Robert Megna is president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government. He previously served as senior vice chancellor and chief operating officer of SUNY System Administration. In that role, he oversaw the operations of the chief information officer, the State University of New York (SUNY) Plaza business functions, capital facilities, campus energy management, and the Charter School Institute. He joined SUNY System Administration from Stony Brook University, where he served as senior vice president for finance and administration. Prior to joining Stony Brook, he served as executive director of the New York State Thruway Authority and New York State Canal Corporation.

Megna served as budget director for the New York State Division of the Budget (DOB), during which time the state achieved its highest financial rating in 40 years from three major credit rating agencies and passed four on-time budgets for the first time since the 1970s. He also chaired multiple governmental boards, including the Financial Restructuring Board, the New York Racing Association, and the Public Authorities Control Board. Megna has also served as commissioner for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, director of the revenue and economics unit at DOB, assistant commissioner of the office of tax policy at the Virginia Department of Taxation, director of tax studies at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and deputy director of fiscal studies on the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Megna earned an MS in economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London and received both his BA in Economics and MPA from Fordham University.

Heather Trela oversees the day-to-day operations of the Rockefeller Institute and serves as the president’s primary liaison with management, staff, and other stakeholders. Her research focuses on federalism issues with an emphasis on marijuana policy. She was a doctoral candidate at, and holds a master’s degree in political science from, the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy as well as a bachelor’s in economics and political science from Hartwick College.

Brian Backstrom is the Director of Education Policy Studies for the Rockefeller Institute. Among his work here, Brian has researched various aspects of the student debt crisis, policies regarding failing public schools, early childhood development issues, college access and affordability, high school graduation testing, and more. He previously served as president of a privately funded Albany-based policy research organization that investigated, crafted, and advocated for bold changes in the education landscape. Brian also serves as an independent consultant on K-12 education reform issues involving innovation, accountability, and choice.

brian.backstrom@rock.suny.edu

Dr. Laura Rabinow is the director of research for the Rockefeller Institute of Government, supporting the broad array of research conducted at the Institute and focusing her own research on environmental policy issues. Her prior work has moved between public policy research and practice.

Between 2023-2024, while working at the Institute, Rabinow served as a senior advisor for chemical safety at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, with a focus on issues related to PFAS.

Previously, Rabinow worked in the New York State Legislature in various roles, including as a chief of staff in the Assembly and as the environmental conservation, agriculture, and cultural affairs policy analyst in the Senate. Prior to her legislative experience, she worked in agricultural microfinance and foreign policy research. Rabinow’s more recent research considers New York State and federal policies with respect to drinking water and chemical contaminants, with a particular focus on the ways that public policy, social movements, and public health cultures co-construct the production of knowledge and ignorance about contaminants.

Laura.Rabinow@rock.suny.edu

Leigh Wedenoja, chief economist at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, specializes in education, labor, and health policy research. Her work focuses on assessing the causal impact of public policy using both quantitative and qualitative methods. She has worked with New York State agencies and nonprofit organizations on topics including the care workforce, employment for people with disabilities, civil service exams, K-12 and postsecondary education policy, and the overdose epidemic. Dr. Wedenoja is also a lecturer at the University at Albany in the graduate Department of Education Policy & Leadership and her work has appeared in academic publications and the popular press. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Institute, Dr. Wedenoja served as a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University and as administrator of the US Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Center at Cornell University. She holds an MA and PhD in economics from Cornell University and a BA from the University of Michigan.

Jaclyn Schildkraut, PhD, is the executive director of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, where she leads a multidisciplinary research portfolio focused on understanding and reducing firearm violence in New York State and beyond. In this role, she oversees the Consortium’s research, grantmaking, and public engagement efforts; develops partnerships with researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and community organizations; and works to translate rigorous research into evidence-informed policy and practice. A nationally recognized expert on mass shootings and school safety, her research focuses on targeted violence prevention, emergency preparedness, and the experiences of individuals and communities affected by mass violence.

Schildkraut leads Sharing Information to Stop Mass Shootings (SISMS), a large-scale research initiative examining the behaviors, circumstances, and information-sharing processes that precede mass public shootings. The project has produced one of the most comprehensive databases of pre-attack behaviors associated with these events and a growing body of research focused on identifying opportunities for prevention and intervention. Findings from the project also are being translated into educational trainings designed to improve the recognition and reporting of concerning behaviors.

Her broader research has examined school emergency preparedness, the prevention and consequences of mass violence, behavioral indicators preceding attacks, and the experiences and long-term needs of survivors and affected communities. Schildkraut led the largest national study to date examining the effects of lockdown drills on students, educators, and school personnel, helping to identify evidence-based practices for building preparedness while minimizing unnecessary fear and anxiety. She also has conducted extensive research with mass shooting survivors and provided expert analysis to Canada’s Mass Casualty Commission, which investigated the April 2020 mass casualty event in Nova Scotia.

