Staff Bios
Susan K. Urahn, Managing Director, Pew Center on the States
215.575.4755
Sue Urahn is managing director of the Pew Center on the States at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Sue oversees Pew's work in early education and other state-based initiatives, such as government performance, corrections and election reform.
Sue began her tenure at The Pew Charitable Trusts in 1994 as a program officer in the Planning and Evaluation department. She became director in April 1997. During her tenure, Sue and her staff developed and introduced new methodologies to measure and strengthen the effectiveness of Pew's approach to results-focused strategic philanthropy. She became director of the Education program in 2000. Over the next five years the program evolved to include other state policy work, and in 2005, it was renamed State Policy Initiatives to reflect its broadened focus. Currently, Sue manages a portfolio that advances policy solutions at the state level and has an annual budget of $32 million.
Sue joined Pew with more than a decade of experience in educational evaluation and policy research. She arrived from the Research Department of the Minnesota House of Representatives, where she staffed the House Education Committee and Education Finance Division and conducted policy analyses of many education programs, including open enrollment, postsecondary enrollment options, and charter schools. In addition to her legislative experience, Sue conducted higher education policy research at the University of Minnesota. She has authored several technical reports on educational programs and issues. Sue holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a doctorate in education policy and administration from the University of Minnesota.
Mary Jo Waits, Project Director
202.552.2169
Mary Jo Waits is an expert on state economic policy, urban growth and environmental policy, education and health policy. She was most recently a senior fellow at the Center for the Future of Arizona; before that she was the associate director of the Arizona State University-based think tank the Morrison Institute for Public Policy for a decade. Mary Jo's long track record in public service at the state level includes serving as the assistant director of former Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt’s Office of Policy Development and Planning and as a senior economic policy advisor to a former governor and lieutenant governor of Alaska. She holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.
Michael G. Caudell-Feagan, Director, Make Voting Work and Senior Officer, Pew Center on the States
202.552.2142
Michael oversees the Pew Center on the State’s improving elections portfolio, serving as the Director of Make Voting Work and as the senior program officer overseeing Pew’s campaign finance reform portfolio and the development of new election initiatives. Prior to joining Pew, he provided management and consulting services to private and family foundations such as the Ford Foundation, Frances Fund, JEHT Foundation, Knight Foundation, Open Society Institute, Proteus Fund and Stern Family Fund. He was the founder and executive director of Equal Justice Works (EJW) and holds a law degree from George Washington University’s National Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hamilton College.
Lori Grange, Senior Officer
215.575.4801
Lori Grange designs and oversees strategic initiatives to advance effective policy solutions at the state level. She conceptualized and oversees the Public Safety Performance Project and Pew’s death penalty reform initiative. Before joining Pew in 2000, she was a senior program director at Equal Justice Works, a national nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and philosophy from the University of Southern California and a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.
Sara D. Watson, Senior Officer
202.552.2134
Sara Watson directs the Pew Center on the States’ national initiative to advance high-quality early education for all three- and four-year olds. She also directs the Partnership for America’s Economic Success: Investing in Children, a project designed to make investments in young children the nation’s top economic priority. She most recently director of the Better Results Group for The Finance Project and the manager of the Improved Outcomes Project for the Center for the Study of Social Policy. She holds a doctorate degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
David Becker, Project Director, Make Voting Work
202.552.2136
David has joined the MVW team to develop and execute strategic and operational plans for the project. He served for seven years as a senior trial attorney with the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, enforcing federal voting laws and working closely with county and state election officials. For the past two years, he worked at People For the American Way, where he served as Director of the Democracy Campaign. He holds a law degree and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Doug Chapin, Director, electionline.org
202.552.2027
Doug Chapin is the founding director of electionline.org, which has been a nationally-recognized voice in election administration policy since 2001. He was most recently in private legal practice in Washington, D.C., after three years as elections counsel to the minority of the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. He holds a law degree from Georgetown University and a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Adam Gelb, Director, Public Safety Performance Project
404.848.0186
Adam Gelb directs the Public Safety Performance Project, which helps states advance fiscally sound, data-driven sentencing and corrections policies that protect public safety, hold offenders accountable and control corrections costs. A former reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was recently executive director of the Georgia Sentencing Commission and vice president of the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse. He holds a master's in public policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Neal Johnson, Director, Government Performance Project
202.552.2024
Neal Johnson directs the Government Performance Project, a Pew Center on the States project that ranks government performance in the states. He was most recently a deputy executive director at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges Center for Public Trusteeship and Governance. He holds a masters of public administration from the University of Washington.
