Ashley Fox, PhD, is an associate professor of health policy in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the State University of New York’s University at Albany. Her research focuses on health politics and policy and the effects of social policies on health outcomes. Fox’s recent research has examined how state policies contribute to the generation of administrative burden and exclusion from critical safety nets.

Jennifer Manganello, PhD, MPH, is a health communication scholar who uses theories, concepts, and methods from public health and communication. Her work has primarily focused on the effects of media and technology use on health attitudes, knowledge and behavior, health information seeking among youth and parents, and identifying best practices for disseminating health information to the public, including through news and social media. It has also focused on health literacy. Much of Magnalleo’s work centers on children, adolescents, young adults, and parents. She often seeks to include groups impacted by health disparities. Magnalleo examines the use of digital technology for health information and health interventions, also known as eHealth.

She serves as associate dean for public health practice at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York’s University at Albany. Additionally, Magnalleo is participating this year in the University of Connecticut Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (CT LEND) program as a parent trainee and as a Richard P. Nathan Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government. In both programs; she focuses on ways to make disability services easier and more accessible to navigate for people with disabilities and their families.

Eric Pasternak is the director of service access for the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). He is also the coordinator of OPWDD’s Front Door, which is the process by which people access OPWDD’s services from initial contact to determining eligibility and authorization and delivery of services. Pasternak has a background and education in social work and has been working with people with developmental disabilities for over 28 years.

Leigh Wedenoja, chief economist at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, specializes in education, labor, and health policy research. Her work focuses on assessing the causal impact of public policy using both quantitative and qualitative methods. She has worked with New York State agencies and nonprofit organizations on topics including the care workforce, employment for people with disabilities, civil service exams, K-12 and postsecondary education policy, and the overdose epidemic. Dr. Wedenoja is also a lecturer at the University at Albany in the graduate Department of Education Policy & Leadership and her work has appeared in academic publications and the popular press. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Institute, Dr. Wedenoja served as a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University and as administrator of the US Census Bureau’s Federal Statistical Research Data Center at Cornell University. She holds an MA and PhD in economics from Cornell University and a BA from the University of Michigan.