As executive director, Schildkraut also leads the Consortium’s efforts to strengthen the evidence base for firearm violence prevention across New York State. She oversees competitive research funding programs and works with state agencies, academic researchers, practitioners, and community partners to support research addressing pressing questions related to firearm violence and its prevention. Through these efforts, she seeks to bridge research, policy, and practice and ensure that evidence is accessible to those positioned to use it.

Schildkraut is the author or editor of numerous books on mass shootings, school safety, and firearms, including Mass Shootings: Media, Myths and Realities (2016), Columbine, 20 Years Later and Beyond: Lessons from Tragedy (2019), Lockdown Drills: Connecting Research and Best Practices for School Administrators, Teachers, and Parents (2022), and Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law (3rd ed., 2022). Her research has been published extensively in peer-reviewed journals across criminology, violence prevention, victimology, school safety, psychology, and public policy. Her research and expertise also are regularly sought by policymakers, practitioners, schools, survivors, and national and international media outlets, including CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, Associated Press, Reuters, and BBC News.

Maria Figueroa is director of labor policy at the Rockefeller Institute. Her areas of expertise include labor and employment policy, non-standard (gig economy) work, immigration, labor organizations, and workforce development. Her work appeared in academic journals and book chapters covering labor issues in the digital platform economy and in sectors such as construction, healthcare, and the arts and entertainment industry. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Institute, Figueroa was dean of the Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies at SUNY Empire State. In that role, she oversaw the school’s academic programs and all other operational aspects, and she achieved new partnerships with labor organizations to provide opportunities for workforce development with pathways to college degrees for workers in industries across the economy, including low-wage sectors. Before joining SUNY Empire, Figueroa was director of labor policy research at The Worker Institute of Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), where she worked on research and technical assistance projects commissioned by labor organizations, government agencies, joint labor-management entities, and private foundations. She also organized national and international multi-stakeholder convenings on labor and employment issues in the gig economy. Before joining Cornell, Figueroa worked as a researcher for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the UN Centre on Transnational Corporations. Figueroa has a doctor of law and policy degree from Northeastern University, an MPA from NYU Wagner, and a BA from the New School for Social Research.

Zan Strumfeld oversees the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s diverse set of fellowship programs. She has more than a decade of multi-faceted journalism, editorial, and nonprofit experience. For four years, she was program manager at the Logan Nonfiction Program, the leading residential fellowship program in the US that exclusively supports longform nonfiction. Recently, she helped run fellowships and programs at both the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, based at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, which provides mental health resources and safety training for journalists, and ACOS Alliance, a global coalition of news organizations and journalists working to embed a culture of safety in the newsroom. Strumfeld has worked as a full-time and freelance reporter for newspapers and magazines, a macro editor and copy editor, and as an advertising agency copywriter. She is the founder of Zealous Scribbler Literary Services—a one-woman-shop for all literary needs, including editing, ghostwriting, marketing, and book launch/event planning. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz, where she studied journalism, English, and creative writing. She also produces music events and sits on the Troy Public Library Board of Trustees.

Patrick Schumacher serves as a senior policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute, focusing on health, education, and fiscal policies in New York State. He has contributed to projects examining the balance of payments between states and the federal government and several economic impact analyses. Schumacher holds a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in public administration from the University at Albany.

Mathilda Scott serves as a policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute focusing on environmental and health policies and supporting the Institute’s broad range of research topics. She holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MS from the University of Utah and continues to pursue a PhD in sociology. Previously, she worked at the USDA Rural Development in affordable housing.

Maxwell Herrera is a dedicated policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute, where he specializes in postsecondary education and fiscal economic policies. In addition to his primary focus, he contributes to the Institute’s diverse research initiatives. Previously, Maxwell served as a researcher for the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, where he authored papers on state-level education policies, including college affordability, student loan debt, and the long-term impacts of early childhood education programs in public schools. His experience also includes roles as a legislative assistant in the Minnesota legislature and an undergraduate research assistant for policy development. Maxwell holds a master of science in public policy and economics with a concentration in advanced policy analysis from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and a bachelor of science in political science from the University of Iowa.

maxwell.herrera@rock.suny.edu

Michele Choiniere assists in the various stages of publishing the Institute’s reports and publications including the New York State Statistical Yearbook. Michele received her bachelor’s degree at the University at Albany.

