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About Us: Staff
Mark Tranel
,
Director of the Public Policy Research Center and
Director of Applied Research;
Research Associate Professor in Public Policy Administration
B.J. (UM-Columbia), Ph.D. (St. Louis University)
In January, 2003, Mark Tranel
was named as Public Policy Research Center's Director. Dr. Tranel
joined the PPRC in 1990 as Senior Research Analyst. In 2000
he became the Director of the PPRC's Division of Research. Over
the past 15 years, Dr. Tranel has been the principal investigator
or research project manager on over 50 applied research projects
in the metropolitan St. Louis area.
Dr. Tranel received his doctorate in public policy analysis
and administration from St. Louis University. He has taught
public administration in the UM-St. Louis Department of Political
Science, and economic development at the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Department of Public Administration and Policy Analysis.
He is an active participant in a number of housing and community
development organizations including service as a member of the
Board of Directors of North County, Inc and the Missouri Budget
Project. In 1999, the exhibited his photographic work, "Street
Banners, Urban Identity and Information" and "Metromorphosis"
in 2001.
Prior to joining the staff at UM-St. Louis his experience included Director
of Real Estate Development, Economic Council of St. Louis County
where he was responsible for industrial development sites and
the small business incubator program, and Manager of Neighborhood
Preservation and Community Planner, Normandy Municipal Council.
In this capacity he was responsible for housing, community and
economic development programs for 20 municipalities.
His recently published work includes two chapters in St.
Louis Metromorphosis: Past Trends, Future Directions --
"The Transforming Economy" (chapter 3) and "The
St. Louis Transportation Transformation" (chapter 7). He
also recently published ""The Role of County Governments
in Metropolitan Administration: A Study of the St. Louis MSA”
(Chapter 4) in Revitalizing the City: Strategies to Contain
Sprawl and Revive the Core . He has also contributed a
chapter, entitled "Riverian Revolution", to Hidden
Assets: A Connecting the Past to the Future of St. Louis. In
2006, he co-authored "Metromorphosis: Documenting Change"
in the Journal of Urban Affairs, Vol. 28, Issue 2.
Dr. Tranel recently presented papers at the annual conference
of the Urban Affairs Association and the Association for Public
Policy Analysis and Management.
He was elected as President of North County Inc. for 2007.
He has been chairman of NCI's economic development committee
for five years and an officer of the executive board for three.
Applied Research
Jeanne Ortega
M.A. (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill)
Jeanne Ortega joined
the research staff at the Public Policy Research Center in April
2001 as Senior Research Analyst. Ms. Ortega received her MA
at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1985. From
1986 to 2001 she worked with Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation's
Program Review Department. Her responsibilities included new
evaluation strategies, data analysis, management information
systems and risk assessment. From 1991 to 2001 she provided
primary staff support to Neighborhood Reinvestment's Risk Analysis
Committee and served as custodian of the corporate risk analysis
information system. This system tracked data on over 200 non-profit
organizations. During 1998 and 1999 she participated in one
of the regional working groups for the Success Measures Project.
Sponsored by the Development Leadership Network, this was a
national effort to develop outcome indicators for use by community
development organizations in assessing the benefits resulting
from their initiatives. Ms. Ortega is a member of the American
Evaluation Association, ARNOVA (the Association for Research
on Non-profit and Voluntary Organizations) and the Development
Leadership Network.
Will
Winter
M.A. (University of Missouri - St. Louis), Ph.D. (University
of Missouri - St. Louis)
Will Winter joined the PPRC
as a Research Specialist in August 2003. In 2006 he received
his Ph.D. in Political Science, and in 2007 he was named as
a Research Assistant Professor in Public Policy Administration.
Prior to joining PPRC, Mr. Winter served as Director of the
Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, and in this capacity
he gained a variety of assessment and analysis tools. He brings
to the PPRC a strong background in social science research methodology
and neighborhood revitalization. Previous projects have included
GIS coverage detailing census units, political boundaries, street
networks, and parcel level geographies. Mr. Winter received
his M.A. in Political Science from UM-St. Louis.
