Education Staff List
DENVER OFFICE
Julie Davis Bell
Program Director
Julie is the Education Program Director for the National Conference of State Legislatures. She has been with NCSL for 17 years and has directed the Education Program for 15 years. In that capacity she oversees the 12 person Education Program staff and is responsible for setting Program priorities, responding to constituent needs and requests, developing new education projects, and interfacing with other national education policy organizations. She also serves as the program policy specialist for higher education issues.
Julie received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1986. Prior to joining NCSL she was a policy associate with the Center for Policy Research in Denver and taught political science courses at the University of Colorado.
Issue Areas: Higher Education
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1351
Email: julie.bell@ncsl.org
Vincent Badolato
Policy Associate
Vincent is an Education Policy Associate at the National Conference of State Legislatures with a focus on policy issues related to post-secondary and adult education. Prior to NCSL, Vincent served as the Program Associate at the Alliance for Quality Teaching, a non-profit organization with the mission to ensure teacher quality in all Colorado classrooms. Before moving to Colorado in 2003, Vincent was the Research Director at The Performance Institute, a private, nonpartisan organization in Arlington, VA, focused on improving government results through the principles of performance, competition, transparency and accountability. Vincent has published numerous articles, book chapters, and research reports on topics ranging from federal competitive sourcing and strategic planning to education law and data-driven teacher quality decision making.
Vincent earned a B.A. in History from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and a M.A. in Education Foundations, Policy and Practice from the University of Colorado - Boulder.
Issue areas: Higher education, adult learning.
Phone Number: 303-364-7700 x 1415
Email: vincent.badolato@ncsl.org
Lamar Bailey
Research Analyst II
Lamar Bailey is a Research Analyst II in the Education Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). At NCSL Lamar oversees several education issues. Prior to working at NCSL Lamar worked with homeless families at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. His duties included coordinating Section 8 and Shelter Plus Care subsidized housing programs. Lamar received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Philosophy from Millersville University in Pennsylvania. Currently, he is pursuing a M.A. degree at the Center for New Directions in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Colorado at Denver.
Issue Areas: alternative education, class size, charter schools, school choice, vouchers, school safety, character education, civics education and patriotism, community service, compulsory education, discipline, expulsion, parental involvement, reading, religion in schools, school calendar, suspension, social promotion, school safety, testing, truancy, general legislative tracking
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1646
Email: lamar.bailey@ncsl.org
Sunny Deye
Senior Policy Specialist
Sunny Deye is a Senior Policy Specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures. She manages NCSL's High School Redesign Project, supplying the information and support that state legislators need to build effective state policy for high school redesign. Sunny's recent publications include Effective High School Reform: Research and Policy that Works; A Picture of High School Redesign: Eight Great Schools; The No Child Left Behind Act and High School Reform; Costs of New High School Designs; and Innovative State Strategies for High School Redesign. Prior to joining NCSL, Sunny worked for five years as legislative staff in the bill drafting office of the Colorado General Assembly, working with legislative attorneys on K-12 and higher education legislation. Sunny is a graduate of the University of Oregon and is working towards a Master’s degree from the Center for New Directions in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Colorado.
Issue Areas: dropouts, K-16 issues, middle schools, high school reform, remedial education
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1469
Email: sunny.deye@ncsl.org
Michelle Exstrom
Senior Policy Specialist
Michelle Exstrom is a Senior Policy Specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures where she directs the Education Program’s Teaching Quality projects and staffs the Education Standing Committee. Michelle has been serving state legislators for over 10 years. During the past eight years at NCSL, she has tracked and published annual reports on education legislation in all 50 states and numerous reports, books and magazine articles on education policy. Prior to NCSL, Michelle served as a Senior Legislative Assistant in the Colorado General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Legal Services. In this capacity, she assisted in drafting finance, taxation, and state and local government legislation and with legal research for the General Assembly. Michelle is a graduate of Colorado State University, Denver Paralegal Institute, and is completing her Master’s Thesis at the Center for New Directions in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Colorado at Denver.
Issue areas: teaching quality, NCSL Education Committee
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1564
Email: michelle.exstrom@ncsl.org
Heather Chikoore
Policy Specialist
Heather Grinager is an Education Policy Specialist at NCSL where she covers issues related to science, technology, engineering & math as well as expanded learning opportunities through before and afterschool programs, extended day and extended year options. She staffs the Education Technology Partnership, a group of legislators, legislative staff, and businesses and associations dedicated to helping legislators analyze the issues around education technology. She also serves as a member of the Afterschool Technical Assistance Collaborative (ATAC), a national team dedicated to the success of statewide afterschool networks.
Heather has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Denver and a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Denver. Prior to coming to NCSL, she worked for the Denver-based Public Education and Business Coalition and has worked with the Colorado General Assembly.