michele.choiniere@rock.suny.edu

Malvin Lumpkin is responsible for the daily maintenance of the Institute’s three historic buildings. Prior to his appointment at the Institute, Lumpkin developed skills serving as a locksmith, driver, and carpenter during his decades of service at SUNY System Administration.

malvin.lumpkin@suny.edu

Heather Stone is responsible for the daily management and processing of state financial transactions as well as managing personnel functions for the Institute’s full-time, part-time, and temporary staff. She also serves as the Institute’s facilities coordinator. Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Empire State University.

heather.stone@rock.suny.edu

(518) 445-4165

Bridget Ebenhoch is the administrative assistant and conference manager at the Rockefeller Institute of Government. She assists the president and senior staff in day-to-day tasks. She also plans and oversees conferences, meetings, and other events being held at the Institute. Previously, she worked at SUNY System in University Life with the Student Assembly. Bridget holds a bachelor’s degree from Empire State University.

Joel Tirado is the Institute’s point person for communications. He manages the Institute’s website and social media presence and develops and implements communication plans for the Institute’s research. He hosts the Rockefeller Institute’s Policy Outsider podcast. Previously, he worked at ASBO New York where he oversaw web development and strategy and managed projects for the organization’s operations and research departments.

Joel.Tirado@rock.suny.edu

Zan Strumfeld oversees the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s diverse set of fellowship programs. She has more than a decade of multi-faceted journalism, editorial, and nonprofit experience. For four years, she was program manager at the Logan Nonfiction Program, the leading residential fellowship program in the US that exclusively supports longform nonfiction. Recently, she helped run fellowships and programs at both the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, based at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, which provides mental health resources and safety training for journalists, and ACOS Alliance, a global coalition of news organizations and journalists working to embed a culture of safety in the newsroom. Strumfeld has worked as a full-time and freelance reporter for newspapers and magazines, a macro editor and copy editor, and as an advertising agency copywriter. She is the founder of Zealous Scribbler Literary Services—a one-woman-shop for all literary needs, including editing, ghostwriting, marketing, and book launch/event planning. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz, where she studied journalism, English, and creative writing. She also produces music events and sits on the Troy Public Library Board of Trustees.

Dr. Laura Rabinow is the director of research for the Rockefeller Institute of Government, supporting the broad array of research conducted at the Institute and focusing her own research on environmental policy issues. Her prior work has moved between public policy research and practice.

Between 2023-2024, while working at the Institute, Rabinow served as a senior advisor for chemical safety at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, with a focus on issues related to PFAS.

Previously, Rabinow worked in the New York State Legislature in various roles, including as a chief of staff in the Assembly and as the environmental conservation, agriculture, and cultural affairs policy analyst in the Senate. Prior to her legislative experience, she worked in agricultural microfinance and foreign policy research. Rabinow’s more recent research considers New York State and federal policies with respect to drinking water and chemical contaminants, with a particular focus on the ways that public policy, social movements, and public health cultures co-construct the production of knowledge and ignorance about contaminants.

Laura.Rabinow@rock.suny.edu

Patricia Strach is a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute and principal investigator on the Institute’s Stories from Sullivan project, which examines how opioid use affects local communities and what local communities are doing to address it. Strach is a professor in the Departments of Political Science and Public Administration & Policy at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany. Her research examines public policy and mass politics. She is the author of Hiding Politics in Plain Sight: Cause Marketing, Corporate Influence, and Breast Cancer Policymaking (Oxford 2016), All in the Family: The Private Roots of American Public Policy (Stanford 2007), and articles appearing in Political Research Quarterly, Journal of Policy History, Polity, and American Politics Research. In 2008-2010 she was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at Harvard University. Strach received her doctorate in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004.

Katie Zuber is a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute and a doctoral lecturer of political science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Her research examines the role of law in collective struggle, with an emphasis on legal advocacy among sexual and gender minorities. She has worked on several collaborative projects featured in Law & Society Review, Justice System Journal, Political Communication, and Journal of Political Marketing. Dr. Zuber received her doctorate in political science from the University at Albany in 2017.

Dr. Elizabeth Pérez-Chiqués is fellow at the Rockefeller Institute and assistant professor of public administration at Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE). Her research interests center on corruption and public personnel management. She is the co-founder of ABRE Puerto Rico, a nonprofit organization that specializes in government transparency and civic technology. Prior to returning to graduate school, she was the deputy administrator for prevention and community services in Puerto Rico’s Department of the Family. Dr. Pérez-Chiqués holds a doctorate in public administration and policy from the University at Albany, and a bachelor of arts and master of public policy from the University of Chicago.