Tracey
Cannon
BLS, MPA (Saint Louis University), Ph.D. candidate
(University of Missouri - St. Louis)
Tracey Cannon
joined the PPRC as a Research Associate in 2005. Prior to
joining PPRC, Ms. Cannon was a grants administrator and
fiscal manager for a research department at Saint Louis
University. She was also a business consultant for LaRhein
Management, Inc., an organization which helps community
and faith based organizations obtain 501(c)3 status. Ms.
Cannon brings a strong background in both quantitative and
qualitative research, as well as experience in public speaking
and presentation. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science
at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, and anticipates
graduating in 2008.
Metropolitan Information and Data Analysis Services
David Laslo
B.S. (UM-St. Louis), M.A. (St. Louis University), Ph.D. (UM-St. Louis)
Director David
Laslo is the Director of PPRC's Metropolitan Information
and Data Analysis Services (MIDAS), a group devoted to supporting
the teaching mission of the university and the research interests
of faculty and students. The group is also committed to creating
information and assembling data that informs metropolitan
public policy issues. Dr. Laslo joined PPRC in 2000. He received
his doctorate from the UM-St. Louis in political science with
emphasis on urban politics and urban development. His dissertation
on the proliferation of convention centers in the U.S. has
lead to conference invitations and paper presentations at
the American Political Science Association, the Midwest Political
Science Association, the Industrial Relations Research Association
and the North American Institute for Comparative Urban Research.
Since 1990, Dr. Laslo has been a member of the St. Louis Chapter
of the American Statistical Association (ASA) having served
as Treasurer and is currently Secretary. He is also a member
of the Population Committee of the ASA that does annual population
estimates and projections for counties in the metropolitan
area. He served as a committee member on various St. Louis
and metropolitan research and information planning groups
including the United Way Social Indicators Research Committee,
the Regional Jobs Initiative and the St. Louis Empowerment
Zone, and the Board of Directors of the Community Facilities
Corporation. In 2007, he was named as a Research Assistant
Professor in Public Policy Administration at UMSL.
Richard Rabe
B.S. (UM-St. Louis), MCP
Richard Rabe
joined the Public Policy Research Center in September 2000
as Database Administrator of the Metropolitan Information
and Data Analysis Services (MIDAS). He is a graduate of UM-St.
Louis and a Microsoft Certified Professional. Currently, Mr.
Rabe is completing the training for becoming a Microsoft Certified
Database Administrator and a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
Mr. Rabe joins MIDAS from the UM-St. Louis Department of Criminology
and Criminal Justice where he worked for the past six years
as a research specialist, database administrator, GIS specialist,
and department webmaster.
Maria
G. Freshman (Weldele)
B.A., M.A. (University of Missouri - St. Louis)
Maria Weldele
joined the MIDAS division of PPRC in October 2001 as a Senior
Research Analyst. She received a MA degree in Criminology
and Criminal Justice from University of Missouri - St. Louis
in January 1996. While attending UM-St. Louis, Ms. Weldele
worked as a graduate research assistant for the Department
of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri
- St. Louis. At the University, Ms. Weldele worked on a 5
year-$5 million federally funded grant - The City of St. Louis
SAFEFUTURES program. During this time, her research consisted
of coordinating site level data collection and analysis for
both national and local evaluation outcome and process evaluations.
Further, she participated in the designing and maintenance
of an ACCESS 97 MIS database to ensure more immediate response
to youth and families participating in the SAFEFUTURES program
and to provided consistent data for outcome evaluations. The
MIS is a system of menu driven programs, forms, queries, and
reports that provide the capacity to track and monitor client
services from multiple agencies with synchronization from
the agency sites to a HUB Server.
