OUR TEAM

Jill Tolles is the Executive Director of the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. She has taught at the University of Nevada since 2005, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Communication Studies. She is also on the faculty of the National Judicial College, where she teaches courtroom management, collaborative decision-making, and procedural fairness to judges from around the nation and the world.

Prior to joining the Guinn Center, Jill served three terms in the Nevada Legislature as the Assemblywoman for District 25, where she has served on the Education, Judiciary, Commerce and Labor, and Ways and Means Committees. Additionally, she served in two special sessions and three interims on the Interim Finance Committee, Legislative Committee on Education, Legislative Committee on Energy, Commission on Special License Plates, and the Nevada Sentencing Commission.

Jill has given back to the community by serving on numerous boards and commissions over the years. She is currently an Education Alliance Board member, recent Vice Chair of the Attorney General’s Statewide Substance Use Response Working Group, Chair of the Northern Nevada Sex Trafficking Task Force, Junior Achievement Hall of Fame Recipient, Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow, FBI Citizen’s Academy Graduate, and member of the International Women’s Forum.

Michael Stewart recently retired as the Director of the Research Division of Nevada’s Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB), overseeing a staff of approximately 45 employees, including policy analysts, constituent services personnel, legislative librarians, and other support staff. He began his legislative service career in 1996 following 2½ years with the Elections Division of the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office, where he worked closely with local election officers in the administration of Nevada’s election laws. During his time with the Research Division, Michael was the primary staff contact for and staffed numerous legislative committees covering dozens of topic areas, including government affairs, natural resources, reapportionment and redistricting, elections, ethics in government, legislative affairs, and transportation.

Michael holds a Master of Science degree in Geography, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography—all from the University of Nevada, Reno. He is also a 2001 graduate of the Legislative Staff Management Institute, sponsored by National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He served on NCSL’s Redistricting and Elections Standing Committee and the Council of State Governments-West Legislative Service Agency/Research Directors Committee.

Kristine Caliger has lived in the Silver State for more than 30 years. After earning her B.A. in Music at the University of Nevada, Kristine’s career began in communications, administration, and digital media, lending expertise and organizational leadership to several nonprofits. Her trajectory changed when she was hired at News 4-Fox 11 in 2013. She helped develop the station’s digital news team and strategy, and eventually became its first Managing Editor, overseeing newsroom and editorial operations. Through her work in local news, Kristine discovered she not only wanted to tell Nevadans’ stories but work to change Nevadans’ lives for the better. After her time at News 4-Fox 11, she got to work serving the business and nonprofit community as Vice President of Partnerships and Programs at the Reno+Sparks Chamber of Commerce.

During her time with the Chamber, Kristine reimagined the Chamber’s partnership strategies, creating a successful framework for financial sustainability and accountability. In response to COVID-19, she created successful, supportive, and educational community engagement programs that brought vital resources to hundreds of small businesses and nonprofits. Kristine’s service on boards include the Education Alliance of Washoe County, Truckee Meadows Tomorrow, Truckee Meadows Water Authority’s Standing Advisory Committee, Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority’s Community Outreach Committee, and the Washoe County School District’s 2023 Core Strategic Planning Team, among others.

Meredith Levine is the Director of Economic Policy for the Guinn Center. She is responsible for analyzing public policies related to economic development, transportation, and natural resources, as well as fiscal, budgetary, and tax policies. Prior to joining the Guinn Center, Levine worked for the Surveys and Investigations Division of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee and as an analyst for the Congressional Research Service. She has also conducted research for Yale University Department of Economics faculty on a broad range of economic, political, and policy-related questions. Levine majored in Government at Cornell University, receiving her A.B. with distinction in all subjects, and holds each an M.A. and M.Phil. from Yale University, both in Political Science. Follow her on Twitter @MeredithLVNV.

Anna Colquitt, Esq. combines a rich background in law and education, exemplifying a commitment to educational advancement. Graduating with a Juris Doctor from the William S. Boyd School of Law, Anna has engaged in diverse legal experiences, from working with the Nevada Supreme Court, to serving as a member of the Curriculum Committee for Boyd Law School. She finalized her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at UNLV, where her research reflected her interest in exploring the intersection of education and workforce readiness. Anna teaches civic engagement courses at UNLV, and helped develop a service learning research project for undergraduate students in the College of Education.

Complementing her academic achievements, Anna’s active involvement in organizations such as Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Kids’ Court School attest to her deep commitment to community service. Over the last decade, Anna has served numerous charitable boards and worked with organizations including Opportunity Village, Dress for Success, and Communities in Schools. Anna has been recognized for her dedication to serving Nevadans with the following awards: UNLV Highest Pro Bono Honors, UNLV Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award nominee, and named ‘Local Hero’ by NBC’s Las Vegas affiliate. Anna’s professional background and research initiatives center around the connections between law and education, and exemplify her dedication to fostering positive growth in the realm of education policy.