Scott Fein served as an assistant counsel to New York State Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo and before that as a prosecutor. He serves as vice chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Public Authority Reform, senior advisor to the Center for Law & Policy Solutions at the Rockefeller Institute, counsel to the New York State Archives Trust, chair of the State Bar Association’s annual program in Albany on Ethics and Civility, and formerly, as the Chief Judge’s appointment to the New York State Permanent Commission on Sentencing and Chair of the Government Law Center Board of Advisors of the Albany Law School. He was the statewide recipient of the 2021 New York State Bar Association’s Award for Pro Bono Service. He has contributed to and edited numerous publications about state government, including, Making of a Modern Constitution: The Prospects for Constitutional Reform in New York State, “Protections in the New York State Constitution Beyond the Federal Bill of Rights,” “Rural Justice in New York State: Challenges and Recommendations, New York: A Laboratory for Innovative Public Policy, and, Immigration: Key to the Future – The Benefits of Resettlement to Upstate New York. Scott received his law degree from Georgetown Law School and master’s in law degree from New York University Law School. He is a partner at Whiteman Osterman and Hanna.

Jenifer Lee-Gonyea is currently an associate professor of criminology at Mount Saint Mary College, where she was awarded the Mount Saint Mary College Faculty Award for the 2019-2020 academic year. Her research focuses on the teaching and use of restorative justice, with more recent interests centering on the availability of restorative justice to racial and ethnic minorities and women, as well as the applicability of restorative justice in addressing serious harms. Her research has been published in Deviant Behavior, International Journal of Crime, Criminal Justice, and Law, and the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. She co-authored a chapter on the social and family influences on violent crime in Violent Crime: Clinical and Social Implications. Lee-Gonyea earned her doctorate in criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, focusing on hate crimes for her dissertation. She previously worked for the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

As a fellow of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, Jeremy M. Creelan focuses on reform and social justice issues. Creelan is currently a partner at the law firm Jenner & Block, where he focuses on complex commercial litigation and government controversies and public policy litigation practices. In 2014, he was appointed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo as co-chair of the Commission on Youth, Public Safety & Justice to develop recommendations and plans to raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York State and implement additional reforms to the juvenile justice system. Prior to rejoining Jenner & Block, he served as special counsel for public integrity and ethics reform and then as special counsel to Governor Cuomo, as well as deputy director of the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Creelan has authored significant reform legislation for the State of New York, prosecuted numerous voting rights cases and co-authored a landmark, comprehensive study of New York State’s legislative process. In addition, Creelan has served as an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Law from 2005 to 2007, where he taught election law. He is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.

jcreelan@gmail.com

Joe Popcun is a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government. He previously served as executive director of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium and executive director of the New York State Council on Community Re-Entry and Reintegration.

Before his time at the Rockefeller Institute, Popcun served as the deputy commissioner for policy and planning at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. In this role, he oversaw the agency’s strategic and policy initiatives as well as administration and finance areas. Prior to being deputy commissioner, he served as assistant secretary for public safety and policy advisor for public safety in the Office of New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo where he provided policy expertise and operations assistance for the state’s criminal justice, law enforcement, and homeland security agencies. Before state service, Popcun was a research analyst and academic fellow with the federal government as well as a research assistant with a nationally-recognized security research institute.

Joseph.Popcun@rock.suny.edu

Dr. Laura Rabinow is the director of research for the Rockefeller Institute of Government, supporting the broad array of research conducted at the Institute and focusing her own research on environmental policy issues. Her prior work has moved between public policy research and practice.

Between 2023-2024, while working at the Institute, Rabinow served as a senior advisor for chemical safety at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, with a focus on issues related to PFAS.

Previously, Rabinow worked in the New York State Legislature in various roles, including as a chief of staff in the Assembly and as the environmental conservation, agriculture, and cultural affairs policy analyst in the Senate. Prior to her legislative experience, she worked in agricultural microfinance and foreign policy research. Rabinow’s more recent research considers New York State and federal policies with respect to drinking water and chemical contaminants, with a particular focus on the ways that public policy, social movements, and public health cultures co-construct the production of knowledge and ignorance about contaminants.

Laura.Rabinow@rock.suny.edu

Mathilda Scott serves as a policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute focusing on environmental and health policies and supporting the Institute’s broad range of research topics. She holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MS from the University of Utah and continues to pursue a PhD in sociology. Previously, she worked at the USDA Rural Development in affordable housing.

Francis Ofori-Awuku is a PhD student in environmental health sciences at the University at Albany’s School of Integrated Health Sciences and a graduate research assistant at the Rockefeller Institute of Government. His research focuses on environmental and public health issues that inform policy and drive population health solutions for sustainable development. With over a decade of experience in community-based interventions, including his work as a senior technical officer at the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the regulator of Ghana’s cocoa industry, Francis is committed to advancing environmental stewardship and public health awareness globally.

