David Adkins, a former Kansas state senator, leads The Council of State Governments as its executive director and CEO. Prior to joining CSG, Adkins served as vice chancellor for External Affairs at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Adkins, a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law, was a Kansas state senator from 2001 to 2005 and served in the Kansas House from 1993 to 2001. While in the legislature, Adkins was an active CSG member serving on the executive committee of the national organization and as chair of the 11-state Midwestern Legislative Conference of CSG. He also is an alumnus of the CSG Toll Fellows Leadership program, Class of 1993. His gubernatorial appointments in Kansas include chairman of the Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education.

Elizabeth Whitehouse is the Chief Public Policy Officer at The Council of State Governments. Her work was instrumental in the Work Matters Task Force and has assisted legislators and governors with policy on workforce issues. Previously, she served as the Director of Education and Workforce Development at CSG. Prior to CSG, she served in a number of roles within Kentucky State Government, including the Department of Charitable Gaming, the Education and Workforce Cabinet and the Office of the Governor.

Heather leads our Finance department and supports strategic efforts to ensure stewardship of CSG resources with integrity, sustainability, and impact. She has over 15 years of experience supporting state leaders with fiscal policy and operations, including her roles with the CSG Policy team and as a Director at KPMG. Heather has a Finance degree from the University of Florida. She continues to achieve her goal of having traveled to as many countries as she is years old.

Luke E. Martel is Deputy Director of The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. He oversees a $40 million portfolio that supports state officials with innovative solutions to address pressing issues. Previously, he served for over 14 years at the National Conference of State Legislatures, including as Director of the Employment, Labor and Retirement Program. Luke earned a B.A. from Southwestern University and a J.D. from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.

Sarah Needler is the Director of Research at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. Sarah manages member research requests, evidence-based policymaking initiatives, fiscal policy research, health policy projects and the CSG Book of the States. She earned an M.A. in Economics from the University of British Columbia and an M.P.A in International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Dan Logsdon is the Director of the National Center for Interstate Compacts at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. Previously, Dan was Vice Chair of Kentucky's Public Service Commission. He served as Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear’s deputy chief of staff and as Assistant Kentucky State Treasurer. He also served as vice president for external affairs at Alltel Communications and Windstream Communications. He earned a B.A. in History from Murray State University.

Dina Klimkina is the Program Director of the Education and Workforce Team at Center of Innovation at The Council of State Governments. Dina manages CSG’s programming with the State Exchange on Employment and Disability, The Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE Youth), KY’s Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN), the CSG East Education and Workforce Committee, and a variety of other projects. She also performs research and policy analysis, develops reports and presentations, and conducts outreach and engagement with stakeholders as needed. Prior to CSG, she worked at the University of Kentucky, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the One Earth Future Foundation, and the United Nations, among other organizations.

Sydney Blodgett is a Program Manager at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. She has experience engaging state leaders to discuss policy issues and solutions in a bipartisan and innovative way. Throughout her career, Sydney has researched state policy and disseminated her analyses through articles and online platforms. Sydney previously worked for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. She earned a B.A. from the University of Louisville and an M.P.A from the University of Kentucky.

Andrew Johnson is a Policy Analyst at the Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. He works with the Education and Workforce Development Team. He attended the University of Kentucky, where he earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in both History and Political Science, as well as a Master of Arts in Education. Before coming to CSG, he taught middle school Social Studies and Reading & Writing and served on his school’s Site-Based Decision-Making Council.

Elise Gurney is a Senior Policy Analyst at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. She conducts research and analysis and provides technical assistance to guide state policymakers in developing and implementing workforce and education policies and programs. Much of her work focuses on enhancing opportunities for underserved populations, including individuals with disabilities. Elise earned a B.A. in Economics from Carleton College.

Rachel Wright provides support to the State Exchange on Employment and Disability. In this role, Rachel convenes state policymakers and subject matter experts; develops analyses of state disability employment and workforce development policies; and prepares research memos, policy briefs and reports for state officials and non-technical audiences. Rachel earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Kentucky.

Abeer Sikder is a Policy Analyst at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. He works on the Education and Workforce Development Team and conducts research and analysis on policies that support employment for youth and young adults with disabilities. Abeer served in Teach For America as a middle and high school math teacher in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Louisville.

Enmanuel Gomez is a Policy Analyst at the Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. Previously, he was a Political Affairs Consultant at the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, engaged in project management, strategic operations and research. In his career, he has advocated for youth empowerment in global issues. He earned his M.A. in Political Science from Oklahoma State University and his B.A. in Journalism from Universidad de Palermo in Argentina.

Mary Wurtz is a Policy Associate at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Mary earned her Master of Management Science degree in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing in 2021. In 2020, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages and International Studies from Bellarmine University. Prior to coming to CSG, Mary worked at Catholic Charities of Louisville in education and community engagement.

