NCSL Staff Directory

As a policy specialist, Carrington Skinner supports the Center for Results-Driven Governing’s work of helping states use data and evidence to inform decision making. Skinner comes to NCSL with experience as an assistant attorney general at the North Carolina Department of Justice and as a session counsel at the Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research. Skinner earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Charlie Severance-Medaris supports NCSL’s public health work as a senior policy specialist for the Health Program. He has previous experience in health policy through work at many Colorado nonprofits. Severance-Medaris is an expert in state policies relating to suicide prevention, drug misuse and overdose prevention and infectious disease prevention. 

As a program coordinator for NCSL’s Health Program, Clare Link-Oberstar supports her team with meeting coordination and logistics. Prior to joining NCSL, Link-Oberstar was a preschool teacher. She is dedicated to supporting her team in its work to connect NCSL’s members with research and field experts on health policy.

As a senior policy specialist in NCSL’s Health Program, Colleen Becker focuses on prescription drug access and affordability. Becker comes to NCSL with 20 years of experience performing multiple roles in health advocacy and direct patient care. She earned a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Denver.

As a program principal in NCSL’s Energy Program, Dan Shea provides state legislators with high-quality resources on relevant energy topics. Shea has worked in the program for over six years and has experience in energy security and resilience, grid modernization, utility regulation, nuclear power and fossil fuels. With the energy sector experiencing substantial transformation, he is committed to providing state legislators with the solid and balanced information necessary to make informed policy decisions for their states.

As a senior fellow in NCSL’s Education Program, Daniel Thatcher researches K-12 education finance systems. Thatcher is a trusted, bipartisan resource on education finance and has worked with legislators in all 50 states. He has been cited by researchers and numerous national and regional news organizations, including the Associated Press, BBC, Education Week, Fox News, NPR, The New York Times, Politico, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

As a policy specialist in the Center for Results-Driven Governing, Darci Cherry supports the work of state leaders as they use data and evidence to make policy and budget decisions. Previously, Cherry spent 20 years collecting, analyzing and interpreting data to design and evaluate public health programs. She is dedicated to ensuring that reliable data and research are easily accessible to inform the decision-making process.

Douglas Shinkle oversees NCSL’s Transportation Program. Shinkle has 16 years of experience at NCSL, as well as several years’ experience working for state legislatures. He has testified before a U.S. Senate committee and numerous state legislative committees on transportation and traffic safety topics. He is passionate about transportation policy and serving NCSL’s constituents. 

As a project manager in NCSL’s Fiscal Affairs Program, Emily Maher focuses on state budgets, intergovernmental relations and economic development policy. She also staffs NCSL’s Labor and Economic Development Committee. Prior to joining NCSL, Maher served as a nonpartisan policy analyst for the city of Philadelphia where she worked on retirement and economic development policy. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science and international service from American University, where she is also currently pursuing a master’s in public administration and policy.

Emily Ronco researches and tracks legislation on K-12 issues. Prior to joining NCSL, she worked for an international gap year program for 18-21-year-old students at a small college in Chicago. She earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and English from the University of Missouri. 

As a policy analyst, Emily Sampson supports environmental health and resilience matters within the Environment, Energy and Transportation Program. She also served as a legislative assistant and then committee clerk with the Hawaii state Senate for two sessions. Sampson earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Erica MacKellar works primarily on issues around state fiscal conditions and the state budget process for NCSL. She also staffs the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices (NALFO), a NCSL professional staff association. She joined NCSL's Fiscal Affairs Program in 2011, and holds a bachelor's degree in government from Bowdoin College and a master's of public policy from the University of Denver.