Brian Backstrom is the Director of Education Policy Studies for the Rockefeller Institute. Among his work here, Brian has researched various aspects of the student debt crisis, policies regarding failing public schools, early childhood development issues, college access and affordability, high school graduation testing, and more. He previously served as president of a privately funded Albany-based policy research organization that investigated, crafted, and advocated for bold changes in the education landscape. Brian also serves as an independent consultant on K-12 education reform issues involving innovation, accountability, and choice.

brian.backstrom@rock.suny.edu

Leigh Wedenoja, chief economist at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, specializes in education, labor, and health policy research. Her work focuses on assessing the causal impact of public policy using both quantitative and qualitative methods. She has worked with New York State agencies and nonprofit organizations on topics including the care workforce, employment for people with disabilities, civil service exams, K-12 and postsecondary education policy, and the overdose epidemic. Dr. Wedenoja is also a lecturer at the University at Albany in the graduate Department of Education Policy & Leadership and her work has appeared in academic publications and the popular press. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Institute, Dr. Wedenoja served as a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University and as administrator of the US Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Center at Cornell University. She holds an MA and PhD in economics from Cornell University and a BA from the University of Michigan.

D. Bruce Johnstone is Distinguished Service Professor of Higher and Comparative Education Emeritus at the State University of New York at Buffalo, former director of the International Comparative Higher Education Finance and Accessibility Project, and an associate of the Rockefeller Institute of Government. His principal scholarship is in higher education finance, governance, and policy formation in domestic and international contexts. He has led World Bank studies in Morocco, Romania, Kenya, and the East Caribbean Sates and has conducted conferences on cost-sharing in Tanzania, Kenya, the Czech Republic, Russia, and China. Johnstone has held posts of vice president for administration at the University of Pennsylvania, president of the State University College at Buffalo, and chancellor of the State University of New York system, the latter from 1988 to 1994. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

dbj@buffalo.edu

Darris R. Means is an associate professor of higher education and dean’s faculty scholar in equity, justice, and rural education in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Means researches how economic, educational, and social conditions shape pathways to and through postsecondary education for rural students, Black students, and students from low-income backgrounds. Means’ research and scholarship have been supported with funding from the National Science Foundation, National Academy of Education, Spencer Foundation, and American College Personnel Association (ACPA): College Student Educators International. He currently serves as the American Educational Research Association’s chair of the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee for the Rural Education Special Interest Group. Means earned his PhD in educational research and policy analysis with a concentration in higher education from North Carolina State University, an MEd in counseling education with a concentration in student affairs from Clemson University, and a BA in sociology and political science from Elon University. As part of his fellowship, Means will collaborate with rural college students to investigate how state policy related to postsecondary education retention, graduation, and attainment are inclusive (or not) of rural college students and how these policies promote and/or hinder educational equity for rural college students.

Rebecca Natow is an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy at Hofstra University and a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Natow is an expert on higher education policy and has written extensively about the federal higher education rulemaking process in the US Department of Education. She has also researched and written about performance-based funding policies for higher education, technology use in postsecondary developmental education, and research utilization in the creation of federal higher education regulations. Her most recent book, Reexamining the Federal Role in Higher Education: Politics and Policymaking in the Postsecondary Sector, was published by Teachers College Press earlier this year. Natow received her EdD, EdM, and MA in higher and postsecondary education from Teachers College, Columbia University and her JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

Lisette Nieves is currently the president of the Fund for the City of New York (FCNY), an institution charged with developing and helping to implement innovations in policy, programs, practices, and technology in order to advance the functioning of government and nonprofit organizations in New York City and beyond. Key FCNY programs include the Cash Flow Loan Program, The Partnership Program, and the Sloan Public Service Awards. Prior to the Fund Lisette was the director of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and a full clinical professor at NYU Steinhardt where she co-led the design and implementation of a new doctoral program in educational leadership and innovation as well as taught organizational theory and behavior and educational policy analysis. Lisette remains an instructor with NYU, overseeing doctoral students and supporting research initiatives. Lisette holds a BA from Brooklyn College, a BA/MA from the University of Oxford, an MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, and a doctorate with distinction in higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a Truman scholar, Rhodes scholar, Aspen Pahara fellow, and a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government.

For over 25 years, Lisette has served in a variety of cross sector leadership positions. She is an experienced social entrepreneur, public sector leader and scholar. Lisette founded Lingo Ventures which is focused on growth, talent recruitment/retention, and change management. Lisette served as the Belle Zeller Distinguished Visiting Professor in Public Policy at the City University of New York at Brooklyn College. Lisette has also held senior leadership positions in municipal and federal government. She most recently served as an Obama appointee on the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, where she co-chaired the higher education subcommittee and supported the production of two reports and convenings.