Janet Lane, Project Director, Communications
202.552.2037
Janet C. Lane oversees integrated communications of PCS’ portfolio of initiatives that identify and advance policy approaches to critical issues in the states. For over six years, she was senior advisor and media relations director at AARP. As senior vice president at Widmeyer Communications, Janet led communications and technical assistance projects for government, corporate and non-profit clients. From 1988-1993, she managed corporate communications and public policy activities for corporate clients of the firm of Robinson, Lake, Lerer and Montgomery. As director of corporate communications at American Express Company, she handled media relations, internal communications as well as writing, production and distribution of quarterly and annual reports. From 1982-1986, she oversaw the News Bureau and communications activities at Georgetown University’s three campuses. Earlier, Janet was a reporter/editor at the Voice of America. She was also child talent coordinator for the Children’s Television Workshop’s “Sesame Street.” She has a B.S. degree in communications from Syracuse University and an Ed. M. from Rutgers University.
Timothy Lynch, Officer
215.575.4834
Tim Lynch analyzes policy areas of interest to the Center and develops strategies to advance the Center's work. He also works with Pew’s Public Safety Performance Project. Most recently, he practiced law in the Philadelphia office of Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP and served for six years as a counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He has a law degree from the University of Chicago.
Sean Greene, Manager, Research, electionline.org
202.552.2041
Sean Greene manages research projects for electionline.org. Most recently he examined voter turnout issues as the research associate for American University’s Committee for the Study of the American Electorate. He holds a master's degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a bachelor's degree in political science from Colby College.
Kil Huh, Manager
202.552.2067
Kil Huh assists the Center's managing director and other staff with project management, research design and implementation efforts. He was most recently the director of practice development at the Fannie Mae Foundation and previously director of the Foundation’s state and local initiatives. He holds a doctorate of philosophy in urban planning from Columbia University.
Richard Jerome, Project Manager, Public Safety Performance Project
202.552.2063
Prior to joining Pew, Richard was a civil rights lawyer and expert in police accountability. He served for six years as Deputy Monitor and court appointed Special Master for two police reform settlements in Cincinnati, Ohio. From 1997 to 2001, he was Deputy Associate Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, overseeing the work of the Civil Rights Division and the Community Relations Service, as well as coordinating the Justice Department’s efforts to promote police integrity. He was a senior trial lawyer in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division and also worked on Capitol Hill and in private practice. He graduated from Brown University and Harvard Law School.
Alysoun McLaughlin, Manager, Make Voting Work
202.552.2048
Alysoun will manage a wide array of MVW initiatives ensuring that all of the major project components—whether developed internally or by the initiative’s grantee partners or contractors—are well-coordinated and strategically focused. Prior to joining MVW, she served as a lobbyist for county and state officials on Capitol Hill, including five years with the National Association of Counties and five with the National Conference of State Legislatures, where she played a key role in negotiating provisions of the Help America Vote Act. She has a master’s degree in political management from the George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Johns Hopkins University.
Sharon Nuskey, Project Manager, Research
202.552.2004
Sharon develops policy analyses, research projects and strategic public opinion assessments across the continuum of Pew’s state policy work. Prior to joining the Center, she was the author of a quarterly publication on economics and world affairs at The Conference Board, and an assistant professor at the University of Paris. She holds graduate degrees from Columbia University and the Sorbonne.
Dan Seligson, Manager, Publications, electionline.org
202.552.2039
Dan Seligson serves as the project manager for publications for electionline.org. He writes and edits content for the project’s Web site and publications and also serves as a media spokesman and expert on a variety of election administration issues. Most recently, he worked as a Capitol Hill reporter for PlanetGov.com after covering Virginia politics for the Journal and Connection newspapers. He has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in government from Connecticut College.
