ED HATCHER is president and founder of The Hatcher Group, a public affairs and communications firm that connects nonprofits to policymakers and the media. He has more than 15 years experience in the media and legislative arenas. Previously, he served as a senior associate at Burness Communications, chief of staff to U.S. Representatives Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Robert T. Matsui (D-Calif.), and press secretary to U.S. Senator George Mitchell (D-Me.) and U.S. Rep. Robin Britt (D-N.C.). He also held positions at the American Electronics Association and the American Sociological Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University, a master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism and is ABD in American history at the University of Maryland, College Park.
JEAN HUNT is the executive director of the Campaign for Working Families and the director of the Working Families Division for the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition. She has previously worked as a program director of Children, Youth and Families programs at the William Penn Foundation; executive director of the Mayor's Children and Families Cabinet for the City of Philadelphia; assistant managing director assigned to the Department of Recreation; and executive director of the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women. She has twenty years of experience as an RN in the health care field providing direct clinical services, health care administration and community organizing work.
JUSTIN KING is the federal policy liaison of the Asset Building Program at the New America Foundation, where he is at the fore of efforts to educate policymakers about broadening asset ownership in the U.S. Previously at the foundation, he served as deputy director of the Workforce and Family Program and senior policy analyst for the Education Policy Program. Prior to joining New America, he was as a legislative assistant to former U.S. Senator James Jeffords (I-Vt.), where he worked extensively on a wide range of issues affecting children and low-income Americans, including Head Start, foster care, and disability policy. He is a cum laude graduate of St. Lawrence University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in government.
ELIZABETH KNEEBONE is a senior research analyst at the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution. Her work primarily focuses on tax policies for low-income families and communities, metropolitan demographics, and the relationships between poverty and neighborhoods. Her publications include ‘Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to Benefit Families and Places,’ ‘Metro Raise: Boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit to Help Metropolitan Workers and Families,’ and ‘Bridging the Gap: Refundable Tax Credits in Metropolitan and Rural America.’
ROBIN MCKINNEY is the director of the Maryland CASH Campaign, a new state-wide network that promotes financial stability for low-income households throughout Maryland. She recently completed the Maryland Asset Building Initiative, a year-long research project connecting and strengthening existing asset-building efforts and creating avenues for policy research and advocacy. Previously, she was the assistant director at East Harbor CDC where she created and managed the Money WISE Café, a one-stop shop for asset development. Prior to East Harbor, Robin worked at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Robin holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Elizabethtown College and a master’s degree in social work from University of Maryland, Baltimore.
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 Refund Anticipation Loans across Ohio. David holds a bachelor’s 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.
PETER RUARK is a policy analyst and advocate for the Michigan League for Human Services, where he specializes in workforce development, public assistance, family self-sufficiency, wage mobility and low-income tax credits. He produces the annual Money Back in Michigan packet, the annual Labor Day Report, Economic Self-Sufficiency in Michigan and the quarterly Economic Security Bulletin. He currently facilitates the Michigan Statewide Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition (and maintains its website), and is an active participant in Michigan’s Adult Learning Work Group. He has been with the League since 2001.
JOANNA SMITH-RAMANI is the director of the Baltimore CASH Campaign (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope), which works to implement strategies that 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 education and benefits assistance. Prior to joining the CASH Campaign, Joanna worked for Self Help Credit Union, a community development financial institution, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and several Habitat for Humanity affiliates. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
CONTACT US
Lucy Mullany
Field Organizer
National Community Tax Coalition
29 E. Madison Street, Suite 900
Chicago, Illinois 60602
