Conerly currently is adjunct fellow at the American Institute of Full Employment in Klamath Falls, Ore., and also is chairman of the board of Cascade Policy Institute. He also is a member of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's (Oregon) Council of Economic Advisors, and previously was Senior Vice President at First Interstate Bank. Conerly holds a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

In addition, Conerly is co-author of Thinking Economics, a high school textbook in multimedia format. He has been quoted in Fortune Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and interviewed on CNN, CNNfn the News Hour with Jim Lehrer (PBS-TV).