Christine
Marx
B.A., M.A. (St. Louis University)
Christine Marx joined
the MIDAS division of the Public Policy Research Center
in July 2006 as a Research Specialist. Prior to joining
PPRC, Ms. Marx was a Graduate Research Assistant for the
Department of Public Policy Studies at Saint Louis University,
where she received her M.A. in Urban Affairs. Ms. Marx
brings to PPRC a background in quantitative and qualitative
social science research. She has worked in various research
capacities at The Beech-Abbott Group, Northwestern University,
Metro Chicago Information Center, and Johns Hopkins University.
Ms. Marx has co-authored several publications on research
relationships, sense of community, and adult educational
and employment training.
Laurie
Lombardo
B.S. (Washington University), M.A. (UM-St. Louis)
Laurie Lombardo
joined the PPRC as a Research Specialist in 2007.
Already familiar with the UM campus, prior to joining
PPRC Ms. Lombardo worked as part of the UM-St. Louis
Volunteer Services program. In that context she helped
develop and implement a campus volunteer program that
coordinated over 350 volunteers serving 50 different
campus departments. She also worked as the staffing
coordinator for Stivers Staffing Services. Ms. Lombardo
holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology (2001),
and she was a member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, Honor
Society. She received her M.A. in Criminology and
Criminal justice from UM-St. Louis in 2006, where
she analyzed social issues and the effects of political
and social attitudes on U.S. punitive policy.
Public Finance Initiative
Steven
M. Gardner
BS (University of Missouri - Rolla),
Ph.D. candidate (University of Missouri - St. Louis)
Steve Gardner
joined the Public Policy Research Center as a Graduate
Research Assistant in September 2002, and became a Research
Specialist in 2003. When PPRC launched the Public Finance
Initiative in 2005, Mr. Gardner was named as Director
of the unit. Mr. Gardner has an extensive background
in state politics, as well as banking and management.
Mr. Gardner served as a Missouri State Representative
for three terms, from 1975-1981, and he was a candidate
for the US Congress in 1980. He also served as the president
of several banks during the 1980's and 90's. He holds
a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Missouri-Rolla. He is currently working toward his Ph.D
in Political Science at the University of Missouri-St.
Louis. His research interests include state and local
tax policy and state legislatures. Gardner has testified
before several committees of the Missouri Legislature
regarding property tax policy administration and the
linkage to school finance. Most recently he served as
an expert witness regarding assessment inequalities
and the school funding lawsuit.
Samrita Lohani
B.S. (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), M.S. (University
of New Haven-Connecticut)
Samrita Lohani
joined PPRC as a Research Specialist in July 2006.
She received her M.S. in Environmental Sciences
from the University of New Haven-Connecticut. While
she was in graduate school, she worked as a research
assistant, doing qualitative and quantitative analysis.
She also received GIS certification from the University
of New Haven. She has also worked as a volunteer,
providing GIS analysis and data management at the
East West Council of Governments and at the Open
Space Council.
Nicole Lisk
B.S. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign),
MPA. (University of Illinois-Springfield)
Nicole Lisk joined PPRC as a Senior Research
Specialist in July 2007.She holds a degree in
Secondary Education (History & Anthropology),
as well as a Master of Public Administration.
Prior to joining PPRC, Ms. Lisk worked for the
Illinois State Senate as an Appropriations Analyst
for two years, and for the last six years she
has been a researcher for the Illinois Legislative
Research Unit, a nonpartisan legislative support
agency. She brings to PPRC a background in state
budget/appropriations and tax/revenue issues.
She was instrumental in the creation and publication
of the Illinois Tax Handbook for Legislators,19th
edition (April 2003) thru the 23rd
edition (July 2007).
David Mariott
BA (University of Missouri-Columbia), MA (University
of Arizona)
David Mariott
joined the PPRC as a Research Specialist in August
2006. Mr. Mariott received a BA in Political Science
(Cum Laude) from the University of Missouri-Columbia
in 2004. He also obtained a MA in Political Science
from the University of Arizona in 2006. Prior to
joining the PPRC, David worked as a Graduate Assistant
in Teaching and Research at the University of Arizona.
Mr. Mariott brings to PPRC a background in quantitative
and qualitative social science research. His research
interests include state and local politics, tax
policy, intergovernmental relations, and legislatures.