Lisette also served as the founding executive director of Year Up NY, an innovative workforce development program, where in the span of five years she grew the organization from a $250,000 seed grant to a $6 million operation with over 20 corporate partnerships. Her interest in workforce and education led to her dissertation on the relationship between student work and school roles, for which she received the 2016 Dissertation of the Year Award by the (NCSD – AACC). Her areas of interest include community colleges, college pathways, workforce and education partnerships which are all represented her co-authored new book: Working to Learn: Disrupting the Divide between College and Career Pathways for Young People. Her board affiliations include the Edwin Gould Foundation, AVID, The Education Trust, NewSchools Venture Fund, Jobs for the Future (JFF), and the Trustee of the New York Public Library.

As part of her fellowship, Dr. Nieves is exploring new career pathways that better match the needs of the workforce with the incorporation of skills development in secondary and postsecondary education for minority, low-income, first-generation, full-time community college students in New York State.

René S. Parmar is professor of instructional leadership at St. John’s University, New York. Prior to this position, she was an associate professor at the University at Buffalo. Her research interests include curriculum, leadership, and school-parent relationships for students with disabilities. She is an active grant writer, researcher, and mentor to doctoral candidates. She has published and presented at numerous national and international research venues and serves on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Learning Disabilities. Dr. Parmar received her M.Ed. from Vanderbilt University and her Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. As part of her fellowship, Dr. Parmar will focus on expanding her research on diverse families of students with disabilities, including examining national, state, and regional data.

Sarah Rogerson directs The Justice Center at Albany Law School. She is also the faculty director of the Immigration Law Clinic, in which students represent immigrant victims of crime, including child abuse and neglect, persecution, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Under her supervision, her students also represent wrongfully detained immigrants and regularly participate in legislative advocacy and community outreach initiatives. Before joining the faculty, Rogerson worked as a housing and immigrant rights public interest attorney in Newark, New Jersey, and in Dallas, Texas. Her scholarship addresses flaws in the administration of immigration law and policy, including intersections with domestic violence and international law. She has also been published on current issues such as crisis lawyering, education policy and gun safety, having direct lived experience with each of those topics. She is a New York State Municipal Police Instructor and is a regular panelist on WAMC Public Radio’s “The Roundtable.” In 2020, Rogerson was elected to a three-year term on the Niskayuna Central School District Board of Education, on which she serves as Vice President.

Dr. Laura Schultz has an extensive research portfolio studying how innovation creates economic opportunity. While at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, she developed measures used to assess levels of innovation in the US economy and their contribution to gross domestic product. As a faculty member at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, she worked with collegiate entrepreneurs as a commercialization adviser to guide them through the early stages of validation and venture formation. She has studied how university and state policies can foster or hinder an entrepreneurial ecosystem. At the Rockefeller Institute, she explores how state and local governments can support innovation and generate economic growth. As executive director of research, Dr. Schultz evaluates the fiscal and economic impacts of federal, state, and local policies and emerging economic trends. She is working to develop new channels to communicate her team’s research findings to a broader audience through blog posts, interactive data visualization tools, and podcasts.

Laura.Schultz@rock.suny.edu

Patrick Schumacher serves as a senior policy analyst at the Rockefeller Institute, focusing on health, education, and fiscal policies in New York State. He has contributed to projects examining the balance of payments between states and the federal government and several economic impact analyses. Schumacher holds a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in public administration from the University at Albany.

Lynn Holland previously served as chief budget examiner and director for economic studies with the Economic and Revenue Unit of the New York State Division of the Budget, where her primary responsibilities included forecasting national and state economic conditions for use in State Financial Plan development, developing forecasting and simulation models for taxes and other areas of policy analysis, and conducting economic research in support of State economic development and other policy initiatives. Prior to her employment with the Division of the Budget, she worked as principal economist for the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee, where she developed forecasting and policy simulation models in the areas of Medicaid spending, income maintenance, and criminal justice.

Rahul Pathak is an assistant professor of public budgeting and financial management in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at the Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY). He previously worked at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University where he also received a PhD in public policy. His primary research interests lie at the intersection of public finance and social policy, with a particular focus on strengthening the functioning of subnational governments. He examines related issues in the domestic as well as international contexts. His research has appeared in journals such as Public Administration Review, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and State Tax Notes. His recent research on the fiscal impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic has been published in the Journal of Public Budgeting Accounting and Financial Management and the Municipal Finance Journal.

