Title
President & CEO
Principal Economist
Location
Madison, Wisconsin
Focus Areas
- Regional economic development
- Infrastructure economics
- Freight & supply chain policy
- Economic & fiscal impact analysis
- Federal grant support
Dean M. Prestegaard
Dean M. Prestegaard is a regional economist with more than 30 years of experience focusing on the issues that affect economic growth and development at the community and regional level. In 2024, he founded DMP Development Analytics to apply that experience directly to communities across the Great Lakes region — bringing the analytical rigor of regional economics to the infrastructure investment decisions that shape places for generations.
His work spans three interconnected domains: the redevelopment of abandoned or underutilized industrial sites, the economic and fiscal impacts of public infrastructure improvements, and the use of grants, loans, and other public incentives to stimulate growth in communities that need it most. Those threads run through every engagement DMP-DA takes on.
Before founding DMP-DA, Dean served as a Senior Economist at HDR, one of the country's leading infrastructure-focused engineering and consulting firms, where he worked with project teams nationwide on economic analyses supporting infrastructure projects and federal grant applications. Before HDR, he spent six years as Economic Development Chief at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, where he oversaw economic analyses, administered grant and loan programs, and completed major studies including the Wisconsin State Freight Plan.
Dean's background also includes a 28-year career in the U.S. Army Reserves and National Guard, retiring as a Major. That experience — leading teams through complex problems with high stakes and limited resources — informs how he manages projects and serves clients today.
He holds a Master of Arts in Economics from West Virginia University and completed doctoral coursework in Urban Studies with concentrations in Economic Development and Public Administration at Cleveland State University. He is an active member of the Wisconsin Economic Development Association's Board of Directors, serves on the Advisory Board of the Great Lakes Economic Development Council, and was appointed by the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to serve on the state's Freight Advisory Committee.
DMP-DA operates as a boutique firm by design. A limited number of active engagements at any time means every client has direct access to the economist doing the work — not a project manager relaying information up and down a staffing hierarchy. Analyses are primary, not recycled. Conclusions follow the evidence.