PPRC Gallery
Mel Watkin
B.A. (Bennington College), MFA (University of Montana)
Curator Mel Watkin
joined the Public Policy Research Center in 2003. Prior to this,
she served as Chief Curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St.
Louis (formerly the Forum for Contemporary Art) from Spring
to Fall of 2002 and Curator from 1995 to 2002. She has curated
exhibitions with numerous artists including: Kathleen Gilje,
Sandow Birk, Enrique Chagoya, Kara Walker, Shahzia Sikander,
Barry McGee, Matt Mullican, Sabina Ott, Doug Ischar and Michael
Rees. Prior to her move to Southern Illinois she was a curator
at the Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) in Washington,
D.C., from 1986 - 1990. From 1990 to 1995 she curated a number
of free-lance exhibitions. Articles about her curatorial work
have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The
Village Voice, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Riverfront Times
and on NPR's Morning Edition and Crossroads. Her work as a writer
has recently been published in Art in America and Artpapers.
Ms. Watkin has held part and full-time teaching positions at
Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Texas
at San Antonio, University of Maryland at College Park and University
of Montana. She served on “Grants to Organizations”
panels for the states of Maryland and Illinois and sat on the
Visual Arts “Grants to Organizations” panel for
the National Endowment for the Arts in 1999. In 2003 she served
as a panelist for the Regional Arts Commission in St. Louis,
Missouri.
PPRC Communications
Rebecca Pastor
B.S (Webster University), MFA (UM-St. Louis)
Rebecca
Pastor joined PPRC in October 2001 as the Communications
Coordinator. She completed a bachelor's degree in Psychology
at Webster University in 1992, and in 2007 she received
an MFA in Creative Writing, Fiction, at the University of
Missouri - St. Louis. She is also a freelance writer and
has been published in Sauce Magazine. Ms. Pastor
brings to the Center a strong background in community development,
public policy and public relations. Prior to joining PPRC,
Ms. Pastor directed the recycling programs for the City
of St. Louis. She is accomplished in grantsmanship, public
relations writing, and community collaboration. Previous
writing projects have included work with Barnes-Jewish Hospital's
Diabetes Education; the Clayton Farmer's Market; Abundant
Life Seed Foundation and Seeds For Tomorrow. Ms. Pastor
has been instrumental to the composition and dissemination
of public information and the Center's communications plan.
Administrative Staff
Telesa Nolan
BS (Saint Louis University), M.B.A. (Lindenwood University)
Telesa Nolan currently
serves as the Business Manager for the PPRC. She has been
with PPRC since 2002, and has played an instrumental role
in developing and maintaining an accounting and office system
that is accessible to the entire department. She brings more
than 12 years of accounting experience, as well as considerable
research and data analysis skills. In 2003, The Sue Shear
Institute for Women in Public Life selected Ms. Nolan to participate
in the 21st Century Leadership Academy, the premier leadership
program for Missouri college women. Telesa's selection gives
her the status of Shear Fellow. In May, Ms. Nolan received
her MBA from Lindenwood University.
Mark
Fetters
BS (University of Missouri - St. Louis
Mark Fetters joined
PPRC as Office Support III in February 2007. Prior to joining
PPRC, Mr. Fetters worked as the Marketing and Program Director
for the YMCA of Greater St. Louis. He also was the Development
Director for Pallotine Renewal Center. He has entrepreneurial
experience, and started the Legacy Soap Company and Mark
Stevens, Inc. He obtained his BS in Psychology from UM-St.
Louis in 2001. Mr. Fetters brings a strong background in
cash flow management, as well as organizational and communications
skills.
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About Us:
About Us Home
From the Director
History
Staff
Organizational
Chart
Faculty Fellows
Public Policy Administration at UMSL
Employment Opportunities
Links
Reviewing Our
Past, Looking Toward Our Future: Three Reports:
Strategic
Plan 2006-2011
2007
PPRC Five Year Review
PPRC
and the North Central Accreditation (2008)
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