Dr. Patricia Born is Midyette eminent scholar and full professor in the Department of Risk Management/Insurance, Real Estate and Legal Studies at Florida State University. She received her MA and PhD from Duke University and her BA from the University of Michigan. Born teaches courses in risk management, insurance, and data analytics at all academic levels. Her research publications address issues in insurance regulation, medical malpractice liability, health insurance, catastrophe modeling, and insurance market development. She has served as an expert witness and provided consulting services on a wide range of cases relating to insurance and liability issues. Born currently serves on the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection Methodology and has held leadership roles in several academic organizations including the American Risk and Insurance Association and the Risk Theory Society. She is editor of the Risk Management and Insurance Review and currently serves as chair of the Florida Panhandle District Long Term Care Ombudsman Council.

Joel Cantor is a distinguished professor of public policy and the founding director of the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Dr. Cantor is a widely published scholar on effects of health insurance regulatory policy and innovative health service delivery and policy strategies for the Medicaid program. He serves frequently as an advisor on health policy matters to New Jersey State Government and is recipient of the Rutgers University President’s award for Research in Service to New Jersey. In 2019, Dr. Cantor was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance. Prior to joining Rutgers in 1999, Dr. Cantor was director of research at the United Hospital Fund of New York and director of evaluation research at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He earned his doctorate in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health.

Auyon J. Ghosh is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. After graduating from medical school at SUNY Upstate, Ghosh completed internal medicine residency training at Boston University Medical Center and pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He subsequently completed post-doctoral research training with Craig Hersh and Ed Silverman at the Channing Division of Network Medicine and completed a master’s in public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Ghosh is an active clinician, taking care of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and patients living with lung disease. He is also an active researcher, having co-authored several papers in the last year. His research interests include understanding subtypes of lung disease using large genetic and genomic datasets as well as the heterogeneous impact of the environment and climate change on lung health. As part of his fellowship, Ghosh will examine the lung health-related effects of highway placements within and between demographic groups.

Michael K. Gusmano is a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government and an associate professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Dr. Gusmano is also a research scholar at the Hastings Center. His research examines the politics of health and social policy in the U.S. In addition, he co-directs the World Cities Project, which compares large city health systems across the world. He is the author of “Health Care in World Cities: New York, London and Paris” (With Victor G. Rodwin and Daniel Weisz; Johns Hopkins University Press 2010), “Healthy Voices/Unhealthy Silence” (with Colleen Grogan; Georgetown University Press 2007), and “Growing Older in World Cities” (with Victor G. Rodwin; Vanderbilt University Press, 2006). In 1995-1997 he was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at Yale University. Gusmano received his doctorate in political science from the University of Maryland College Park in 1995.

mkg93@sph.rutgers.edu

Troy Oechsner is a veteran of public service. He served as deputy superintendent of health insurance at the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). As lead regulator for commercial health insurance, he was part of a team that implemented the Affordable Care Act, restored regulatory oversight of health insurance rates, and passed ground-breaking legislation protecting consumer from surprise bills from out of network physicians and other providers, among other initiatives. Prior to his role at DFS, Troy served as deputy bureau chief for the New York State Attorney General’s Health Care Bureau, where he directed litigation to stop illegal and deceptive practices by health plans, drug manufacturers and others in the health care industry.

After over 30 years of State service, Troy was a partner with the law firm Manatt Phelps, working with clients ranging from hospitals to non-profit health care advocates. He also served as the executive director of the Medical Society of the State of NY, the state affiliate of the American Medical Association, where he fought for physicians and their patients, including state legislation to protect New York physicians providing reproductive health services to patients both in-state and out-of-state.

A practicing attorney, Troy is a graduate of SUNY Buffalo Law School and SUNY Plattsburgh. He is a proud husband and father, and has been known to play washboard in a Zydeco band.

John J. Kaelin has diverse executive-level experience in the health care industry spanning government, academia, U.S.-based health insurers, and health systems in the Middle East. He has held senior executive positions in three major health insurers (UnitedHealthcare, CareFirst, and currently Centene Corporation) and has worked closely with states and the federal government on the implementation of risk adjusted payments in publicly financed insurance programs, Medicaid financing, and state health reform initiatives. In addition, John has been focused on the intersection of health financing and public policy including extensive work with states on Medicaid and the coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In 2014, he spent the year living in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where he served as a special adviser to the government on the implementation of a mandatory health insurance system.

