Lucy Gorham is the Director of the EITC Carolinas Initiative at MDC. MDC's mission is to advance the South through strategies that expand opportunity, reduce poverty, and build inclusive communities. EITC Carolinas supports a growing network of over thirty organizations across North and South Carolina, primarily in rural counties, that assist low- and moderate-income working families to access the Earned Income Tax Credit and to plan for a more secure financial future. Lucy's previous positions include Senior Research Associate at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, staff member for the Joint Economic Committee and the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations and Human Resources of the U.S. Congress, and consultant to the North Carolina Governor's Rural Prosperity Task Force and the Office of Economic Development at UNC. She serves as Board Chair of the Center for Economic Justice in Austin, Texas. Areas of expertise include the economics of work and poverty and low-income housing. Educational background: urban and regional planning; human biology (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Stanford University).

Dr. Johnette T. Hartnett is the Director of Research and Strategic Partnership Development for the National Disability Institute (NDI). She is also a senior researcher with the Law, Health Policy, & Disability Center (LHPDC) at the University of Iowa, College of Law. Dr. Hartnett provides national leadership in the development of traditional and non-traditional partnerships across the public and private sector on a variety of public policy issues relative to the employment, asset development, and long-term service and support needs of Americans with disabilities. Dr. Hartnett is national director and co-founder of the Real Economic Impact Tour that has provided free tax preparation and other asset building strategies to over 61,000 taxpayers with disabilities. Since 2005 the number of taxpayers with disabilities participating in the Tour has increased 477% and received over $55 million in returns. The tour will be in 83 cities for 2009. Dr. Hartnett is principal investigator of the Asset Accumulation and Tax Policy Project (AATPP) for persons with disabilities. This inaugural research has examined the challenges of tax and other public policies to the advancement of economic independence, social empowerment, and community integration for individuals with disabilities. Dr. Hartnett is co-chair of the National Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Ad Hoc Asset Development and Tax and Finance Task Force that works on public policy issues that promote full access to the financial mainstream for persons with disabilities and their families.Dr. Hartnett obtained her Ed.D.in Policy and Educational Leadership and her M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Vermont. She graduated Summa Cum Laude, from Trinity College, in Vermont, majoring in psychology and gerontology.Dr. Hartnett’s research and publications have been in the areas of special education finance, welfare reform, asset development and long-term services and supports for individuals with disabilities. In addition, Dr. Hartnett has authored a series of books on coping with loss. Dr. Hartnett is dedicated to working on policy and research issues that forward the quality of life and the economic well-being of Americans with disabilities.

Karen Heisler is the Director of the Asset Development Department of Rural Dynamics Inc. which serves Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota with programs and partnerships to "help youth, individuals, and families achieve economic independence." The Asset Development Department focuses on increasing consumer assets to move consumers toward economic independence. Some of the department's initiatives include Tax Help Montana Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites, research and planning for the economic independence of individuals living in the Northern Plains states, a First Peoples Native Entrepreneurship Camp, Bridge to Benefits, a web tool linking individuals and families to social service programs, and other programs which directly build the assets of consumers such as individual development accounts. The Asset Development Department also works with the Northern Plains Initiative, a partnership between rural northern plains tribes and communities in Montana, Northern Wyoming, and Western North and South Dakota. Through the Northern Plains Initiative, money is re-granted to community organization throughout the region to promote asset building initiatives. Housed within the Asset Development Department is Tax Help Montana, a collaborative effort of many Montana organizations to provide Earned Income Tax Credit outreach and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites to their local communities. In the past four years, this program has increased from two sites and 190 tax returns filed to 28 sites and over 5,000 tax returns filed. Tax Help Montana not only prepares tax returns for low income individuals and families, but works to link asset building to the sites. Financial education, resource libraries, individual development accounts, credit reports and counseling are examples of programs that are offered at the tax sites.

