Jay Gideon Jay Gideon is a policy analyst with the Civil and Criminal Justice team, and researches topics related to adult criminal justice such as law enforcement and sentencing. Prior to joining the NCSL, Gideon spent time in Eswatini, Africa, for... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Civil and Criminal Justice
Benjamin Nasta As a legislative director, Ben Nasta leads legislative advocacy and engagement strategies for NCSL’s Transportation and Natural Resources, Energy and Environment committees. Nasta comes to NCSL with nearly 10 years of experience in... Staff Directory, State-Federal Affairs
Ta’Vion Hampton 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... Staff Directory, State Services, Legislative Staff Services
Louise McGinty 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,... Staff Directory, State-Federal Affairs
Emily Katz 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... Staff Directory, State-Federal Affairs
Marisa Sterling-Abram 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... Staff Directory, Operations, Meetings
Rachel Macias 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... Staff Directory, Communications, Marketing
Philene Taormina Philene Taormina leads a team of energy analysts who specialize in state and federal energy policy and legislative, statutory and regulatory research. The team delivers energy policy expertise and nonpartisan research and analysis for state... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Environment, Energy & Transportation
Sarah Chavez Sarah Chavez is a dedicated program coordinator with NCSL's Energy team. With more than a decade of experience in hospitality, event planning and administration support, she has honed her skills while working for esteemed law firms and... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Environment, Energy & Transportation
Jennifer Kraft In her role, Jennifer Kraft supports the Environment, Energy and Transportation Program as a program coordinator. She comes to NCSL with more than 20 years of experience as an administrative assistant and program manager. She attended Colorado... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Environment, Energy & Transportation
Helen Brewer Helen Brewer works on statewide ballot measures and focuses on a wide array of elections and redistricting topics as part of the Elections and Redistricting Program. Prior to joining NCSL, she worked in policy and litigation capacities for... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Elections & Redistricting
Jessica Guarino As a policy analyst, Jessica Guarino supports the Civil and Criminal Justice Program by researching a variety of topics related to criminal records, human trafficking, firearms policy and questions relating to the Constitution. Prior to joining... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Civil and Criminal Justice
Brenna Nelson In her role as a program coordinator, Brenna Nelson supports NCSL's Children and Families Program. Prior to joining NCSL, Nelson worked at nonprofit organizations and interned with the Colorado General Assembly while studying human... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Children & Families
Angela Rowe As a policy specialist, Angela Rowe focuses on pensions, retirement and public sector employment issues. Previously, Rowe worked at the Colorado House of Representatives and state Senate. She earned a B.A. in international studies from Portland... Staff Directory, Employment, Labor & Retirement
Jessica Hoffman As a training specialist, Jessica Hoffman helps to design and deliver custom training on a wide range of topics and skills. Hoffman has 13 years of experience in education, working with AmeriCorps, public schools and higher education programs.... Staff Directory, Leaders & International
Shannon Kolman In her role as a senior policy specialist in the Health Program, Shannon Kolman serves as a subject matter expert on public health topics. She has more than 25 years of experience working in the fields of public health and community health.... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Health
Selena Saucedo As a senior policy specialist with the Center for Legislative Strengthening, Selena Saucedo focuses on legislative sessions, legislative staffing and structure, human resource management, compensation and classification, and personnel policies... Staff Directory, State Services, Center for Legislative Strengthening
Kazia Washington As the HR director, Kazia Washington, SHRM-CP, PHR, oversees NCSL's Human Resources Office. Washington comes to NCSL with 10-plus years of experience utilizing innovation and strategy to translate business vision into healthy HR... Staff Directory, Operations, Human Resources
Alyssa Vigil Alyssa Vigil is a program coordinator at NCSL, where she supports the Criminal and Civil Justice Program. Previously, Vigil worked in administrative support and research roles for the University of Colorado Boulder. She earned a... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Civil and Criminal Justice
Kendall Speer As a policy specialist, Kendall Speer supports the Health Program’s maternal and child health, children’s oral health and women’s reproductive health portfolio. Prior to joining NCSL, Speer was a student at Boston University... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Health
Leila Reynolds As a program coordinator, Leila Reynolds supports the Education team. Prior to joining NCSL, Reynolds spent four years working for the state of Utah, first at the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel and then at the... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Education
Beatrice O’Connor As a policy specialist, Beatrice O’Connor supports the Environment, Energy and Transportation Program by conducting environmental and water policy research. Prior to joining NCSL, O’Connor worked as a research assistant, legal... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Environment, Energy & Transportation
Adam Kuckuk As a policy analyst, Adam Kuckuk’s research focuses on elections and redistricting. Prior to joining NCSL, Kuckuk was a campaign manager for a Wisconsin state assembly race and has a background in working for several organizations focused... Staff Directory, Research & Policy, Elections & Redistricting