Our People

Leadership Team 

 

Professional headshot of Sean Mulholland

Sean Mulholland, CSFE Director 

Mulholland is a Professor of Economics at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina where he and his colleagues successfully resurrected the degree in Economics. He is dedicated to cultivating a curious, creative, and compassionate intellectual community devoted to seeking truth and beauty through freedom of thought and expression. He has published research articles on a wide variety of topics, including human capital and economic growth, white supremacist groups and hate crimes, school competition and student performance, and Uber and drunk driving. His research has appeared in many journals, including the Journal of Economic Growth, Public Choice, Economics Letters, and Economics of Education Review. His co-authored paper, “Ride-Sharing, Fatal Crashes, and Crime” was awarded the Georgescu-Roegen Prize for the best academic article published in the Southern Economic Journal in 2018. His work has been covered by Ballotpedia, Politifact, National Review, and Tyler Cowen on marginalrevolution.com. Mulholland was awarded the 2019 College of Business Faculty Excellence Award, the 2018 & 2022 Honors College Board of Directors Faculty Excellence Award, and the 2018 College of Business Excellence in Research Award. He has held faculty positions at Boston College, Stonehill College, and Mercer University. He has served as a faculty mentor at seminars sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) and the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and led discussions at the Center for Excellence in Education’s Research Science Institute at MIT. Born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina, Mulholland earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from Clemson University. He lives in Franklin, North Carolina with his wife, Western Carolina University economist Angela K. Dills, their three children, Julian, Porter, and Ryn, and their Siberian Husky, Kyra. 

Allie Todd, Content Marketing Specalist 

Allie has been the Content Marketing Specalist for the Center for the Study of Free Enterprise since 2020. It was here in Western North Carolina where she grew up and first began to fall in love with writing. Graduating with a B.A. in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill, Allie now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina where she also works as a marketing anaylst. She spends the majority of her free time with her dog, Goose, and her cat, Simon. 

Adam Mottershead, Research Assistant 

Adam grew up in the outdoors and was always fascinated with nature. While earning his B.S in Natural Resource Management at Western Carolina University he discovered a new approach to conservation; Environmental Economics. Adam is interested in using price signals and mixed market approaches as a way to quantify the value our natural world holds, as opposed to traditional policy measures. Adam has served as a consultant for an environmental law firm, a technician at a stream mitigation bank, an aquatic research lab director, and is currently a researcher for the Center for the Study of Free Enterprise. In his free time, he enjoys playing guitar and trail running.