Institute Releases Report on New Rockefeller Institute Programs

Albany, NY — The Rockefeller Institute of Government has named Dr. Laura Schultz as director of fiscal analysis and senior economist as it aligns senior staff to lead the Institute’s new research into emerging state and local fiscal issues, economic programs and their impact on jobs and the economy, the cost of the opioid epidemic, and education inequity, among other pressing public policy issues.

Dr. Schultz was named director of fiscal analysis and senior economist. She was formerly a senior fellow on the Institute’s fiscal analysis team, and is an associate professor of nanoeconomics at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. She previously worked at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, where she measured returns on national investments in research and development. Her research continues to focus on returns to investment in intangible capital in both the private and public sectors.

Brian Backstrom, formerly an education research analyst at the Institute, has been named senior project advisor. Backstrom has been instrumental in the Institute’s ongoing state-by-state study of teacher supply and demand. He is the president of Great Schools for All Children and an independent consultant on K-12 education reform issues involving innovation, accountability, and choice. He previously served as president of the Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability.

Nicholas Simons has joined the Institute as project coordinator for the Gun Violence Research Consortium and special assistant to the president. Simons is finalizing his master of public administration degree, focusing on education policy, at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany.

“Dr. Schultz, Mr. Backstrom, and Mr. Simons will be integral parts of the Rockefeller Institute team to drive nation-leading, evidence-based research and policy,” said Jim Malatras, president of the Rockefeller Institute. “I’m excited that they will, with the rest of the Rockefeller Institute team, continue to bring new energy to the task of applying rigorous, objective research to the problems facing New York State and the nation.”

The new positions and promotions coincide with the Institute launching several new research initiatives, including coordinating the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium, part of the recently formed States for Gun Safety coalition. With researchers from six states and Puerto Rico, the consortium conducts nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research to help break the cycle of firearm-related violence in the U.S. Its first report, “Can Mass Shootings be Stopped? To Address the Problem, We Must Better Understand the Phenomenon,” was released in May.

The Institute is also releasing an overview of its recent work and new projects, highlighting its vital role in grounding public policy debates in evidence-based research. View it here.