Stephanie Woodard, Psy.D., is the Director of Health and Social Policy at the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. She is a licensed psychologist and systems-level strategist focusing on population health solutions. Dr. Woodard earned her Doctor of Clinical Psychology from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium in 2010, completed a pre-doctoral internship at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, holds a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from the same Stanford Consortium, and another in Counselor Education from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Woodard is also a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Before joining the Guinn Center, Dr. Woodard served as the State of Nevada Department of Health and Human Services state mental health authority (SMHA) and single state authority for substance use disorder treatment, prevention, and recovery (SSA). Her legislative frameworks for key policy priorities include 988 and access to crisis services, opioid settlement litigation funding, expansion of substance use disorder treatment services and supportive housing under Medicaid, and access to lifesaving harm reduction services.

In addition to her clinical, administrative, and policy work, Dr. Woodard has collaborated on research projects and served on several boards and commissions. She currently collaborates with the Nevada COBRE for Transdisciplinary, Community-Engaged Substance Use Research, and her board and commission service includes appointments to the Attorney General’s Substance Use Working Group and the Nevada Board of Psychological Examiners. She has also been involved with the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Administrators, the National Association for State Mental Health Program Directors, and currently serves as the Vice President for NAMI Nevada.

Todd Butterworth began his career with the State of Nevada in 1992. He served as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and managed various disability programs and services. In 2003, he was appointed the first bureau chief of the State’s new Office of Disability Services, created by Governor Kenny Guinn. He served in that capacity until 2012 when he joined the Legislative Counsel Bureau as a policy advisor and research analyst. With the Nevada Legislature, Todd staffed the Senate Committee on Education and the interim Legislative Committee on Education while advising legislators on issues related to preschool, K-12 and postsecondary education. He served as the national staff chairman of the Education Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures and in a similar role for the Legislative Education Staff Network, which recognized him in 2017 for his professional contributions to education public policy. During the 2019 Legislative Session, he served as the executive assistant to the chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.

More recently, Todd authored nearly 140 Nevada-focused fact-check briefs for the nonprofit Gigagact project, which seeks to improve online access to accurate and objective information. Before his career in public service, Todd earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Arizona State University and an MBA from the University of Nevada. In 2012, the University of Nevada recognized him as its “Outstanding Graduate School Alumnus.”

Outside of work, Todd has served as the president of CARE Chest of Sierra Nevada, the local chapter of Toastmasters International, and the Board of Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church, where he was also the “house” drummer for 23 years. He was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by Rotary International for service to the community and the Bill Kahl Humanitarian Award for his support of people with disabilities. Todd is married to Kellie, a 4^th generation Nevadan and retired dental hygienist.

Mark Krmpotic served as the Senate Fiscal Analyst in the Fiscal Analysis Division of Nevada’s Legislative Counsel Bureau for 11 years, retiring from that position in 2020. In this capacity, he served as primary staff to the Senate Committee on Finance and oversaw, with the Assembly Fiscal Analyst, a staff of approximately 29 employees. He began his legislative staff service career in 1999, serving in staff and supervisory roles, focusing on public safety, transportation and public assistance programs. Prior to his time with LCB, he served in the Governor’s Finance Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Mark earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Nevada Reno.

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Madalyn Larson, MPH is a Research Analyst for the Health and Social Policy Division for the Guinn Center. Madalyn is a recent University of Nevada, Reno graduate who received her Master of Public Health Degree with a specialization in social and behavioral health in May 2024. Madalyn is passionate about conducting high quality research to inform Nevada lawmakers of the most evidence-based health policy decisions. She has experience in quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in topics related to substance use and behavioral health. During her time as a graduate student, she served as the President of the Master’s Society of Public Health and as a Councilwoman for the Graduate Student Association. Finally, Madalyn is a proud native Nevadan with roots in both Las Vegas and Reno, and a love for exploring rural Nevada.

Robin Evans is a GIS specialist who supports the Guinn Center’s projects and programs through mapping and spatial analysis. Previously at Nevada’s Legislative Council Bureau, Robin provided GIS services related to reappointment and redistricting, demographics, and mapping state trends. She has additional experience with redistricting practices and legal requirements from her time at California’s Statewide Database at Berkeley Law.

Robin has utilized GIS to aid in the creation and evaluation of local government policy and programs related to sustainability, air quality, and walkability in the Sacramento Region. She also worked at the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College researching urban greening and urban environmental health topics. Robin holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Urban and Regional Studies from Cornell University where she studied environmental planning, community development, and served as a planning department research assistant.

Jennifer McClendon Ph.D. has experience in social service delivery, crisis intervention, program planning and evaluation, and program management. She recently served as the Director of the Human Services Network, a collective organization of non-profits in the human service sector across Northern Nevada, strengthening public policy to promote positive outcomes for clients. As a consultant for Turning Point, she has managed and evaluated school- and community-based projects in Nevada’s rural and urban areas, including a recent project with Nevada’s Office for a Safe and Respectful Learning Environment. Other areas of expertise include mental health crisis intervention, access to mental health and addiction service systems, services for homeless youth, and family support for chronic and severe mental illness. She leverages her community relationships to create unique experiential student learning opportunities, reflected in her teaching and publications.

