Staff Directory
The Center's interdisciplinary focus is reflected in the backgrounds of its professional staff - public and education policy, urban affairs, education administration, economics, finance, political science, sociology, psychology, child development, education, public health, and journalism. Graduate students bring expertise in the fields of public policy, urban affairs, education policy, justice policy, economics, education administration, educational psychology, sociology, social work, and public health.
- Richard N. Brandon - Director
Richard (Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Pennsylvania) is the Director of HSPC and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs. Brandon directs HSPC's four project lines: educating and caring for children, building public understanding and support for better policies, analyzing family support systems, and profiling child and family well-being. As part of the latter, Brandon directs the Washington Kids Count project, which since the early 1990s, has tracked, analyzed, and communicated comprehensive information about the well-being of children and families in Washington. Brandon has conducted studies of financing a wide range of education and social services for state agencies and legislatures. Before joining the University of Washington in 1989, Brandon served as professional staff member and staff director of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. Before that, he directed systems analysis and budgeting for the New York City Department of Mental Health and has been a consultant to state and local governments; the American Association of Retired Persons; the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government; and Fannie Mae on a variety of human service and financing issues. Brandon has consulted on policy communications to the National Governors' Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Contact: , phone: (206) 543-8483- Lori Pfingst - Assistant Director KidsCount
Lori (Ph.D. candidate 2006 in Sociology, University of Washington) is the Assistant Director of Washington KidsCount (WKC). Lori has been with WKC since August 2003, and has conducted analyses for three WKC reports on the social and economic well-being of Washington's families: The State of Washington's Children 2003 and 2004-2005; and the Northwest Rural Communities Project. Her major areas of study at UW's sociology department are: (1) the sociology of health and illness, with emphasis on gendered health outcomes and inequality, and (2) deviance and social control. She has a minor in research methodology and is experienced in both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Contact: , phone (206) 616-1506- T.J. Stutman - Policy Analyst
T.J. (M.P.A., University of Washington ) is a Policy Analyst for the Human Services Policy Center. He works on HSPC's financial simulations for Early Learning and K-12 education, where he collaborates with state and district teams to clarify policy specifications, develops and refines HSPC's cost-simulation tools, and analyzes data on public-sector finance and school performance. T.J. earned his MPA from the Evans School of Public Affairs, and consulted for state and non-profit agencies on workforce and healthcare initiatives before joining HSPC in 2006. His primary research interests are in intersections between education and economic development.
Contact: , phone (206) 616-0958- Hilary Loeb -- Research Analyst
Hilary Loeb (Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Washington)
serves as a Research Analyst for Washington Kids Count. Hilary joined WKC in October 2007
after completing projects for UW's Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy. Her work
at HSPC focuses on a range of public education issues. Hilary's research interests include
teacher workforce development, multicultural education, and the impact of educational
policies on students of color and students living in poverty. Beginning her career as a
teacher, Hilary worked and volunteered for a number of educational and nonprofit
organizations in California and Washington state. These roles include service as a
philanthropic program officer, grant writer, program evaluator, and trainer.
Contact: , Phone (206) 685-7610- Jennifer Lehman -- Research Assistant
Jennifer (M.A. student in Economics, University of Washington) is a Research
Assistant for the Early Care & Education (ECE) financial modeling project. Her areas
of specialization in the UW Economics department are econometrics and public finance.
She is interested in studying the causes for failure in the labor market as well as
addressing these issues through educational reform.
Contact: , Phone (206) 221-2975- Sherira Fernandes -- Research Assistant
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Sherira (Ph. D. student in School Psychology, University of Washington) is a research assistant
for the Quality Rating and Improvement System project. Her research interests include positive
factors associated with resiliency in urban youth, and improving educational and socio-emotional
outcomes for at risk children.
Contact: , Phone (206) 221-2975 - Xiang Gao -- Research Assistant
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Xiang Gao (PhD candidate in School of Social Work) is a research assistant for the Washington Kids Count project. Her research interests focus on how afterschool child care subsidy policies influence maternal employment stability and child development.
Contact: , Phone (206) 221-2975 - Lee O'Keefe -- Office Assistant
- Lee, an undergraduate student in the Informatics program at the University of Washington, is an Office Assistant at HSPC. Being new to HSPC he looks forward to gaining front desk experience.
Contact: , Phone (206) 685-3135