From 1998 to 2003, Kaelin served as the executive director of a health policy and research institute at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where he supported the state of Maryland’s policy development for health finance and public health, as well as research for the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Kaelin has held senior positions in New York State government in both the Budget Division and Health Department, where as director of Managed Care Financing, he led the team that developed the financing models for the state’s first Medicaid managed care waiver in 1997.

john.kaelin@rock.suny.edu

Kaitlin Stack Whitney is an assistant professor of science, technology and society at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Part of her research portfolio focuses on how science informs state and local environmental policy, in topics such as pollinator protection and food waste. She previously worked for the US Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Pesticide Programs and Office of International and Tribal Affairs.

Dina Refki is the director of the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society (CWGCS) at the University at Albany. Refki studies and researches the interplay of gender with institutional structures in the US and international context. She applies gender mainstreaming and budgeting analysis from transnational perspectives. Prior to assuming leadership at CWGCS in 2009, she held different positions at the Center, including as director of the Immigrant Women & State Policy Program, which facilitated interagency collaboration, promoted dialogues with civil society and immigrant women at the state level, and worked to identify and address barriers to the integration of immigrant women in the social, economic, and political fabric of local communities. Refki studies the challenges of migration, the barriers facing immigrant women and their families, and the structural changes needed to better respond to the needs of immigrant women.

Guillermo Martinez is the deputy director and intergovernmental liaison for the Institute on Immigrant Integration Research and Policy. He brings over 20 years of significant leadership, management, and communications experience in both the nonprofit and government sectors. During his time in the New York State Legislature, he served as the director of policy development for the New York State Assembly Task Force on New Americans and legislative and communications director for the New York State Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, having served in that role as the longest tenured staffer in the organizations 35-year history. In those capacities, he helped research, draft, and negotiate over 200 pieces of legislation that are now state law, including programs such as the SUNY Hispanic Leadership Institute, the SUNY Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, the codifying of the Office of New Americans, the Immigration Services Fraud Prevention Act, the Idle-Free School Zone Act, Geriatric Mental Health Act, the Undocumented Immigrant In-State-Tuition Act, the School Energy Efficiency Collaborative Act, the establishing of the New York Latino Research and Resources Network (NYLARNet), and dozens of other laws, including consumer protection measures addressing online privacy, disaster preparedness, protecting children with disabilities, and the elderly. Prior to his time in the legislature, Martinez served as director of communications and legislative affairs for the Council of Community Services of New York State and worked at SUNY Oneonta’s migrant education program (ESCORT) assisting migrant farmworkers with the educational needs of their children in a region covering 23 states.

Matthew Adams is an associate professor and co-director of the materials and structures (MatSLab) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey. His research focuses on the sustainability, resiliency, and long-term durability of innovative cement-based materials. He also studies how governmental policy both supports and hinders the adoption of sustainable practices in construction. He is a fellow of the American Concrete Institute, where he is currently chairman of the Committee on Recycled Materials in Concrete; and he is also a member of ASTM, International where he chairs the Subcommittee on Testing for Strength of Concrete. He was named a Richard P. Nathan Policy fellow at the Rockefeller Institute for Government in 2020. Adams has received research funding from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Transportation, the American Concrete Institute Foundation, and the US Department of Transportation.

Gerald Benjamin is the associate vice president for regional engagement and director of The Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz. Dr. Benjamin also served as chair of the Department of Political Science and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He has written and commented extensively on state and local government and regional governance with a special emphasis on New York. He is also former director of NY State and Local Studies at the Rockefeller Institute.

Dr. Parshall is a distinguished professor of political science at Daemen University in Amherst, New York, specializing in American politics, public law, and public policy. She currently serves as the chair of the State and Local Politics Section of the New York State Political Science Association and is a past president of the Northeastern Political Science Association. Dr. Parshall’s research interest is in municipal development and reorganization in New York State. Her work with the Rockefeller Institute focuses on municipal reorganization and local government reform.

lisa.parshall@rock.suny.edu

Dr. Lemir Teron is a faculty member at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). His research focuses on urban sustainability, energy policy, and environmental justice.  He received his PhD from the University of Delaware and completed a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) supported postdoc at the Environmental Cooperative Science Center at Florida A&M University. He currently serves on the energy working group of the forthcoming New York State Climate Impacts Assessment. Teron was awarded the 2019 Distinguished Faculty Member for Teaching Excellence Award by the SUNY ESF Undergraduate Student Association and he received a 2020 Unsung Hero Award at the 35th Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Syracuse, New York, for his commitment to racial and environmental justice.

Dr. Staci M. Zavattaro is a professor of public administration at the University of Central Florida (UCF). Her latest research focuses on understanding the public service aspect of death management. Her book City Sextons: Tales from Municipal Leaders focuses on public sector cemetery management. Her work has been featured in The Conversation, Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL), and The Orlando Sentinel. She was recently named a UCF Luminary in recognition of her outstanding research contributions.