Mark Updegrove is the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation and serves as presidential historian for ABC News. Previously, he directed the LBJ Presidential Library, where he hosted the historic 2014 Civil Rights Summit. Updegrove is the author of five books on the presidency and has interviewed seven U.S. presidents.

Sherri R. Greenberg is a professor of practice, assistant dean and fellow at the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs, and a professor of practice at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Additionally, she is a primary researcher for, and is chairperson elect of, Good Systems, The University of Texas Grand Challenge, regarding ethical AI. Greenberg served as a representative in the Texas Legislature from 1991 to 2001 and holds an M.S. in public administration and policy from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in government from The University of Texas at Austin. 

Galen Druke is the host and producer of the “FiveThirtyEight Politics” podcast, which aims to explain politics through a blend of statistics and traditional reporting that includes conversations with lawmakers and the American people. He also hosts FiveThirtyEight’s “United States of America” video series and is a frequent political analysis guest on networks including ABC, BBC, NPR, C-SPAN, CBC and Sky News among others.

Kate Blackman is NCSL's vice president of policy and research, overseeing state policy work on criminal and civil justice, education, employment and retirement, health and human services. Previously, she spent nearly eight years in NCSL’s Health Program, most recently as director. Blackman holds a B.A. in journalism, a Master of Social Work and a Master of Public Health, all from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sabrina Lewellen is deputy director and assistant secretary of the Arkansas Senate and NCSL staff chair. From 2008 to 2013, she served as the Senate's Constituency Services/Research & Special Projects manager. A member of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries, Lewellen holds a bachelor of science in agriculture-food science from Florida A&M University and a law degree from Vanderbilt University.

Molly Ramsdell is vice president of state-federal relations for NCSL and oversees its work in Washington, D.C. She has served as staff liaison for a number of NCSL’s Standing Committees and has led the organization's advocacy activities before Congress and the administration on issues including unfunded mandate reform, REAL ID and the coronavirus response. Ramsdell holds a Master of Public Health from George Washington University.

Curt Stedron is the director of the NCSL Legislative Training Institute. A West Point graduate and former Army officer, Stedron spent 22 years as an award-winning educator and coach. His work for NCSL includes over 400 trainings for 8,000 legislators and legislative staff in nearly every state. He is also a successful entrepreneur whose residential home construction company has built over 50 custom homes.

Tara Andringa is the executive director of Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE), a nonprofit coalition focused on engaging with the public about automated vehicles and their potential to improve safety, mobility and sustainability in the transportation system. Prior to joining PAVE, she spent two decades as a communications director in the U.S. Senate, managing public relations for a Senate office and several committees, including the Senate Auto Caucus. Andringa received a B.A. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Erica Barnes is the executive director of the Minnesota Rare Disease Advisory Council and a well-respected health care innovator for the rare disease community. In 2010, when she tragically lost her young daughter, Chloe, to metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), a rare disease, Barnes found herself in the role of rare disease advocate. She has spent the past 12 years in the advocacy community, championing policies related to timely diagnosis, appropriate care and effective treatments.

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione represents the 98th state Congressional district of Texas. He is the chairman of the House Committee on Pensions, Investments & Financial Services, and a member of the House Committee on Elections and the House Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety. He serves as chairman of the Innovation & Technology Caucus and chairs the Tarrant County Delegation.

Darin Detwiler is a recognized leader in food regulatory industry and academia, with more than 30 years of consultation for industry, government and NGOs. He is a professor at Northeastern University and Michigan State University and appeared in Netflix’s recent documentary “Poisoned.”

Steve Elkins is in his third term representing the city of Bloomington in the Minnesota House of Representatives. An economist by education, he spent the last 25 years of his career working as an IT “information architect” and is actively involved in the work of the state’s public/private Technology Advisory Commission to improve the use of information technology in state government. He is an active member of NCSL’s Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Privacy. His own legislative portfolio includes bills related to data privacy and security, electric and automated vehicles and health care informatics.

Diana Elliott is vice president of U.S. programs at the Population Reference Bureau, overseeing its domestic research work. Previously, she was a senior fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute, a research manager at the Pew Charitable Trusts and a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau in the Fertility and Family Statistics branch. Elliott holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Maryland.

Bianca Kiyoe Frogner is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of Washington. She is the director of the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS) and deputy director of the Primary Care Innovation Lab (PCI-Lab), which are housed in the Department of Family Medicine. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health. Frogner is a health economist (NIH T32 trainee) with expertise in health services delivery, health workforce, labor economics, health spending, health insurance coverage and reimbursement and international health systems. She completed a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, received her Ph.D. in health economics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her B.A. at University of California, Berkeley in molecular and cell biology.

Inspired by her own health care experience as a person with a rare disease, Swapna Kakani founded and currently serves as chief executive officer of Alabama Rare, a grassroots organization dedicated to support, education and advocacy to improve health care delivery for the Alabama rare disease population. Before founding Alabama Rare, she worked in Washington, D.C., for the National Organization for Rare Disorders and as the EveryLife Foundation’s state advocacy fellow.

Mark Kassen, a Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker, playwright and actor, is a co-founder of A Starting Point, a video-based civic engagement platform he created with actor Chris Evans and tech entrepreneur Joe Kiani. ASP’s mission is to create a bipartisan channel of communication and connectivity between Americans and their elected officials with the goal of creating a more informed electorate.

Emily Mandel is an economist and lead revenue forecaster at Moody’s Analytics, overseeing the group’s research around state and local governments and the municipal bond market. She also consults for governments on tax revenue forecasts and economic analysis. Mandel has written numerous regional economic analyses, often focusing on the interplay between economic conditions and public revenues. She holds an MA in international and development economics from Yale University.

As a consultant with the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) in Washington, D.C., Stacey Mazer is responsible for monitoring and analyzing the impact of federal health and Medicaid decisions on states, as well as tracking human and social service developments within states. Prior to joining NASBO, she worked for the Congressional Budget Office and the finance department for the city of Baltimore.

Doug Robinson serves as executive director for the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), the premier network and resource for state CIOs. He is a frequent speaker, panelist and author representing NASCIO issues, state CIOs, IT policy, trends and state government issues. His career spans over 30 years in state government, higher education and public sector IT consulting. Prior to joining NASCIO in 2004, he served as an executive director in the Kentucky Governor's Office for Technology. Robinson holds a B.A. from Maryville College in Tennessee and an M.P.A. with a concentration in science, technology and public policy from the University of Tennessee.

In his role as director of federal policy at the National Association of Medicaid Directors, Jack Rolins is responsible for the association’s policy work, including analysis of legislation and regulations impacting the Medicaid program, convening Medicaid directors and their staffs to identify and build consensus around policy objectives, and articulating members’ consensus positions via comment letters and other communications to federal policymakers and Medicaid stakeholders.

Kathryn Costanza is a program principal with the Health Program at NCSL. In her role, she provides state legislators and legislative staff with research and analysis on the full range of Medicaid policy topics that impact states. Prior to joining NCSL, she practiced health law with an emphasis on federal program issues affecting providers. She is a licensed attorney in the state of Colorado and graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Colorado Law School with a Health Law and Policy Certificate. Before her health law career, Costanza was a board-certified music therapist and provided music therapy services to Medicaid beneficiaries.