Abby Hughes Holsclaw currently serves at the Director of Resource Development for Goodwill Industries International. Prior to working for Goodwill, she was the Vice President of Community Development for Nets to Ladders, Inc. where she helped community nonprofits connect individuals to public and private benefits.

Abby previously served as the Program Director for Early Childhood and Family Economic at the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education, and Families. In this role, Abby led the Institute’s efforts to strengthen the capacity of municipal leaders to meet the needs of children, youth, and families in their communities.

Prior to her position at the Institute, Abby spent several years as a policy analyst at Kentucky Youth Advocates working on state fiscal issues and innovative childhood success and family strengthening strategies. She also served as the director of research for a municipality in Arkansas spearheading efforts to increase fiscal resources and support families and neighborhoods.

Steve Holt has served as Director of the City of Milwaukee’s Community Block Grant Administration, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Jobs Initiative, and a lobbyist at the state and federal levels on welfare, employment, and tax policy.  His firm HoltSolutions – now based in Washington, DC – provides evaluation, research, management, and public policy consulting services to foundations and non-profit organizations.  Since 2003, he has coordinated data collection and analysis for the National Tax Assistance for Working Families Campaign under contract with the Annie E. Casey Foundation.  Recent publications include “Keeping it in Context:  Earned Income Tax Credit Compliance and Treatment of the Working Poor” (Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal), “Marginal Tax Rates Facing Low- and Moderate-Income Workers Who Participate in Means-Tested Transfer Programs” (National Tax Journal) and The Earned Income Tax Credit at Age 30: What We Know (Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program).  Holt is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Jean Hunt serves as the Executive Director of the Campaign for Working Families in Philadelphia. Her experience includes Program Director, Children, Youth and Families programs at the William Penn Foundation; Executive Director of the Mayor's Children and Families Cabinet, City of Philadelphia; Assistant Managing Director assigned to the Department of Recreation; Executive Director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women; twenty years experience as an RN in the health care field providing both direct clinical services and health care administration, and community organizing work.

Marshall Hunt has over 34 years of experience in tax administration at the IRS and 20 years as a tax volunteer, and is now the Director of the Tax Assistance Program at the Volunteer Accounting Service Team of Michigan (VAST-MI). In 1995, Mr. Hunt received Vice President Gore's National Performance Review Hammer Award for his work with the Michigan Family Independence Agency in establishing a wage reporting system that provides thousands of home help workers with social security coverage and income reporting. A Certified Public Accountant since 1972, he has been active in the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) and was the recipient of the MACPA Outstanding CPA in Government Award. Mr. Hunt received an M.S. in taxation from Walsh College in 1980, and a B.A. in business administration from University of Michigan-Dearborn in 1969, where he has been an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Management since 1986. He is married to Nancy Hunt and has one stepson, Gregory Peterson.

Richart Keller is a member of AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) and has been a consultant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation for the last three years, serving as the Program Coordinator for the Providence Asset Building Coalition, an initiative of Making Connections Providence. Rick is an urban and environmental planner and an experienced project manager with a wide range of experience which includes community development, community organizing, housing, organizational development of non-profits, community mediation, facilitation, intergovernmental relations, and environmental planning and management. He has been a consultant for over 17 years, both on his own and for over a decade with a large national environmental engineering firm; he has served as Executive Director of a community development corporation and has been a Board member of various local and regional non-profit organizations. Rick has lived in Providence, Rhode Island for the last 22 years.

