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CBP Staff
To email a member of the staff directly, use
first initial and last name [at] cbp [dot] org, using no spaces
or punctuation between the first initial and last name. Example:
John Doe would be jdoe [at] cbp [dot] org.
Jean
Ross, Executive Director
Jean Ross joined the California Budget Project (CBP) as its first executive director in 1995. The CBP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established to promote a better understanding of state fiscal and economic policy issues and their impact on low- and- middle income Californians. Her prior professional experience includes serving as Principal Consultant to the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee; Senior Consultant to the Assembly Human Services Committee, where she staffed the California Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on the Changing Family; and Assistant Research Director of the Service Employees International Union in Washington, DC, where she was responsible for coordinating the union’s research on tax, budget, and employment policy issues. Ms. Ross serves on the Board of the Washington, DC-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy; the Advisory Board of the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution; the Advisory Committee of California’s Franchise Tax Board; the Technical Advisory Committee of California’s Economic Strategy Panel; and the Board of the California Tax Reform Association. Ms. Ross is a frequent speaker on fiscal and economic policy issues and has published numerous reports and articles. She has authored articles published by the Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, State Tax Notes, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Union Tribune, UC Berkeley’s Intergovernmental Studies Press, Cornell University Press, National Academy Press, and other publications. Ms. Ross graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz and has a master’s degree in city and regional planning with a concentration in regional economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Ross was selected as a Senior Fellow of the University of California, Los Angeles’ School of Public Policy and Social Research in 2000-01.
Alissa
Anderson, Deputy Director
Alissa Anderson currently serves as the deputy director of the CBP.
She initially joined the CBP in 2005 as a labor market policy analyst
and continues to conduct research on California's economy. Prior
to joining the CBP, Ms. Anderson was a research associate in the
Education Policy Center at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC.
She also held a research internship at the Los Angeles Alliance
for a New Economy and provided research consulting to several organizations,
including the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the
Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies in Los Angeles. Ms. Anderson
received a master's degree in urban planning with a concentration
in regional and economic development from the University of California,
Los Angeles, and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Bryn Mawr
College.
Steven Bliss, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Steven Bliss became the CBP’s communications director in June 2011, bringing to the organization 20 years of experience in strategic communications, policy research, and advocacy. Prior to joining the CBP, Mr. Bliss was executive director of Renew Lehigh Valley, which works to promote urban revitalization and regional equity in eastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Bliss previously worked for several years as a San Francisco-based consultant specializing in policy research and analysis on housing, welfare, education, workforce development, public health, transportation, and regional economic development. Among his clients were Abt Associates, MDRC, New York State Afterschool Network, Berkeley Policy Associates, and the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Bliss is a graduate of Northwestern University and holds a master’s degree in literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Barbara
Baran, Senior Fellow
Barbara Baran is a senior fellow at the CBP. From 2003 until 2005,
she served as the CBP's associate director. For the prior 20 years,
she worked in the fields of workforce and economic development,
as an academic, senior administrator, and national consultant. For
much of that time, she served as vice president of the Industrial
Services Program and its successor organization, the Corporation
for Business, Work, and Learning (CBWL). The CBWL was a $200 million
quasi-public corporation in Massachusetts, with both a workforce
development and economic development mission. After leaving the
CBWL, Ms. Baran was a founding partner of Workforce Learning Strategies,
a national consulting organization dedicated to helping policymakers,
community, business, and labor leaders develop strategies to ensure
decent work and income for all citizens. Ms. Baran's work has included
policy analysis, program evaluation, technical assistance, and academic
research. She holds a Ph.D. and master's degree from the University
of California, Berkeley, in city and regional planning, and a bachelor's
degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Scott
Graves, Senior Policy Analyst
Scott Graves has analyzed health and human services issues for the
CBP since 2002. Prior to joining the CBP, Mr. Graves worked as a
researcher in Austin, Texas, for the Tomás Rivera Policy
Institute, Consumers Union, and the Public Policy Clinic at the
University of Texas, Austin. He also was a California executive
fellow and worked as a reporter for newspapers in Arizona and California.
Mr. Graves received a Ph.D. in political science from the University
of Texas, Austin, and a bachelor's degree in government and journalism
from California State University, Sacramento.
John
Jacobs, COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT
John Jacobs joined the CBP as communications assistant in January
2008. Prior to joining the CBP, Mr. Jacobs served as an intern for
the athletics department of California State University, Sacramento
(CSUS). Mr. Jacobs received his bachelor's degree in organizational
communication from CSUS.
Jonathan
Kaplan, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST
Jonathan Kaplan joined the CBP as an educational policy analyst
in 2006. Prior to joining the CBP, Mr. Kaplan taught law and United
States history for seven years in Martinez, California, where he
also served as chair of Alhambra High School's Social Science Department.
Mr. Kaplan holds a master's degree in education from the University
of California, Santa Cruz, and received his bachelor's degree in
history from Yale University.
Samar Lichtenstein, RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Samar Lichtenstein joined the CBP as research assistant in August 2011. Prior to joining the CBP, Ms. Lichtenstein served as an intern with the US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau. Ms. Lichtenstein earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College.
Janice
Selby, OFFICE MANAGER
Janice Selby joined the CBP as office manager in August of 2008. Ms. Selby received her bachelor's degree in communications from San Jose State University.
Sam Sellers, RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Sam Sellers joined the CBP as a research assistant in January 2012. Prior to joining the CBP, Mr. Sellers served as an intern at United Way of Pennsylvania and at Global Washington, an organization that promotes the international development sector in Washington state. Mr. Sellers received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Swarthmore College.
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