Meet Our STEDC Team
South Texas Economic Development Center (STEDC) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) was formed and approved by the Texas A&M University System in 2014. The Center aims to catalyze economic progress in South Texas and beyond by providing data-driven analytics and technical assistance to leaders and other decision makers in the public and private sectors.
Our Team
Dr. Deniz Gevrek is the Director of the STEDC, a Professor of Economics at the TAMU-CC, and a Research Fellow at International Labor Institute, IZA. She is the national VP of Omicron Delta Epsilon. She earned Ph.D. and M.A. degrees in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Gevrek’s research interests include Applied Microeconometrics and Labor Economics. She is dedicated to interdisciplinary research and has published in prestigious peer-reviewed journals with research featured at The Wall Street Journal and Wired magazine. She is trained in survey methods and conducting economic impact studies. Dr. Gevrek received numerous awards for teaching, research, and service excellence.
Dr. Veysel Avsar is a Professor of Economics and a faculty fellow in Research and
Innovation at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He earned his BS in Economics from
Istanbul University in 2006 and his Ph.D. from Florida International University in 2011,
where he received multiple academic accolades. His academic career spans global
institutions, including Deakin University, UC San Diego, Antalya International University,
and Montana State University. Dr. Avsar's research has been published in leading
economics journals and extends to collaborative projects with government and the private
sector. He is globally recognized, presenting at international conferences, and receiving
numerous research awards.
Dr. Ahmed Kamara is an Associate Professor of Economics at Texas A&M University-
Corpus Christi. He received his PhD in Economics from Texas Tech University, an MA in
Economics from Georgia State University, and a BS in Agricultural Economics from the
University for Development Studies, Ghana. His research is focused on fiscal and
monetary policy analysis, regional economics, and economic impact analysis of
government and private sector projects. Moreover, he has been involved in
multidisciplinary research by teaming up with researchers from science, engineering, and
operations management. His research has appeared in highly reputable journals in
economics.