Brad A. M. Johnson Ph.D. is an assistant professor of public administration at the University of Nevada, Reno. His work focuses on bridging organizational and policy theories through the lenses of local government, technology and civic engagement. As part of his research, he constructs novel datasets from government records, develops typologies from those datasets and uses various methods (quantitative, computational and qualitative) to better understand the organizations that produce them. His work has been published in numerous academic journals such as Public Administration Review, State and Local Government Review and Public Personnel Management.

His teaching reflects the diversity of public administration as a dynamic field of practice – incorporating fresh voices into the curricula.

Professionally, Johnson was a planner in a local government organization. He worked for several govtech companies as a consultant and cofounded a software platform to manage civic engagement in government agencies. Through this work he engaged over 200 local government entities across the United States.

Amy Pason (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, specializing in rhetoric. Growing up in Spring Creek, Nevada, Dr. Pason has been at the University since 2010. Dr. Pason’s research and teaching centers on multiple facets of democracy in the US, especially in the ways that we can foster and support democratic culture. She has explored advocacy strategies of activists, intersections of the First Amendment and protest, and public deliberation of legislation. She is interested in the ways that publics are invited to or restrained from engaging in democratic governance, and works to foster skills in students to deliberate and understand how to engage across differences to solve society’s “wicked problems.” Her students facilitate the “Wolf Pack Community Howl” deliberative discussion events at the University. She is currently developing research to understand how negative political rhetoric and incivility by elected officials undermines political participation.

Ravi Thakral, Ph.D. is a Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nevada, Reno. His primary research interests are in the philosophy of language and ethics. He previously taught at the University of Sussex and the University of St Andrews (with an additional affiliation to the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs). He is also a Research Fellow at the Hoffberger Center for Ethical Engagement at the University of Baltimore.

Kaashifah is a licensed general practitioner from India and a distinguished alumnus of an MBBS program. A pioneer within her family, she took a bold leap in 2019 by relocating to the US to pursue a Master’s in Biostatistics—a field where she discovered her profound interest in research and analysis. During her master’s studies, she showcased her leadership prowess, serving as the External Vice President of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) at UNR and as the Vice President and COO of the National Association of Graduate Professional Students (NAGPS).

Presently, Kaashifah’s is ardently engaged in her doctoral studies in Education. Since 2021, she has collaborated closely with the Dean of the College of Education, contributing to statistically analytical articles concerning the success formula of the Dean’s Future Scholars Program. In addition to her formal roles, she generously offers her expertise in statistical analysis to fellow researchers on a freelance basis, assisting them in interpreting their quantitative data.

At the heart of Kaashifah’s academic pursuits is a fervent desire to delve into the unique challenges faced by immigrant students, especially students of color, in their educational journey. With a commitment to rigorous research and innovative solutions, she aims to illuminate these hurdles and create a more inclusive and equitable educational environment for all.

Jeana Miller graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Business Administration degree and also has a Masters in Elementary Education with an endorsement in English Language Learners from Sierra Nevada College and a Masters in School and Program Administration and Special Education endorsement from Grand Canyon University. She has worked in education for 14 years as a teacher, school administrator and district administrator.

Jeana has gone back to school to focus on a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Science.

Amy Vigen is a freelance Graphic Designer who designs The Guinn Center’s printed reports and briefs. She attended the University of Nevada, Reno with a focus on print journalism and graphic design. A native Nevadan, Amy is passionate about the silver state and supporting nonprofits. She has previously completed graphic design work for nonprofit animal rescues and has over a decade of experience in several forms of design, ranging from layout design to logos and branding.

Ameda Uwaifo is the Outreach Intern at The Guinn Center. She assists with The Center’s event planning and scheduling. Ameda is a Las Vegas native currently in her fourth and final year studying journalism with an emphasis in public relations and advertising with minors in cinema and media studies and art at the University of Nevada, Reno. She’s passionate about education policy and also serves as president of Public Relations Student Society of America and treasurer of the Gender, Race and Identity Club at UNR.

Tracy Goodsel has more than 20 years of operations and office management experience working in multiple industries including hospitality, manufacturing, real estate and higher ed. Combining her organizational skills and proven eye for detail, Tracy manages our grants and contracts ensuring proper tracking and timeliness for our Clients.  Tracy earned her bachelor’s degree at UC San Diego and proceeded to find work all over the country. Starting in Hawaii, making her way to New York, and eventually settling on the west coast, she now resides in Reno, NV with her family. Tracy and her husband own a manufacturing company in Sparks where she spends the rest of her time contributing to the network of small businesses in our area.

Francis Talbot is the Administrative Assistant for the Guinn Center. In this role, Francis oversees the administrative responsibilities of the Guinn Center. This entails ensuring proper policies exist and conform to best practices, communicating with board members and community partners, and overseeing the day-to-day operation of the Guinn Center. Additionally, he works as a liaison between the Guinn Center and the University of Nevada, Reno. Prior to joining the Guinn Center, he worked under the Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation for the State of Nevada as a case manager. He currently holds a dual B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Nevada, Reno and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno.