Ann W. Heath Legal Consultant Ann W. Heath joined PAR as a legal consultant in 2006. Ms. Heath has over ten years experience in private legal practice, association management, business development, governmental relations, and the implementation of public policy. Additionally Ms. Heath works as a legal software trainer with Thomson Reuters and as an evening instructor with the Louisiana State University Paralegal Certification Program. Ms. Heath obtained a Juris Doctor in Law from the University of South Carolina in 1993, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix in 2005.

David Hood Senior Healthcare Policy Analyst David W. Hood served as cabinet secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals for 6 years. He retired in 2004 from a 26-year career in public healthcare administration. Well-respected as a reform-minded government administrator, Mr. Hood developed strategies for more efficient use of tax dollars by minimizing waste and fraud, deploying new technologies and utilizing private sector solutions wherever possible. He proposed and successfully implemented major system changes to improve primary and preventive care that emphasized early diagnosis and treatment, health education and lifestyle changes to avoid expensive diseases and chronic conditions. His success in public service has been recognized by several national awards. In 2004, he was honored with the Nathan Davis Award for careers in public service in the advancement of public health, a national award from the American Medical Association. In 2002, he won the Child Health Advocate Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics for his significant progress toward improving the lives of children. In 1995, he won the John Bragg Award for Excellence in Legislative Service by the Southern Legislative Conference. Mr. Hood is an alumnus of Louisiana State University . He also served in the U.S. Air Force officer corps. E-mail: dwhood@la-par.org

Susan Mintz Kantrow Director of Development Susan Mintz Kantrow has been Director of Development for PAR since 1999. Prior positions include: Director of Development and Public Affairs, Odyssey House, Louisiana (New Orleans); Development Director, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (New Orleans); and Coordinator of Volunteer Services and Director of the Parkway Partners Program, New Orleans Parkway and Park Commission. Ms. Kantrow served as Vice-President of the Greater New Orleans Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and was named Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the Greater New Orleans Chapter. She was also named a YWCA Role Model and a Young Leadership Council Role Model. Ms. Kantrow serves on the board of Volunteer! Baton Rouge and Leave a Legacy. She is president-elect of the Greater Baton Rouge Chapter of AFP. Ms. Kantrow is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Newcomb College of Tulane University and has attended numerous professional seminars and workshops, including a symposium on public/private partnerships at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. E-mail: susan@la-par.org

Ty Keller Senior Research Associate, Emeritus With nearly 40 years' experience in public policy research, Ty Keller holds the position of Senior Research Associate at PAR. Since joining PAR in 1971, he has authored or directed research on dozens of publications dealing with a wide variety of Louisiana state and local government issues. His studies on economic development, comparative taxes and community colleges have received awards for distinguished research and special achievement from the national Governmental Research Association. Mr. Keller has done extensive research on tax and fiscal policy; property tax issues; vo-tech education; and education management. He has also conducted numerous management studies of state agencies and undertaken contract studies for local governments throughout the state. Mr. Keller graduated cum laude from Brigham Young University in 1962 and did postgraduate work at BYU and the New York University Graduate School of Public Administration. Prior to joining PAR, he was an assistant professor at California State University at Fullerton and worked for the National Municipal League. E-mail: tykeller@la-par.org

Julie Mascarella Office Manager Julie Mascarella serves as office manager and oversees various programs and projects. She is responsible for organizing PAR's annual conference and supervises PAR's standing committees. She also manages PAR's database of over 3,500 members. In addition, Ms. Mascarella serves as bookkeeper and publications manager. She maintains records for all project grants as well as PAR's financial records. She is also responsible for the final layout of all PAR publications. Ms. Mascarella has over 25 years in various office management roles prior to joining PAR in 2004. Additionally, she worked with several professional associations in administering and coordinating their membership management, administrative and event-planning projects. E-mail: jmascarella@la-par.org

Connie McClendon Administrative Assistant/Membership Connie McClendon joined the PAR staff in 1993. She serves as Administrative Assistant and is responsible for maintaining PAR's database, which consists of over 3,500 members throughout the state. In addition, she is responsible for all membership correspondence and billing. Ms. McClendon also assists with PAR's publication orders and bulk mailings. E-mail: connie@la-par.org

Alison Neustrom, Ph.D. Research Director Dr. Neustrom joins PAR after serving as the Vice-President for Public Policy at the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations where she was responsible for monitoring legislation and informing public policy for the benefit of Louisiana’s nonprofit sector and the people it serves. Prior to that, she served as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Family Support at the Department of Social Services, which administers the SNAP program, TANF, Child Support Enforcement, Child Care, Child Care Licensing and Disability Determinations. Dr. Neustrom served four years as Director of Policy and Planning at the Department of Social Services, during which she led state and federal public policy development while administering hurricane recovery projects. She also worked as a Research Associate at the Administrative Offices of the Courts at the California Judicial Council in the Center for Families, Children and the Courts. Dr. Neustrom holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and a master’s in Social Work and Ph.D. in Sociology from Louisiana State University. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkley School of Social Welfare. E-mail: alison@la-par.org

Karen Rowley, PhD Special Projects Manager Karen Rowley joined the staff of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana in 2006 as special projects manager to oversee the GulfGov Reports project, a longitudinal study of the impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita on Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama that has resulted in seven reports examining various aspects of the recovery. Her current research focus is on state education policy developments. Dr. Rowley's background is in journalism. She worked for daily newspapers in Florida and North Carolina and served as managing editor of The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report in Baton Rouge for eight years. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master's degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University, and a Ph.D. in media and public affairs at Louisiana State University. Her doctoral research focused on specifically on statewide public affairs television and its role in the institution of state government. She has presented research papers at several conferences, and she has been the lead author on articles published in such academic journals as Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, American Journalism, and The Howard Journal of Communications. E-mail: krowley@la-par.org

Robert Travis Scott President Robert Travis Scott became President of PAR in January 2011. He has 30 years of experience dealing with public policy issues as a journalist, researcher, commentator, analyst and nonprofit manager. His work has received national and regional recognition through numerous awards for investigative reporting projects, business coverage and writing. Prior to joining PAR, Mr. Scott was based in Baton Rouge for eight years as Capital Bureau Chief for The Times-Picayune, the New Orleans metropolitan newspaper. He was a contributor of stories and videos to its associated web site, Nola.com. He previously served as Editor of the prize-winning Money section for the Picayune and as a business editor and columnist for The Greenville News in South Carolina. In the 1980s he was an Associate Director and Editor for a bipartisan, nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., dealing with nuclear arms control. He has lived in Italy and Guatemala. Mr. Scott is an honors graduate of the University of South Carolina's Department of Government and International Studies, where he was named outstanding senior. He has a certificate in international studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies - Bologna Center in Italy. E-mail: robertscott@la-par.org