the 2026 Public Policy Guide, outlining and framing the key policy priorities that will shape the Chamber’s policy positions entering the legislative session.
Legislative Panel Discussion
Location: Grand Ballroom
Panel:
Moderator:
This panel brings together legislative leaders to outline their priorities and objectives for the upcoming legislative session. Panelists will discuss key policy areas, challenges and opportunities as they set the agenda for addressing pressing state needs.
Closing Keynote: The Business Case for Dignity
Location: Grand Ballroom
Speakers:
Tim Shriver’s keynote will focus on why dignity is an essential component of strong organizations, effective leadership and long-term economic success. Drawing on his experience working with leaders across sectors, he will outline how workplaces that treat individuals with dignity see higher trust, better decision-making and stronger teamwork. He will discuss the practical benefits of building cultures where people feel valued and how dignity-based leadership strengthens companies during periods of rapid change and how it can help Utah businesses compete by fostering stability, resilience and shared purpose.
Adjourn
Location: Grand Ballroom
Presenter:
Speaker: Tim Shriver
Tim Shriver is husband, father, grandfather, educator, best-selling author, Chairman of Special Olympics and Chairman of UNITE.
As Chairman of Special Olympics, a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities, Tim has driven the largest expansion of the organization in its history — growing the movement from one million athletes to over six million athletes in more than 170 countries around the world.
As he passed the CEO torch in the past few years, he began asking questions like, “How could the example and spirit of the athletes of Special Olympics provide a model for a divided world?” and “How could SEL skills like empathy, self-awareness, and perspective-taking help our whole nation?”
Hundreds of young people, faith leaders, educators, philosophers, scientists, activists and political figures have joined the conversation. Together, they concluded that in spite of the divides, the world is hungry to be reminded of its common humanity.
As Chairman of UNITE, a non-profit that also emerged from this exploration, he has helped to pioneer the Dignity Index — a new tool to help Americans disagree without demonizing each other — and catalyze dozens of moonshots that unite Americans in common purpose to tackle our country’s most intractable challenges.
Shriver earned his undergraduate degree from Yale University, a Master’s degree from Catholic University, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Connecticut. Before joining Special Olympics in 1996, Shriver co-founded and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the leading school reform organization in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL).
Shriver also has a record of harnessing the power of Hollywood to spread hope and connection across differences as the executive producer of several films — including Amistad, The Loretta Claiborne Story, The Ringer, Front of the Class, As Far as They Can Run and The Peanut Butter Falcon. He is the author of the NYT bestseller Fully Alive – Discovering What Matters Most and co-editor of The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening.
President J. Stuart Adams graduated from Layton High and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Utah in business finance. He currently resides in Layton, where he and his wife, Susan, raised their four children. Today, they are the proud grandparents to 16 grandchildren.
Pres. Adams is a partner in the Adams Company, a Real Estate, Construction and Development Firm in Kaysville. During his time in real estate, he has been named Builder of the Year by the Northern Wasatch Home Builders Association.
Before being elected to the Senate, Pres. Adams served four and a half years in the Utah House of Representatives and nine years on the Layton City Council. He is the former Chairman of the Utah Transportation Commission and Chairs the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA).
During his time representing the 22nd District, Pres. Adams passed legislation to address religious freedoms, affordable energy, clean air and transportation.
In his words, he is “honored to represent the community where he grew up and raised a family” and enjoys working in his capacity as Senate President to benefit all of the great State of Utah.
Mike Schultz was born and raised in Weber County, and doesn’t want to live anywhere else. In 2015, he was elected to the Legislature to represent Utah’s 12th House District that includes Hooper, Roy, and West Haven. He has been Speaker of the House since November 2023.
Schultz learned the value of hard work at a young age by working on his grandfather’s cattle farm, selling worms to fishermen, milking cows at a neighbor’s dairy farm, hauling hay, and roofing homes. As a general contractor, Schultz owned and operated several small businesses, including his home building company, which he stepped away from in 2023. Schultz currently owns and operates a family ranch in Croydon, Utah.
Speaker Schultz has a passion for public service and has championed policies like increasing funding for Utah students, conserving Utah’s water supply, and investing in transportation infrastructure all while balancing the budget and cutting taxes. He’s known for building partnerships, creating wins through smart compromise, and he believes common sense and straight talk should guide the way.
Mike and his wife, Melissa, are the proud parents of six children and three grandchildren. When not busy with work, he can be found in the great outdoors hunting, fishing, snowmobiling or fixing something on the ranch.
More information to come.
Phil Dean is the chief economist and public finance senior research fellow at the Gardner Institute. His research focuses on the Utah and U.S. economies and on public finance issues such as state and local taxes and budget management over the business cycle. Phil also teaches economics, public policy, and public finance and budgeting as an adjunct instructor and serves as co-chair of the Utah Economic Council.
Prior to joining the institute in 2021, Dean served as former Governor Herbert’s Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) after having previously served in the Herbert administration as the State Budget Director and Chief Economist. In this capacity, he directed the work of GOMB in preparing the Governor’s budget recommendations and oversaw GOMB’s state revenue estimates and economic analysis. He served the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) on the Executive Committee and as Western Regional Director.
Prior to joining GOMB in 2013, Dean worked for the Utah Legislature for nearly a decade, specializing in the areas of tax and education. He began his professional career in Sacramento, working on the state budget at the California Department of Finance.
Dean holds master’s degrees in public administration from BYU and economics from the University of Utah, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish from BYU.
Ally Isom is a community leader and strategist where brand, policy and public engagement intersect. Ally is the chief strategy and marketing officer for Clyde Companies. Previously, she was an executive in nanotech, a Republican candidate for the US Senate, head of global branding and messaging for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah Governor’s deputy chief of staff, and a state agency leader.
Ally also has broad civic experience with numerous boards and commissions. Currently, she is the Utah Behavioral Health Commission chair, a Primary Children’s Board member, UVU International Advisory Board member, and Enbridge Gas Utah Advisory Council member. Ally has a Bachelor of Arts from Brigham Young University. She and her husband, Eric, have four children and six grandchildren. When she finds free time, she relishes historical fiction and biographies, preferably on a beach, and mole poblano, pretty much anywhere.
Troy Keller is a partner in the Salt Lake City Office of Dorsey & Whitney LLP. Before joining Dorsey, Troy was Vice President of Corporate Law and Global Government Relations at Huntsman Corporation. Previous to Huntsman, he was Securities & M&A counsel at Qwest Communications, and he began his career as an attorney at the New York office of Sidley Austin.
Troy currently serves as World Trade Center Utah’s International Trade and Commercial Policy Advisor and is a member of the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Utah Aerospace and Defense Association. He is a founding member of FinTech Utah and has been instrumental in helping to develop the FinTech community in Utah. Troy is a frequent commentator in business and media publications. He is admitted to practice law in New York, Colorado and Utah.
Derek Miller is the president and CEO of the Utah Chamber and the Salt Lake Chamber. The Chamber is the state's oldest business association that "stands as the voice of business." In this role, Derek leads the business community in advocating and leading Utah's continued economic prosperity.
Previously, Derek served as the president and CEO of the World Trade Center Utah, helping to “Promote prosperity across the state by attracting investment and increasing exports.” He also served as Chief of Staff to Gov. Herbert and as Managing Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development for Gov. Huntsman.
Recognizing his leadership, Gov. Herbert lauded Derek as, “an architect of economic opportunity and innovation,” and “instrumental in transforming Utah into one of the most competitive and fastest growing economies in the country.”
Derek began his career in Washington, D.C. as a management consultant with Arthur Andersen and as legal counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He is a graduate of the J. Reuben Clark Law School and holds a Master of Public Administration from the Romney Institute of Public Management at Brigham Young University.
Derek and his wife, Laura, live in Salt Lake City with their three children. They enjoy spending time together exploring Utah’s countless natural wonders.
Lampropoulos has invented and holds more than 200 patents on devices used in the diagnostic and therapeutic treatment of cardiac, peripheral, gastrointestinal, and pulmonary conditions.
He is also highly involved in his community and serves on many boards. Lampropoulos is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology and CEO of the Year. He was inducted into the Utah Business Hall of Fame.
Lampropoulos is a former Special Forces Officer and an Honorary Colonel in the Utah National Guard. He holds several honorary doctorates, including Doctorate in Business Administration from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, recognizing his contribution to and development of industry and education within the state of Utah.
Mary Catherine Perry is the executive vice president of government affairs and public policy for the Utah Chamber and Salt Lake Chamber.
Previously, she was the former director of policy and government affairs for The Policy Project. In that capacity, Perry helped unanimously pass The Period Project, which she drafted, advocated for and implemented legislation that requires all of Utah’s public and charter schools to offer free period products to K-12 students. Perry also helped secure a $15 million legislative appropriation with the Teen Center Project to create spaces inside Utah high schools to offer vulnerable and at-risk students a place to do laundry, shower and access food resources. She helped draft and unanimously pass legislation with The Safe Child Project that offers child abuse prevention education in Utah elementary schools with historic ongoing funding. She has also advocated for policies involving public education and affordable home ownership.
Perry began her career as a policy analyst with the Utah Legislature at the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, where she worked for several years researching and developing policy and drafting legislation primarily in Business, Labor and Economic Development. Perry received a B.A. in English and a Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University, where she developed a love for advocacy and sound policy.
Perry has spent over 25 years volunteering in many capacities including the Salt Lake City School District and on nonprofit boards in Utah including the Board of Directors of the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, Utah Women Run, Junior League of Salt Lake City, Tanner Dance at the University of Utah, and she was appointed by Governor Cox to serve on the Utah Marriage Commission. Mary Catherine and her husband, Jason Perry, reside in Salt Lake City with their children.