Jill Antonishak, Senior Associate
202.552.2146
Jill Antonishak supports research and development initiatives that inform the Center’s state policy focused efforts. She most recently worked on policy issues related to health, children and families for a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. She received her Ph.D. in community and developmental psychology from the University of Virginia.
Amy Edwards, Senior Associate
202.552.2073
Amy Edwards supports the Government Performance Project, a Pew Center on the States project that ranks government performance in the states. She was most recently the senior director for leadership and performance at the Council for Excellence in Government. She holds a master's in public administration from Troy State University.
Beth Gross, Senior Associate
202.552.2161
Beth Gross provides support to a variety of initiatives in Pew’s work on early childhood, where she recently served as coordinator for the Partnership for America’s Economic Success project. She most recently worked for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards and held elected office as a county board supervisor in Madison, Wisconsin, where she chaired the county’s Health and Human Needs committee. She holds a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a master's in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Jake Horowitz, Senior Associate
202.552.2044
Jake Horowitz works on the Center’s sentencing and corrections initiative, the Public Safety Performance Project. He was most recently a social science analyst at the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. He holds a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Michele Mariani Vaughn, Senior Associate
202.552.2173
Michele Mariani Vaughn provides strategic support across the Center’s activities and is a senior member of the Government Performance Project. She was most recently a senior editor at Builder magazine and previously covered state and local government issues for Governing magazine. She holds a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University and is a master's in public policy candidate at George Mason University.
Mindy Moretti, Senior Associate, electionline.org
202.552.2038
Mindy Moretti writes for and produces ElectionlineWeekly, an online publication of electionline.org. She also writes for and edits other publications, including case studies, briefings and electionline.org's annual report. Mindy was most recently a senior writer for the National Association of Counties. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from West Virginia University.
Carolynn Race, Senior Associate
202.552.2058
Carolynn Race helps to manage the Center’s Improving Elections portfolio, including campaign finance reform work and Pew’s Make Voting Work initiative. She most recently served as Associate for Domestic Poverty and Environmental Issues for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington office. She holds a bachelor's degree in government from Smith College and master's degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Jessica Riordan, Senior Associate
215.575.4886
Jessica Riordan helps to manage the Pew Center on the States’ communications efforts. She played a leading role in the planning and development of Web sites for the Pew Center on the States and the Public Safety and Performance Project. Before joining Pew she was a special assistant at the Pew Oceans Commission. She holds a bachelor's degree in archaeology and history from George Washington University and a master's degree from the University of York, England.
Elaine Weiss, Senior Associate
202.552.2052
Elaine Weiss coordinates research for the Partnership for America’s Economic Success project. She came to Pew as a doctoral candidate in urban public policy at George Washington University, where she is working on a dissertation on state motivation for pre-k investment. Before beginning her graduate studies, Elaine worked as an attorney vetting the records of nominees to the federal appellate courts at the Alliance for Justice, and briefly as an attorney in international trade law at Steptoe & Johnson, LLP. She has a bachelor's degree in political science and biology from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Nancy S. Clark, Associate
215.575.4804
Nancy Clark helps Center program staff develop and implement Pew-operated projects. She was most recently an attorney recruitment coordinator at Shea & Gardner, a Washington, D.C., law firm.
Megan Cotten
202.552.2032
Megan Cotten is a research Associate supporting the Government Performance Project. In her most recent position, Megan served as a researcher for the Voinovich Center in Athens, Ohio, where she was responsible for the coordination of Appalachian economic development projects. Prior to that, Megan was a reporter for the Cincinnati Post, the political editor at The Post in Athens, Ohio, and a reporter for United Press International in Washington, D.C. Megan began her career in Huntsville, Alabama, as a project coordinator at the AIDS Action Coalition. Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and a Master of Arts degree in public administration from Ohio University.