Chip O’Connell is a Research Data Scientist at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. He earned bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Economics from Marshall University and expects to earn his PhD in Political Science from the University of Kentucky in 2022. Prior to coming to The Council of State Governments, Chip instructed Political Science classes in topics such as political analysis. He loves playing with data and enjoys every step of the data analysis process.

Carl Sims is a Special Projects Manager at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. Carl oversees the work of the 2021-22 CSG Healthy States National Task Force, a multi-year project focused on the improvement of state fiscal, civic, economic and workforce and human health. Carl earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Kentucky Wesleyan College and his Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Kentucky’s Martin School.

Matt Shafer is a Deputy Program Director at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. Matt serves in the National Center for Interstate Compacts, where he manages development of licensure compacts for teaching, cosmetology, massage therapy, social work and dentistry and supports the legislative enactment of licensure compacts for counseling, occupational therapy and speech language pathology. Matt earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kentucky.

Dexter Horne is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. He provides research and logistics support to CSG’s Healthy States National Task Force. Dexter works with private sector partners and Task Force members to develop best practices in civic health, economic and workforce health, fiscal health and human health. Dexter earned his bachelor’s degree in Politics from Centre College and his MPA from the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration.

Isabel Eliassen is a policy associate with the National Center for Interstate Compacts at the Council for State Governments. She earned her B.A. from Western Kentucky University. She works primarily on the licensure compacts for professional counselors, occupational therapists, audiologists and speech-language pathologists and dentists and dental hygienists. She has helped write compact language and provides technical assistance to compact commissions and state legislatures.

Adam Diersing is a Policy Analyst and The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. Adam joined the Council of State Governments after earning a degree in Law and Public Policy from the O’Neill School at Indiana University. Within the Center of Innovation, Adam primarily works on projects in occupational licensure, veteran support policy, and interstate compacts. Outside of work, Adam enjoys pub trivia and exploring the natural beauty around Lexington.

Grant Minix is a Policy Associate at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. Grant works in the National Center for Interstate Compacts where he develops licensing compacts among states. Prior to CSG, Grant worked for the Kentucky General Assembly and in government affairs at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). Grant also served on the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. Grant earned his B.A. in Political Science from EKU and will earn his M.P.A. from EKU in Summer 2022.

Jessica Thomas is a policy associate at the Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. She works for the National Center for Interstate Compacts, supporting the development of compacts. Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree from Bellarmine University, a Master of Education degree from the University of Louisville and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Kentucky.

Keith Buckhout is a Research Associate providing technical assistance on development of interstate compacts for occupational licensure with research and analysis focused on policies that promote public safety, remove barriers to employment, expand access to services and streamline regulatory administration. Prior to joining CSG, Keith served multiple administrations in Kentucky State Government. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Political S.

Dr. Dakota Thomas is a Senior Research Analyst in the Center of Innovation at CSG. In this role, he provides data analysis and research support for state policymakers. He is currently helping lead CSG’s efforts to analyze federal funding for states and make this information understandable and actionable for members. Dakota also works closely with CSG partners to encourage the use of evidence in policymaking. Dakota earned his Ph.D. in Comparative Politics at the University of Kentucky in 2019.

Christina is a Senior Policy Analyst at The Council of State Governments. She collects, monitors and analyzes data on state legislative, executive and judicial actions relevant to program interests; conducts outreach to state officials, national organizations, researchers and national policy experts; develops and writes reports; and assists in the planning, organizing and convening of meetings. Christina comes to CSG from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of the State Budget Director, where she worked as a Policy and Budget Analyst for over 15 years. Her previous role included serving as a liaison within executive branch agencies on budgetary, personnel and legislative matters; conducting fiscal and policy analysis; and providing oversight in agency budget requests, development of Executive Budget recommendations and implementation of enacted budgets and legislation. In addition to the CSG research portfolio, Christina serves as a resource on workforce development for ongoing analysis matters relevant to the states and CSG members.

Ben Reynolds is a Research Analyst for The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. In this role, he provides policy research and technical assistance to state policymakers in all three branches of government and conducts fiscal policy research. Previously, he worked with the Tri-County Economic Development Corporation. Ben earned a B.S. in Economics from Northern Kentucky University and an M.Sc. in Applied Economics and Data Analysis from the University of Essex.

Cassidy White is a Senior Policy Analyst at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. She provides research support and technical assistance to the Shared State Legislation and Women, Infants, and Children programs. Cassidy earned a JD from William & Mary Law School and a BA in Political Science from the University of Kentucky. Cassidy possesses a wealth of policy expertise in human services, behavioral health, intimate partner violence, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Aja Croteau is a Program Manager at The Council of State Governments Center of Innovation. As part of this role, she oversees the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Special Project Innovation and Shared State Legislation initiatives. Aja earned a Bachelor’s in Agriculture and Natural Resources from Berea College and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Kentucky. Aja has a background working in non-profit organizations and food assistance programs.