Staff Directory
The Center's interdisciplinary focus is reflected in the backgrounds of its professional staff - public and education policy, urban affairs, education administration, economics, finance, political science, sociology, psychology, child development, education, public health, and journalism. Graduate students bring expertise in the fields of public policy, urban affairs, education policy, justice policy, economics, education administration, educational psychology, sociology, social work, and public health.
- Richard N. Brandon - Director
Richard (Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Pennsylvania) is the Director of HSPC and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs. Brandon directs HSPC's four project lines: educating and caring for children, building public understanding and support for better policies, analyzing family support systems, and profiling child and family well-being. As part of the latter, Brandon directs the Washington Kids Count project, which since the early 1990s, has tracked, analyzed, and communicated comprehensive information about the well-being of children and families in Washington. Brandon has conducted studies of financing a wide range of education and social services for state agencies and legislatures. Before joining the University of Washington in 1989, Brandon served as professional staff member and staff director of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee. Before that, he directed systems analysis and budgeting for the New York City Department of Mental Health and has been a consultant to state and local governments; the American Association of Retired Persons; the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government; and Fannie Mae on a variety of human service and financing issues. Brandon has consulted on policy communications to the National Governors' Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Contact: , phone: (206) 543-8483- Lori Pfingst - Assistant Director KidsCount
Lori (Ph.D. candidate 2006 in Sociology, University of Washington) is the Assistant Director of Washington KidsCount (WKC). Lori has been with WKC since August 2003, and has conducted analyses for three WKC reports on the social and economic well-being of Washington's families: The State of Washington's Children 2003 and 2004-2005; and the Northwest Rural Communities Project. Her major areas of study at UW's sociology department are: (1) the sociology of health and illness, with emphasis on gendered health outcomes and inequality, and (2) deviance and social control. She has a minor in research methodology and is experienced in both quantitative and qualitative methods.
Contact: , phone (206) 616-1506- T.J. Stutman - Policy Analyst
T.J. (M.P.A., University of Washington ) is a Policy Analyst for the Human Services Policy Center. He works on HSPC's financial simulations for Early Learning and K-12 education, where he collaborates with state and district teams to clarify policy specifications, develops and refines HSPC's cost-simulation tools, and analyzes data on public-sector finance and school performance. T.J. earned his MPA from the Evans School of Public Affairs, and consulted for state and non-profit agencies on workforce and healthcare initiatives before joining HSPC in 2006. His primary research interests are in intersections between education and economic development.
Contact: , phone (206) 616-0958- Hilary Loeb - Research Analyst
Hilary Loeb (Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Washington)
serves as a Research Analyst for Washington Kids Count. Hilary joined WKC in October 2007
after completing projects for UW's Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy. Her work
at HSPC focuses on a range of public education issues. Hilary's research interests include
teacher workforce development, multicultural education, and the impact of educational
policies on students of color and students living in poverty. Beginning her career as a
teacher, Hilary worked and volunteered for a number of educational and nonprofit
organizations in California and Washington state. These roles include service as a
philanthropic program officer, grant writer, program evaluator, and trainer.
Contact: , Phone (206) 685-7610- Maya Magarati - Research Consultant
- Maya joined us in February of 2008. She was involved in the UW Beyond High School
project and The English Language Learners project prior to joining HSCP. With her
experiences in quantitative research Maya contributes to various Washington KIDS
COUNT projects at HSPC including P-20 project, State of Washington Children and
Community-Level Indicators for Kids (CLIKS). Maya is a PhD Candidate in Sociology at
the University of Washington. Her dissertation looks at the effects of bilingual
skills among the children of immigrants on their educational aspiration and
achievement. Maya's research and policy interests are in the fields of education,
health, nutrition, race/ethnicity and immigration - especially related to children,
youth and their families. Prior to graduate school she worked with UNICEF Nepal in
national nutrition programs. She has also taught undergraduate classes at the Highline
Community College and the University of Washington.
Contact: , Phone (206) 685-2780 - Lee O'Keefe - Office Assistant
- Lee, an undergraduate student in the Informatics program at the University of Washington, is an Office Assistant at HSPC. Being new to HSPC he looks forward to gaining front desk experience.
Contact: , Phone (206) 685-3135
