Professor Comeau has taught economics at DePaul University since 2001. He earned a Ph.D. in economics, an MBA in finance and an MA in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also earned an MA in French Literature from the University of Chicago, and business and Law degrees from the State University of Haiti.
Prior to the 1990s, he affirmed his love for education as a teacher of Haitian and French literatures at Petit Séminaire-Collège Saint-Martial (1979-1991), his alma mater, as well as his managerial and citizenly skills in Haiti’s private and public sectors, specifically:
- in a family business;
- as member for four years of the managing board and Préfet des études de la section secondaire at Saint-Martial, Haiti’s oldest, iconic boys Catholic school (founded 1865);
- as assistant-director for Cultural Affairs at Haiti’s ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship (1980-1988);
- as director of Human Resources at the ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports (1988-1991);
- as a freelance columnist, regularly publishing articles on cultural and artistic matters;
- in humanitarian endeavors through the Catholic Church and the Lions Club of Port-au-Prince Central.
Following graduate school through a Fulbright scholar obtained in 1991, Dr. Comeau returned home in 1997 to join Haiti’s central bank (La Banque de la République d’Haïti, BRH) as economist consultant. One year later, he became director of Money and Economic Analysis (chief economist), until early 2001 when he returned to the U.S. to join DePaul University. He is a consultant for the central bank of Haiti. Other consulting endeavors include serving as a Research Advisor for a Diaspora-wide project about Diaspora Engagement and Investment in Haiti (2015), as a member of the jury for the final round of the 2015 Business Plan Competition, and as a Project Leader and the Jury Coordinator for the Diaspora Challenge Fund (2016-2017), all three PADF/LEAD/USAID-sponsored projects.
Professor Comeau’s research focuses on institutional aspects of economic growth, particularly issues regarding the impact on economic growth of sociopolitical instability and sub-efficient economic governance. Dr. Comeau has spoken and lectured extensively about Haiti, mainly since the January 12, 2010 earthquake. He’s participated in many forums held in the Diaspora. He is a member of the board of DuSable Heritage Association, and a founding member of Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti. He joined GRAHN-Monde, or GRAHN-World (Group for Reflection and Action for a New Haiti; http://www.grahn-monde.org), an unprecedented global Haitian think-tank that emerged in Canada one week after the earthquake. He is vice-president at GRAHN-World and president of GRAHN-USA. He is founding editor of Haïti Perspectives, GRAHN’s scientific quarterly, and president of the International Jury for GRAHN’s Excellence Awards. He is professor and trustee at ISTEAH (Institute for Science, Technology and Advanced Studies of Haiti, http://www.isteah.edu.ht), GRAHN’s accredited graduate program, in Haiti. He is supporting the U.S. fundraising campaign for GRAHN’s major project: Le Pôle d’innovation du Grand Nord (PIGraN) – La Cité du Savoir (http://www.pigran.org). Over the years, he’s been the recipient of several awards.