Brendan Hill
202.552.2021
Brendan Hill conducts both background and primary state-level research on a number of policy issues including economic and workforce development, debt, and environmental issues. He also works on data issues by analyzing emerging trends and helping maintain a large internal database. He was recently employed at the Urban Institute and the Center for the Study of Services where he researched workforce, health, and social policy. He holds a masters degree in Public Policy from the University of Texas, and B.A.s in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Jeannette Lam, Associate
202.552.2046
Jeannette Lam helps design and implement research and analysis that informs the Center’s state policy-focused efforts by conducting background and primary research. She was most recently a legal assistant at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. She holds a bachelor's degree in international politics, economics and Spanish from Middlebury College.
Katharine Zambon, Associate, electionline.org
202.552.2040
Kat Zambon is a researcher and writer for electionline.org’s publications, including ElectionlineWeekly, issue briefings and reports. She was most recently a staff assistant for FieldWorks, a grassroots consulting firm. She holds a bachelor's degree in communication from the University of Buffalo.
Kathleen McMullen, Administrative Associate
202.552.2034
Kathleen McMullen provides administrative support to the Center's managing director and other staff. She was most recently an administrative assistant at Dickinson College. She holds a bachelor's degree in international studies and French from Dickinson.
Jane Breakell, Administrative Assistant
202.552.2061
Jane Breakell provides administrative support to Project Director Mary Jo Waits and to the Public Safety Performance Project staff. She was most recently a research assistant for Political Risk Services and a teacher of English as a foreign language for Berlitz Language Center. Jane has a bachelor’s degree in international relations and policy studies from Syracuse University.
Joanna Breslow, Administrative Assistant, Make Voting Work
202.552.2019
Joanna provides administrative and project support for Make Voting Work. She previously worked as an Account Coordinator for FD Dittus Communications. Joanna has a bachelor’s degree in political science/international relations and history from Williams College.
Ann Cloke, Administrative Assistant
202.552.2166
Ann Cloke provides administrative support to Project Manager Kil Huh and other Pew Center on the States staff. Ann most recently served as an emergency assistance program case manager at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, working with evacuees of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She holds a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University.
Alyson Freedman, Administrative Assistant
202.552.2022
Alyson Freedman provides administrative support to the Pew Center on the States program staff, and she is the web content manager for the Center Web site and other project Web sites. She was most recently a researcher and webmaster for electionline.org. Alyson holds a bachelor's degree in political science and international affairs from George Washington University.
Tanner Horton-Jones, Administrative Assistant, electionline.org
202.552.2020
Tanner Horton-Jones provides administrative and project support for Doug Chapin and the electionline.org team. He most recently worked as an election data analyst at the Republican National Committee. Tanner holds a bachelor’s degree in French and political science from the University of the South.
Grace Oh, Administrative Assistant
215.575.4833
Grace Oh provides administrative and research support to Lori Grange and Tim Lynch. Grace most recently co-founded and worked with a start-up business, and she holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Brown University.
Katherine Reilly, Administrative Assistant
202.552.2009
Katherine Reilly provides administrative support to Project Manager Sara Watson and other members of the early childhood team. Katherine most recently served as the Youth Services Coordinator at a local transitional housing shelter. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and sociology from Georgetown University.
Richard Silver, Administrative Assistant, Government Performance Project
202.552.2175
Richard Silver provides administrative support to the Government Performance Project. He was most recently an office manager/membership coordinator at The Bretton Woods Committee, an international development non-profit. Richard received his bachelor of arts in political science from The George Washington University.
James Stewart, Assistant to the Managing Director
215.575.4744
James Stewart is the point person for general content questions for the Pew Public Safety Performance Project Web site, as well as the agenda liaison for quarterly Pew Board meetings. Most recently, James worked at Wilmington Finance, where he was an appraisal coordinator and an executive assistant in the marketing division. James attended Penn State University studying both Journalism and American History and was a sports reporter on the student-run newspaper, The Daily Collegian.
Consultants
Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene
212-684-5687
Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene are a writing team known nationally for their work on state and local government. They work with the Pew Center on the States on a variety of projects focusing on tax policy, pensions, post-employment health benefits, outsourcing and research and development funds. They are also involved with the Government Performance Project, which they helped to develop nearly 10 years ago.
In addition to their work at Pew, Katherine and Richard are correspondents and management columnists for Governing magazine, and founding editors of the B&G Report, a monthly e-newsletter. They have advised the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the Urban Institute, the National League of Cities, and a number of other organizations and governments.