Kristy Koberna is the Executive Director of Tax-Aid, a nonprofit organization of CPAs, attorneys and others that provide free income tax preparation to low-income families in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the three years since Ms. Koberna joined Tax-Aid, the program has more than doubled the number of clients it serves and the amount ofrefunds generated. In 2004 alone 2451 families received more than $2,378,000 in refunds. Tax-Aid is currently coordinating 27 free tax preparation sites in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Alameda and Marin counties. Prior to joining Tax-Aid, Ms. Koberna served as the Deputy Executive Director of the California Society of CPAs. She holds a Masters in Education Administration degree from Brigham Young University and was a Community Education Fellow with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

David Marzahl is the Executive Director of the Center for Economic Progress in Chicago. The Center is a statewide advocacy and service organization that seeks to increase economic opportunities for low-income families, children and individuals by improving access to public, private and non-profit programs and services. The Center operates the Tax Counseling Project, the largest statewide free, community-based tax preparation program in the U.S. Prior to joining the Center in 1998, Mr. Marzahl was the founding director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights, a statewide coalition of organizations promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees. Mr. Marzahl has a Master's Degree in Political Economy from Northwestern University.

Nayoakee Parker is the Asset Development Manager for the Social Development Commission (SDC), the lead agency for the Milwaukee Asset Building Coalition (MABC) in MIlwaukee, Wisconsin. After years of helping family and friends prepare taxes, Nayoakee capitalized on her extensive background in accounting and began her tenure at SDC as an Accounts Payable Supervisor. A little over a year later, she was promoted to her current position. Nayoakee holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the Cardinal Stritch University and is currently preparing to return Cardinal Stritch to complete an M.S. in Business Management.

David Rothstein is a researcher at Policy Matters Ohio. David researches tax, wage and consumer policy, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, the living wage, payday lending, and predatory lending. He also works on energy policy with the Apollo Alliance for clean energy and good jobs. David serves on the Steering Committee for the Cuyahoga EITC Coalition, which is Ohio's largest free tax preparation, asset building, and EITC effort. Each year, David produces reports on the EITC and RALs across Ohio. David has a B.A. in Political Science from John Carroll University in Cleveland and a Master's in Political Science from Kent State University, where he is pursuing a Ph.D.

Sarah Ruppel is the Asset Building Coordinator for White Earth Investment Initiative. Ms. Ruppel is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned her bachelor's degree in History. In 2003-2004 she came to work for the company as an affordable housing VISTA volunteer. In her current position she is the tax site administrator for the company's volunteer income tax assistance service. Her other activities include securing trust funds for children and financial education for youth and adults.

Kaye Schmitz was the Executive Director for the Real$ense Prosperity Campaign, a holistic approach to improving the financial stability for vulnerable Northeast Floridians, for six years and implemented the coalition from an idea on paper. Since its inception in 2003, the dollar amount of Earned Income Tax Credit brought back into Northeast Florida has grown by 833% and the number of financial class student hours by 329%. As a result of her tenure with the coalition, Kaye is a locally and nationally recognized speaker and was honored in 2007 with a “Best Practice Award” by the National Disability Institute in Washington, D. C. In March 2009, Kaye was hired as the Executive Director for the newly formed Florida Prosperity Partnership, a Florida statewide collaboration, and in May, 2009 was elected to the NCTC Steering Committee.

Eugene Severens, Director Self-Employment Tax Initiative, CFED. In 1989, Eugene Severens founded the Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP), a microlending and training program housed at the Center for Rural Affairs and serving rural Nebraska.  He went on to found, in 1994, the Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund, a successful statewide financial intermediary and CDFI which supports microenterprise programs in Nebraska.  The Partnership Fund received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Microenterprise Development in 1995. Gene is currently Director of CFED’s National Fund for Enterprise Development, a CDFI intermediary, and he directs CFED’s Self-employment Tax Initiative (SETI), a project which explores how the tax code can be used as an important new direct delivery systems for microbusinesses. Among other activities, SETI makes mini-grants to community-based organizations which provide microlending and/or free tax preparation assistance to self-employed start-up businesses.

