Our Leadership

Jonas (Cass) Crews serves as the Research Director for the Talent Pipeline impact area. In his role, Jonas directs Heartland Forward’s talent pipeline research projects, co-authors reports and conducts data analysis.

Prior to joining Heartland Forward, Jonas was a senior research associate for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where he conducted spatial analysis, created surveys and co-authored peer-reviewed journal articles, reports and blog posts on housing, trade, agricultural finance, and the macroeconomy.

He is on the advisory board for the Center on Rural Innovation’s Rural Opportunity Map. Jonas holds a Bachelor of Science in economics with a focus on quantitative analysis from Auburn University. In his free time, Jonas is a volunteer mountain biking coach for a Bentonville-area junior high school.