Issue areas: science, math and technology, afterschool programs, time & learning
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1392
Email: heather.chikoore@ncsl.org
Barbara Houlik
Staff Coordinator
Barbara Houlik has been associated with the National Conference of State Legislatures since 1984 and for the past five years, a staff coordinator with the Education program. She previously worked with the Foundation of State Legislatures before joining the Children and Families program and working on the Child Care Project. Barbara has extensive experience in meeting planning, creating new web documents and updating existing ones, all manner of correspondence and is support staff for the Standing Committee on Education. Within the Education program, she works on a variety of grant projects as well as with the Legislative Education Staff Network (LESN). She writes the program's monthly report, assists with technical assistance to states, maintains a variety of files and is a contact to advocates and legislative staff. Barbara is experienced in handling logistical situations, bulk mailings, editing reports and budgets.
Issue areas: general education program support
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1429
Email: barbara.houlik@ncsl.org
Erica Mancha Cordova
Senior Staff Assistant
Erica is the Senior Staff Assistant for the Education Program at NCSL. She has been with NCSL for 12 years and has worked with the Education Program for 8 years. Erica provides meeting support to grant funded projects, updates Education web pages and serves as the staff contact for bilingual education and homeschooling.
Issue areas: bilingual education, home schooling, general education program support
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1464
Email: erica.cordova@ncsl.org
Jennifer Stedron
Program Manager
Jennifer is a Program Manager in the Education Program at NCSL. Jennifer received her Masters degree and Ph.D. from the University of Denver in Child Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. She has published journal articles and book chapters on aspects of cognitive development and developmental disabilities. Just prior to joining NCSL, Jennifer worked as a clinician assessing and treating infants and children with developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, and brain trauma. She has also worked for the Michigan House of Representatives and for Abt Associates, a public policy research organization.
Issue areas: school readiness, kindergarten, special education, after-school programs, time and learning, NCSL Education Committee
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1427
Email: jennifer.stedron@ncsl.org
Daniel Thatcher
Research Analyst II
Daniel came to NCSL in April 2006 as an intern from the Sturm College of Law, University of Denver, where he is a third year law student. At NCSL, Daniel fields questions on school finance, school finance litigation, property taxes, among other school finance-related issues, and NCLB. Currently, Daniel is working on a concept paper depicting the next generation of school finance. Daniel moved to Colorado from Utah two years ago to attend law school. In Utah, Daniel served as a Hinckley Intern in the Utah Legislature, and also worked in public policy and political consulting both privately and at the Salt Lake City-based Exoro Group, LC.
Daniel graduated from the University of Utah in 2004 with a B.S. in Political Science where he was a published author, and will graduate with a Juris Doctor from the Sturm College of Law in 2009.
Issue areas: No Child Left Behind, school finance
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1400
Email: daniel.thatcher@ncsl.org
Sara Vitaska
Policy Specialist
Sara Vitaska is a Policy Specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures. She manages NCSL's education leadership and governance work and staffs the Legislative Education Staff Network (LESN). During her time at NCSL, Sara has tracked a variety of education issues, overseen the program's legislative tracking and written several policy briefs on emerging topics. Prior to joining NCSL in 2004, Sara served as an AmeriCorps Team Leader and VISTA member in Montana. Sara has a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resource Management from the University of Montana and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Colorado at Denver.
Phone number: 303-364-7700 x 1647
Email: sara.vitaska@ncsl.org
WASHINGTON, D.C., OFFICE
David Shreve
Federal Affairs Counsel
David is the Federal Affairs Counsel for NCSL’s Education Standing Committee and has served in that capacity since 1997. This policy committee establishes NCSL’s positions on federal legislation. He has been with NCSL since 1987, initially performing research on employment and training issues and then directing NCSL’s Japan Legislative Exchange Program.
He received a Bachelor of Arts, with high honors, from the University of Maryland in 1974. Subsequent to graduation, he worked as a carpenter and cabinetmaker, as a construction trades teacher in a residential treatment facility, and as a national manager of construction trades training for the National Association of Home Builders.
Issue areas: federal education issues, special education, NCLB, NCSL Education Committee
Phone number: 202-624-5400 x 8187
Email: david.shreve@ncsl.org
Robert Strange
Legislative Analyst
Robert Strange is a Legislative Analyst for NCSL's Education Standing Committee and Labor and Economic Development Standing Committee. He conducts research, writes issue briefs, makes presentations for legislators and staff and answers information requests on federal education, labor and economic development policy.
Robert has been with NCSL since 2005. Prior to his work with the standing committees Robert served as a policy expert on postsecondary education issues. He also provided research and logistical support to NCSL's Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education. This involved attending and helping staff commission meetings, writing summaries of individual state legislative programs, providing research for issue briefs, and contributing to the commission’s final report, Transforming Higher Education: National Imperative—State Responsibility. Robert received a bachelor's degree from the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2005, double majoring in political science and history. His legislative experience also includes time spent as an intern in the Colorado General Assembly.
Issue Areas: federal education, labor and economic development issues, postsecondary education, NCSL Education Committee and NCSL Labor and Economic Development Committee
Phone: 202-624-5400 x8698
Email: robert.strange@ncsl.org
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