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Staff Bios
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Ralph
Martire |
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Ralph Martire is executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. Mr. Martire teaches a Master's level class on education finance and fiscal policy for the University of Illinois and Roosevelt University. In February, 2011, he was appointed to serve on the U.S. Department of Education Equity and Excellence Commission. He is a distinguished lecturer on public policy for Roosevelt University and has taught fiscal policy seminars for various universities and the International Fulbright Scholar Program. Ralph has received numerous awards for his work on education policy reform, including the 2007 Champion of Freedom Award, presented by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to individuals whose professional work embodies Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, commitment to equal educational opportunities.
Mr. Martire graduated from Indiana University Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.A. in history and received his JD from the University of Michigan. He is married to Mary Kay Martire, and has two children, a son Nicholas, and a daughter Valerie. He coaches Little League baseball, boys basketball and girls soccer.
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KATHY MILLER Director of Communications and Development (312) 332-1481
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Kathy Miller
is Director of Communications and Development at CTBA. Kathy’s
career in the nonprofit sector extends from legislation and advocacy
to nonprofit management and fund development. She has been a
consultant on fundraising, governance and communications to local,
state and national nonprofit organizations, including service as an
adviser to NAACP Chairman Julian Bond. Kathy has directed training
programs for the Center for Nonprofit Success and the national
ACLU’s Fund Raising Faculty. She held prior positions as Development
Director of the Evanston Community Foundation, Associate Director of
the ACLU of IL and as national ACLU lobbyist on race and sex
discrimination where she led the successful campaign to amend Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect pregnant workers.
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ROBERT (Bobby) E. OTTER Education and Fiscal Policy
Analyst
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ROBERT OTTER joined CTBA in 2012 as Education and Fiscal Policy Analyst. Before joining CTBA, Bobby worked in the Office of Communications at Chicago Public Schools, handling research and policy for the department on topics ranging from the annual budget, school actions, labor negotiations, the longer school day, assessments, metrics and other major education policy initiatives rolled out by the District. Prior to this, he worked in the Office of Academic Enhancement at CPS. Additionally, Bobby worked on the Policy Committee for Toni Preckwinkle's successful 2010 campaign for Cook County Board President and has interned with the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and Senator Dick Durbin. He holds a Masters in Public Policy from the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago, a B.A. in History for the Catholic University of America and attended St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago.
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AMANDA KASS Research and
Policy Specialist,
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AMANDA KASS joined CTBA in 2011 as Research and Policy Specialist, Pensions and Local Government. She will head CTBA’s Illinois Retirement Security Initiative (IRSI). Before joining CTBA, Amanda completed an MA in Geography from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her master’s thesis focused on post-earthquake reconstruction efforts in Haiti, which underscored the importance of fiscal policy in ensuring the public sector has the capacity to deliver crucial services. Before graduate school, she was a Geographic Information Systems Analyst for Stantec Consulting Services, an engineering consulting firm in Columbus, OH. Two notable Stantec projects included a City of Columbus, OH sewer and sanitation systems remediation study and mapping for FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program. Amanda obtained her BA from Ohio State University where she double-majored in International Studies and Geography.
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JENNIFER R. LOZANO Research Associate
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JENNIFER LOZANO joined CTBA as a Research Associate after receiving her law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC, she worked closely with the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity on North Carolina’s Earned Income Tax Credits. Jen interned at the North Carolina Attorney General’s office and the North Carolina State Board of Education. She also worked with the North Carolina Access to Justice Commission to create legislation on mandatory pro bono work for lawyers in North Carolina. She was selected to be the Region VI President for the student division of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Jen was also a member of the International Moot Court Client Counseling Team. She has also served on the fundraising committee of the non-profit organization, Girls on the Run of the Triangle. Before attending law school, she received her bachelor’s degree in both Communication Studies and Sociology from Northwestern University. She is a life-long Chicagoan, having grown up in the Portage Park neighborhood and attended Lane Tech. |
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TRACY A. SCHONBERGER Administrative
Director
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TRACY SCHONBERGER is the Administrative Director at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, with over fifteen years of administration and management experience. Tracy has been on staff at CTBA since its inception in 1999, and provides overall day-to-day operational, financial and administrative management for CTBA. Prior to joining CTBA, she was a legal secretary during which time she worked with Ralph Martire. Tracy’s time in the legal sector provided her with tremendous organizational and computer skills that have equipped her with the expertise necessary to meet the time sensitive nature of CTBA's work.
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