NCSL Staff Directory

Natalie Wood serves as vice president of policy and research at NCSL. She previously directed NCSL’s Center for Legislative Strengthening, providing expertise and leading research on legislative institutional issues, including internal legislative operations, management and human resources policies, legislative workplace culture, and critical issues impacting representative democracy in the states. She's worked with state legislatures for over 20 years, with prior experience in legislative management and organization, ethics and lobbying policy, and professional development and training for NCSL's members. Wood holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Saint Mary’s College at Notre Dame and a master's degree in political science, politics and policy from the University of Colorado Denver.

Diana Noel is the chief development officer of the NCSL Foundation for State Legislatures. She has over 20 years of experience working with state and federal policymakers encouraging strategic collaboration and building relationships. Before coming to NCSL as Vice President of Research and Policy in 2022, Diana worked in government affairs for AARP for nearly a decade and was a member of NCSL's Foundation including time as a member of the Foundation Board. She also worked in the NCSL Washington, D.C. office for a number of years focusing on workforce and health issues. Diana earned her Master of Public Administration degree from Bowie State University and Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland at College Park.

As chief financial officer, Alex Alavi oversees the financial integrity, success and growth of NCSL. Alavi has extensive experience in financial planning and analysis, internal controls, investments and enterprise risk management. Alavi earned Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees in accountancy from Northern Illinois University and is a certified public accountant and certified association executive.

As chief operating officer, Victor Vialpando-Nuñez leads the day-to-day operations for NCSL, including direct oversight of the Human Resources, Information Technology, and Building and Facilities teams. Vialpando-Nuñez comes to NCSL with more than 20 years of experience leading organizations, providing outstanding member services, organizational efficiency, and driving innovation and transformation. Previously, Vialpando-Nuñez was the dean of academic affairs for the School of Professional Studies and Sciences at the Community College of Aurora. In addition to serving nearly 10 years at the CCA, Vialpando-Nuñez served for over seven years in various leadership positions with Colorado Mathematics, Engineering, Science and Achievement (MESA), Habit for Humanity of Colorado, and the University of Colorado Denver. Vialpando-Nuñez has an MBA and a bachelor’s in civil engineering from CU Denver. 

Bryan Thomas serves as the chief communications officer, guiding NCSL’s brand, media, website, design, content and member outreach work alongside the fabulous communications team. Thomas joined NCSL after leading communications teams at a series of organizations including the City of Atlanta, Habitat for Humanity International, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Senate. He holds a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a bachelor’s degree in international political economy and a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Eva, an epidemiologist at the CDC, and their daughter, Annie.

Stacy Householder directs NCSL’s leadership, professional development and international programs. Householder has 13-plus years of experience working with and in state legislatures, starting with her service in the Wisconsin Senate. Householder is dedicated to strengthening legislative institutions and enjoys working every day with legislative leaders and staff from across the country. 

As vice president of policy and research, Kate Blackman oversees NCSL’s state policy work on criminal and civil justice, education, employment and retirement, health and human services. Prior to being hired as a vice president, Blackman spent nearly eight years in NCSL’s Health Program, most recently as director of the program. A proud Tar Heel, she holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she later earned her master of social work and master of public health.

Molly Ramsdell is director of NCSL’s Washington, D.C., office and oversees the State-Federal Affairs Division. She joined NCSL in 1996 and has served as staff liaison for a number of NCSL’s Standing Committees, including Transportation, Budgets and Revenue, Environment and the Executive Committee Task Force on Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. She has led NCSL’s advocacy activities before Congress and the administration on issues including unfunded mandate reform, REAL ID and the recent coronavirus response. Ramsdell holds a master’s degree in public health from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Storey serves as the Chief Executive Officer of NCSL, proudly leading an outstanding team dedicated to the legislative institution. He started at NCSL in the 1980s, holding nine different positions in the organization before being selected as CEO in 2019. He was born and raised in western North Carolina before moving to Colorado to work at NCSL where he now lives with his awesome family in Wheat Ridge, just outside of Denver.

Arturo Pérez is vice president of the NCSL State Services Division, which includes the Center for Ethics in Government, Center for Legislative Strengthening, Fiscal Affairs Program, Legislative Staff Services Program and the State Tribal Institute. In his role as a member of the NCSL Executive Management Team, he assists in developing and monitoring the organization’s budget, participating in the hiring process for new staff within the division, overseeing the work of managers within the division, advising/supporting managers on issues pertaining to their programs, participating in EMT activities and decision making, providing objective advice to the executive director on matters pertaining to the division and organization and conducting performance reviews of division program managers. An NCSL staff member since 1990, he has bachelor’s degrees in history and political science from Texas A&M University. He also received a master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.

Louise McGinty supports NCSL’s Washington, D.C.,-based staff, specifically the standing committees and task forces. McGinty comes to NSCL with experience in nonprofit events and fundraising, project management, relationship building, administrative operations and communications. She studied politics at Catholic University of America, earned an MPA in nonprofit administration from West Chester University, and a master’s degree in political science from Villanova University. 

As a legislative specialist, Emily Katz works on federal education, health and human services policies that are of interest to states. Katz comes to NCSL with experience in policy research on school climate, school health, social-emotional learning and the educator workforce. She earned a master’s degree in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor's degree in sociology and policy management from Dickinson College.

As an associate director in NCSL’s Health Program, Doyle oversees staff and projects related to population health, including maternal and child health, substance use, mental health, infectious disease and immunization, among others. Doyle brings over two decades of professional experience in public health policy in government, nonprofit and for-profit settings. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Indiana University School of Business, with a focus on marketing and advertising. 

As the Director of Meetings, Marisa Sterling-Abram directs the overall planning and strategy for the NCSL Legislative Summit in addition to leading a team of six that manages the logistics for over 80 meetings a year. She comes to NCSL with over 14 years of experience organizing and executing conferences and meetings for several associations in the Washington DC area, ranging in size from 400 to 10,000 attendees. She holds a master’s degree in tourism with an emphasis in event and meeting management from the George Washington University as well as a certified meeting professional certificate.

As a design specialist, Rachel Macias supports the associate director of design in designing reports, event collateral and social media graphics. Prior to joining NCSL, Macias worked for the bipartisan nonprofit Education Commission of the States as a graphic designer. She takes great pride in designing for nonprofits to create policy-based solutions. 

Joell Sturgeon supports the day-to-day operations in the HR department as the HR generalist and recruiter for NCSL. Prior to coming to NCSL, Sturgeon worked in recruitment and staffing as an executive recruiter. She is dedicated to helping people further their careers and finding their passion at NCSL.

Megan Bland supports the efforts of the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee. Prior to joining NCSL, Bland worked as a policy analyst for the Council Oak, a small women-owned public policy consulting firm. Bland earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and history from the College of William and Mary.

As a policy associate for the Legislative Staff Services Program, Ta’Vion Hampton supports the professional staff associations and state services division. Prior to joining NCSL, he served as the logistics and scheduling coordinator in the office of the governor for the state of Colorado. Hampton is dedicated to promoting democracy and strengthening our state government institutions.