KyPolicy Conference 2023

Heidi Shierholz is the president of the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that uses the power of its research on economic trends and on the impact of economic policies to advance reforms that serve working people, deliver racial justice, and guarantee gender equity. In 2021 she became the fourth president EPI has had since its founding in 1986.

Jason Bailey is the founder and Executive Director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. Jason appears frequently in the media and is a regular speaker to civic organizations on the critical economic and fiscal issues facing the commonwealth. His public service includes appointments to the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform and the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System Funding Work Group. He has a master’s in public administration with a specialization in public finance from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Carson-Newman College.

Jessica Klein joined the staff in September 2019 and focuses on policy issues related to health, food and nutrition. Jessica previously worked on policy and innovation initiatives related to food systems and built environment for the Center for Health Equity in the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. She has a Master’s in Public Health from New York University and a BA in Psychology and Art from Bellarmine University. In her free time, Jessica enjoys biking around her neighborhood and visiting art galleries.

Priscilla Easterling joined KVH in October 2020 as the outreach coordinator. Priscilla is a 2013 graduate of Berea College. Prior to joining Kentucky Voices for Health, Priscilla was a certified navigator for the Affordable Care Act in Virginia, working with legal aid services and the Virginia Poverty Law Center to help with outreach and enrollment for the federal marketplace, medicaid, and CHIP. Priscilla holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and is excited to use her education and experience to support and advocate for Kentuckians.

Dr. Sarah Vanover has been working in the field of early childhood education for over 24 years and has had the opportunity to be a teacher, a director, a trainer, and a college professor for other early childhood educators. She also served as the Director for the Division of Child Care in Kentucky for almost four years supervising Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding and creating child care policy. Dr. Vanover is currently the Policy and Research Director for Kentucky Youth Advocates focusing on early childhood education policy and research on positive outcomes for young children. For the past several years she has focused her work and research on assessing quality early childhood programs for health and safety requirements and school readiness skills.

Ashley Spalding is Research Director at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. She joined the staff in October 2011. Ashley has conducted research on social and economic policies affecting low-income families for over 15 years. Her doctoral and postdoctoral research projects at the University of South Florida focused on low-income housing and education, respectively. Ashley holds a PhD in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida, an MA in Anthropology from the University of South Carolina and a BA in English from Samford University. She was named one of the 2019 Notable Women in Kentucky Politics and Government by The Kentucky Gazette. Ashley is a Kentucky native.

Amelia Kirby is the director of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky’s justice revisioning project. She has a twenty five-year career in Appalachian social justice, working as an activist, cultural worker, and entrepreneur. As a media producer at community media center Appalshop, she co-founded and co-directed the nationally recognized Thousand Kites and Calls from Home media projects addressing the prison industrial complex, and the documentary film Up the Ridge. In addition to her work as a media producer, Amelia served as the development director at the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, a non-profit law firm providing free legal work for people impacted by the extraction industries of the Appalachian coalfields and was the co-owner of Summit City Lounge, an experimental community space and live music venue in the coalfields community of Whitesburg, KY. She has a master’s degree in social work with a concentration in gender-based violence intervention from Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Pam Thomas is Senior Fellow at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. She joined the staff in January 2017 after a long career in state government. Prior to joining KyPolicy, Pam was the Committee Staff Administrator for the Appropriations and Revenue Committee of the Kentucky General Assembly. Pam has extensive experience in the areas of tax policy, budgeting, education finance and workforce policy. Pam also spent some time with the state Justice Cabinet, with a focus on juvenile justice, policy development, budgeting and strategic planning. Pam has a law degree from the University of Kentucky, and a BS in business from St. Bonaventure University in New York. Pam lives in Midway with her husband and enjoys spending time with family, traveling and riding bicycles.

Mary joined ACLC’s staff in October 2008 to expand ACLC’s community-based environmental law work. Mary represents individuals in Southwest Virginia and Eastern Kentucky on a variety of environmental justice issues related to the legacy costs of coal mining, including landowners’ rights issues, toxic waste disposal, and safe drinking water. Mary has served on the Virginia Governor’s Advisory Council on Environmental Justice. Prior to joining ACLC, Mary worked as an Associate Attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center and clerked for the Honorable Glen Conrad of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. She earned her JD magna cum laude from Washington & Lee University School of Law. Mary and her family live on a farm in Wise County, VA, that has been in her family since the 1840s.

R. Scott McReynolds, the Executive Director of the Housing Development Alliance, has worked in the rehabilitation and construction of affordable housing in Eastern Kentucky since 1992. Under his leadership, the Housing Development Alliance has grown from a staff of one to over 35. Since 1996, the Housing Development Alliance has completed over 340 new homes, completed over 900 repairs for low income homeowners, and developed 43 rental units. In recent years, HDA created Redbud Financial Alternates, a CDFI, to combat predatory consumer lending and Hope Building, a paid, on-the-job training program for people in recovery that produces workforce housing. HDA is on a mission to provide a housing solution to 1,000 families in just 10 years. Scott is on the board of the Fahe, the National Rural Housing Coalition, Invest Appalachia, and the Appalachian Impact Fund. When he is not working, he can be found trail running, wood carving, coaching youth soccer or baking pastries. Scott has a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology of Emory University.

Dustin Pugel is Policy Director at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, where he focuses on economic security, health policy and safety net programs while providing strategic support for all of the organization’s policy campaigns. He joined the staff in 2015. Dustin previously worked for BUILD in Lexington, Kentucky where he trained congregations to identify, research and advocate for policy solutions on a local level. He also spent two years providing policy research assistance for the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities. He has a BA in History from Asbury University and a master’s in public administration from the University of Kentucky.

Shelly Baskin is currently the Institutional Review Board Coordinator for Murray State University. Since he came to Murray as an undergraduate student in 2005, Shelly has worked for university as a student worker, public radio reporter, and outreach program coordinator. He has a master’s in public administration focused on public sector labor relations, and over the years he has frequently volunteered as a researcher and organizer for political, community justice, and labor campaigns. He serves on the board of the Murray-Calloway Transit Authority and is the treasurer for the Calloway County Democratic Party. Shelly also currently serves as the chair of the Research and Political Action Committee for United Campus Workers of Kentucky (CWA Local 3365) – a wall-to-wall union working to organize employees at the state’s public university campuses and affiliated healthcare institutions.

Aaron Bone has worked as a barista for Heine Brothers Coffee in Louisville for a year and a half. He’s currently part of the team negotiating their first contract to represent over 200 baristas, making them as one of the largest coffee unions in the country. They’re fighting for higher wages, consistent scheduling, and a more respectful workplace. The Heine Brothers Union wants to show that being a barista should be a career that can support a truly independent life.