Pam Smith is the Manager of the EITC and Volunteer Programs within Community Action Project, a comprehensive anti-poverty agency with over 300 employees and over 450 volunteers. Over the span of her career, Pam has worked in a variety of arenas including human resources, sales and accounting. Pam began her work with Community Action Project in 1998 with leadership responsibilities in human resources, project management and volunteer oversight. Pam has been actively involved in the EITC Program for five years providing volunteer and support staff coordination during each tax season. In 2001, Pam assumed the role of manager for the EITC Program. Through Pam's leadership skills and the ability to work with community volunteers, she led the program to a record high year of returning nearly $20 million in tax refunds to individuals and families in the Tulsa Community during the 2003 tax season successfully concluding the 10th year of the Free Tax Program.

Joanna Smith-Ramani is the Director of the Baltimore CASH Campaign. The Baltimore CASH Campaign (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) was formed in 2000 to implement strategies to increase financial security opportunities for low-income Baltimore families. Baltimore CASH works with coalition partners including government agencies, community organizations, financial institutions, and funders, to provide asset building programs, including free tax preparation assistance, financial counseling, financial education, and benefits assistance.  Prior to joining the CASH Campaign in 2005, Joanna worked for Self Help Credit Union, a North Carolina based community development financial institution, developing a marketing plan and community partnerships to assist in expansion into the Washington DC area.  Joanna has also worked at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in their Policy Development and Research Division and several Habitat for Humanity affiliates.   She holds a Master in Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

Mimi Turchinetz is the Living Wage Administrator for the City of Boston and Mayor Thomas Menino's Campaign Director for the Boston Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign. An attorney who received a Juris Doctor from New England School of Law and a BA from University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Ms. Turchinetz is a long time community and political activist who focuses her work on economic development and community empowerment. She has been active in the Community Development Corporation and Housing movement for a number of years and is currently a founding member and the Vice-Chairperson of the Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation, a start-up CDC in the Boston neighborhoods of Hyde Park and Roslindale. As the current Campaign Director of the Boston EITC Campaign she has guided a coalition of the City of Boston, businesses, regulators and community-based organizations, effectively opening and staffing 20 free tax preparation sites in the city of Boston. Last year's Boston EITC campaign brought back over $7 million dollars into the pockets of low to moderate income taxpayers and provided an economic engine to the neighborhoods of Boston.

Brenda Williams serves as the Financial Literacy Manager for Community Link in Charlotte, NC. Brenda oversees the work of the Family Financial Literacy Coalition (FFLC) which was established in December 2004. The FFLC is a collaboration between nonprofit, private industry, and local government representatives to promote resources that provide basic financial education that enables families to build assets and achieve financial stability. Free tax preparation, EITC education and financial literacy services are provided in Mecklenburg and surrounding counties. In 2009, the FFLC completed over 6700 tax returns at 17 sites in Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Iredell Counties. Brenda has served in the nonprofit sector for 14 years and brings to her current role more than 10 years of experience in both volunteer management and tax preparation. Additionally, she has worked in the fields of quality improvement and risk management, serving as a consultant to youth mentoring programs, child mental health services and the insurance industry. Brenda has done considerable advocacy work on behalf of youth and senior citizens. Her experiences have included the Governor’s Task Force on Mentoring, Charlotte Advocates for Education, and the Mecklenburg Nursing Home Advisory Committee. Brenda holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Steering Committee Staff

Jackie Lynn Coleman serves as the Director of Capacity Building and Training at the Center for Economic Progress and the Co-Coordinator of the National Community Tax Coalition, a project of the Center for Economic Progress. Ms. Coleman has 5 years of experience in Community Banking and 11 years of experience working in the areas of organizational, community, economic, and workforce development, as well as public policy. In the past she has provided capacity building to a number of organizations, including construction, child care and manufacturing, across the nation; apprenticeship programs, the Chicago One-Stop Career Centers, and the Illinois Department of Human Services. Ms. Coleman is a candidate for a Ph.D. in Nonprofit Management, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Spertus College with a M.S. in Human Services Administration, and gained a B.S. with honors in Political Science from Chicago State University.