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CBP Staff

To email a member of the staff directly, use first initial and last name [at] cbp [dot] org, using no spaces or punctuation between the first initial and last name. Example: John Doe would be jdoe [at] cbp [dot] org.

Jean Ross, Executive Director
Jean M. Ross is the founding executive director of the CBP. Her prior professional experience includes serving as principal consultant to the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee; senior consultant to the Assembly Human Services Committee, where she staffed the California Legislature's Joint Select Committee on the Changing Family; and assistant research director of the Service Employees International Union in Washington, DC, where she was responsible for coordinating the union's research on tax, budget, and employment policy issues. Ms. Ross serves on the Board of the Washington, DC-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the Advisory Committee of California's Franchise Tax Board, and the Board of the California Tax Reform Association. Ms. Ross is a frequent speaker on workforce and fiscal policy issues and has published numerous reports and articles on fiscal and economic policy issues. Ms. Ross graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has a master's degree in city and regional planning with a concentration in regional economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Ross was selected as a senior fellow of the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Policy and Social Research in 2000-01.

Alissa Anderson, Deputy Director
Alissa Anderson currently serves as the deputy director of the CBP. She initially joined the CBP in 2005 as a labor market policy analyst and continues to conduct research on California’s economy. Prior to joining the CBP, Ms. Anderson was a research associate in the Education Policy Center at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC. She also held a research internship at the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy and provided research consulting to several organizations, including the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies in Los Angeles. Ms. Anderson received a master’s degree in urban planning with a concentration in regional and economic development from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Bryn Mawr College.

Barbara Baran, Senior Fellow
Barbara Baran is a senior fellow at the CBP. From 2003 until 2005, she served as the CBP's associate director. For the prior 20 years, she worked in the fields of workforce and economic development, as an academic, senior administrator, and national consultant. For much of that time, she served as vice president of the Industrial Services Program and its successor organization, the Corporation for Business, Work, and Learning (CBWL). The CBWL was a $200 million quasi-public corporation in Massachusetts, with both a workforce development and economic development mission. After leaving the CBWL, Ms. Baran was a founding partner of Workforce Learning Strategies, a national consulting organization dedicated to helping policymakers, community, business, and labor leaders develop strategies to ensure decent work and income for all citizens. Ms. Baran's work has included policy analysis, program evaluation, technical assistance, and academic research. She holds a Ph.D. and master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in city and regional planning, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Elisa Barbour, senior policy analyst

Elisa Barbour joined the CBP in November 2007. Prior to joining the CBP, she was a policy analyst for the Public Policy Institute of California, where she studied planning and development issues related to infrastructure, land use, and environmental quality. Ms. Barbour holds a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in city and regional planning, and a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College.

Rebecca Gonzales, Outreach Coordinator
Rebecca Gonzales joined the CBP as outreach coordinator in 1998. She is primarily responsible for conducting training sessions on the state budget process as well as other major policy issues that are before the California Legislature. Prior to her tenure with the CBP, Ms. Gonzales worked for the California State Assembly for nine years. Ms. Gonzales's most recent position with the Legislature was as chief of staff for Assemblymember Antonio Villaraigosa, who went on to become the Mayor of Los Angeles. Prior to her position with Assemblymember Villaraigosa, Ms. Gonzales worked for five years with then-Majority Floor Leader, Assemblymember Tom Hannigan, as a legislative assistant and policy analyst. Her tenure with the Legislature started at the Speaker's Office of Majority Services, under then-Speaker Willie Brown, as a consultant. Ms. Gonzales also worked for CalPIRG, the California Public Interest Group, as a campus organizer at the University of California, Berkeley. She received her bachelor's degree from Stanford University.

Scott Graves, Senior Policy Analyst
Scott Graves has analyzed health and human services issues for the CBP since 2002. Prior to joining the CBP, Mr. Graves worked as a researcher in Austin, Texas, for the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, Consumers Union, and the Public Policy Clinic at the University of Texas, Austin. He also was a California executive fellow and worked as a reporter for newspapers in Arizona and California. Mr. Graves received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Texas, Austin, and a bachelor's degree in government and journalism from California State University, Sacramento.

John Jacobs, COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT

John Jacobs joined the CBP as communications assistant in January 2008. Prior to joining the CBP, Mr. Jacobs served as an intern for the athletics department of California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). Mr. Jacobs received his bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from CSUS.

Jonathan Kaplan, POLICY ANALYST

Jonathan Kaplan joined the CBP as an educational policy analyst in 2006. Prior to joining the CBP, Mr. Kaplan taught law and United States history for seven years in Martinez, California, where he also served as chair of Alhambra High School's Social Science Department. Mr. Kaplan holds a master's degree in education from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and received his bachelor's degree in history from Yale University.

Janice Selby, OFFICE MANAGER
Janice Selby joined the CBP as office manager in August of 2008. Ms. Selby received her Bachelor’s degree in Communications from San Jose State University.

MacKenzie Smith, RESEARCH ASSISTANT
MacKenzie Smith joined the CBP as a student intern in January 2008 and moved into a full-time research assistant position in June. Prior to joining the CBP, Ms. Smith served as an intern for the athletics development department at the University of California, Davis. Ms. Smith received her bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of California, Davis.

Hazaiah Williams, Development Director
Hazaiah Williams joined the CBP in August 2008 as the development director. Mr. Williams comes to the CBP with over 23 years of fundraising and marketing experience in the nonprofit sector having worked with organizations such as, East Meets West Foundation, Nehemiah Community Foundation, United Way California Capital Region, Low Income Housing Fund (now, “Low Income Investment Fund”), and Oxfam America. Mr. Williams also has volunteered on the boards of several nonprofits including, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels, Hearth Homes, and Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency. Mr. Williams received his master’s degree in communication arts from Cornell University, and his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.


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