Robert Carey, consultant, Make Voting Work
Bob Carey, who leads Empire-Capitol Strategies, is conducting an assessment of military voting problems and potential solutions for Make Voting Work. He has served as a senior policy development and strategic communications advisor to Senators George Allen (R-VA) and Spencer Abraham (R-MI), the secretaries of energy and interior, the admiral commanding the U.S. Navy’s Middle East fleet, and the deputy chief of naval operations for the navy’s entire budget. With 23 years of active and reserve naval service, Bob has returned to active duty four times since the 9/11 attacks, commanded six different units, completed two combat tours and been awarded four medals for personal valor. As a senior fellow for the National Defense Committee, a grass-roots military advocacy organization, Bob has also developed extensive relationships throughout the military advocacy community, and has testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Election Assistance Commission regarding military voter disenfranchisement.
Paul Gronke, consultant, Make Voting Work
Paul Gronke is serving as a consultant for Make Voting Work and electionline.org. Paul is a professor of political science at Reed College and has nearly three decades of experience in social and political research, including work at the National Opinion Research Center, the Center for Political Studies and Duke University. He directs the Early Voting Information Center, which, over the past two years has become the preeminent resource for non-precinct voting information and has been relied upon by the New York Times and other leading newspapers. Dr. Gronke’s research specialties include election reform (particularly early voting), campaigns and elections, social science methodology and legislative politics. Gronke holds a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago.
Conny McCormack, consultant, Make Voting Work
Conny McCormack is serving as a consultant for Make Voting Work and serves as the convener of MVW’s online pollworker training working group, which is supported in partnership with the JEHT Foundation. Conny has 26 years of experience as a local election official beginning with Dallas County, Texas, followed by San Diego County, California, and for the past 12 years, headed the largest election jurisdiction in the U.S., Los Angeles County. She retired from her Los Angeles post in December 2007. In Los Angeles, her position involved recruiting, training and evaluating more than 25,000 pollworkers to serve four million registered voters at 5,000 voting precincts. She serves on the board of directors for the Pollworker Institute, was a member of the Election Center’s National Task Force on Election Reform in 2001 and 2005, and has consulted on international election reform issues with IFES in Russia, Indonesia and Nigeria.
Policy Advisors
Douglas Foy
Douglas Foy, a renowned environmental leader based in Massachusetts, assists the Pew Center on the States in its work on climate change and explorations of innovative transportation and housing policies. His work has resulted in the production of a series of climate change “101” issue briefs for state policy makers working with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and he delivered a keynote speech in late 2006 at a gathering of state policy makers hosted by the Center.
Before joining the Center, Douglas was the secretary of Commonwealth Development in Massachusetts under Governor Mitt Romney, a position which the governor specifically created for Foy. The position tasked Douglas with uniting the Massachusetts agencies responsible for environmental affairs, transportation and construction, housing and community development, and energy, in order to promote “sustainable development.” Given sweeping authority, Douglas hand-picked the heads of four key agencies and won adoption of sustainable development principles, including the implementation of a “fix-it-first” statewide road and bridge policy and adoption of a 20-year transportation plan, creation of a statewide climate action plan, adoption of limits on pollution from power plants, adoption of incentives for communities to build “smart” including near public transit, support for expanded public transit within urban Boston and further into surrounding suburbs, and $517 million for a statewide “smart growth” housing initiative.
Before serving in the Romney administration, Douglas was president of the prestigious Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). During his tenure at CLF, he spearheaded the lawsuit that forced the clean-up of the Boston Harbor, protected Georges Bank from oil and gas drilling, helped ban off-road vehicles from the Cape Cod National Seashore, and made strides in protecting fisheries, reducing power plant emissions, and cleaning up contaminated sites in the Commonwealth. His work and that of CLF was recognized by President George H.W. Bush in 1992 when CLF was awarded the nation’s highest conservation award, the President’s Environmental and Conservation Challenge Award. In 2005, Douglas was named the recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. He studied engineering and physics at Princeton and geophysics at Cambridge University before graduating from Harvard Law School.
