Staff

Policy Analyst

Alex Ambrose

Alex Ambrose (she/they), Policy Analyst, researches policies with a focus on climate justice and transportation.

Prior to NJPP, Alex served as Policy Associate at the Association of NJ Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) and Policy Assistant at New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (NJLCV). In those roles, she worked on policy and legislation to protect clean water, preserve open space, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions with an emphasis on equity.

Alex holds a Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University where she also received her Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources with a minor in Environmental Geomatics.

Policy Intern

Dash Barany

KD “Dash” Barany (they/she), Policy Intern, researches the criminal legal system, focusing on fines and fees imposed by the courts. They are interested in advocacy, social justice, and anti-poverty policy.

Dash is a lifelong New Jersey resident from Avenel, NJ. They began their career as an undergraduate at Eastern University, where they earned a B.A. in Political Science. They served in the AmeriCorps as a VISTA member with the Puerto Rican Action Board (PRAB Inc.) in New Brunswick, NJ. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they worked with the New Brunswick Community Food Alliance to provide residents with resources to prevent food insecurity. In 2022, they enrolled in Rutgers University’s dual Masters of Social Work and Masters of Public Policy programs and is expected to graduate Spring of 2025. They currently serve as an Eagleton Fellow in the New Jersey Executive Branch.

Senior Manager of Content and Multimedia Strategy

Erica Boland

Erica Boland (she/her), Senior Manager of Content and Multimedia Strategy, leads NJPP’s multimedia content creation, video production, social media strategy, website management, and publications workflow.

Erica works closely with the entire NJPP team as well as outside partners on events, press conferences, and other speaking engagements, and creates social media posts, graphics, videos, and blog posts. Erica also serves in both the Gender Equity Workgroup and the LGBTQ+ Equity Workgroup with the State Priorities Partnership, with the goal to help the national network of think tanks advance equity in its work.

Prior to joining NJPP in 2021, Erica worked for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, where she led and executed dynamic digital campaigns promoting programs and events that benefit New Jersey residents. Erica has also worked as a graphic designer and art director for private marketing agencies designing websites, email campaigns, and social media campaigns. Erica graduated from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University with her Bachelor’s of Science in Art Education.

Senior Policy Analyst

Peter Chen

Peter Chen, Esq. (he/him), Senior Policy Analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective, serves as tax and budget lead, coordinating analysis of state and local fiscal policy. Peter has worked on child and family policy advocacy in New Jersey since 2014. Most recently, he spearheaded New Jersey’s creation of a state-level Child Tax Credit. Peter’s work has included coordination of the statewide nonprofit Census complete count campaign, advocacy to strengthen state and local laws to protect children from lead exposure, and reducing chronic absenteeism from school.

Previously Peter served as Policy Counsel for KIDS COUNT grantee Advocates for Children of New Jersey. Peter received his JD from Yale Law School and his Bachelors of Arts from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Development Director

Jennifer Fekete-Donners

Jennifer Fekete-Donners (she/her), Development Director,  oversees donor communications and manages the organization’s fund development. Jennifer is an experienced development and fundraising professional, with over fifteen years of experience working in nonprofit and higher education. She is a skilled development writer and communicator, with particular expertise in annual giving, fundraising event management, and donor cultivation.

Prior to joining the staff at New Jersey Policy Perspective, Jennifer was the Associate Director of Advancement at the Michener Art Museum, a cultural institution devoted to preserving, interpreting and displaying the rich artistic legacy of Bucks County and the surrounding region. During her tenure, Jennifer executed successful fundraising campaigns, seamlessly weaving together a comprehensive, multi-channel strategy that encompassed annual support, fundraising events, individual and corporate membership, and exhibition and program sponsorship, as well as laying the groundwork for a reinvigorated planned giving program. Prior to her time at the Michener, Jennifer was Development Director at One Simple Wish, an innovative nonprofit which provides support and wish fulfillment for children living in the foster care system, and the Manager of Membership and Annual Support at the Princeton University Art Museum.

She received her Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in History of Art from Cornell University.

Senior Policy Analyst

Brittany L. Holom-Trundy

Dr. Brittany L. Holom-Trundy (she/her), Senior Policy Analyst, is a researcher and lecturer whose interests include health care system reform, the differential impact of health policies across socioeconomic groups, and the role of social and cultural factors in the access to and use of health care services, as well as health outcomes.

Prior to joining NJPP in May 2020, Brittany taught classes on human security, health care systems, post-Soviet politics, human rights, and development at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and in the Department of Political Science at The College of New Jersey. She also served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at the Puerto Rican Action Board in New Brunswick and has recently volunteered at one of New Jersey’s COVID-19 testing sites as part of the Medical Reserve Corps.

Brittany received her Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University in 2018, where her dissertation explored healthcare reforms in the former Soviet countries and the impact of decision making at critical junctures on long-term institutional trajectories. She received her Master’s in Politics from Princeton in 2013 and her Bachelor of Arts in Russian Language and Literature and Political Science from the University of Notre Dame in 2011.

Finance and Operations Director

Lianna Reagan

Lianna Reagan (she/her), Finance and Operations Director, works on administration for NJPP including financial management, human resources, and operations.

Prior to joining NJPP in 2023, Lianna worked for Girls on the Run Northern Virginia as their Director of Administration. She has also worked on policy issues such as school discipline reform, judicial election reform, voting access and voter ID, and campaign finance reform. Lianna has her Masters in Public Administration from the Wagner School of Public Policy at New York University, and her B.A. from Barnard College where she majored in Urban Studies.

President

Nicole Rodriguez

Nicole Rodriguez (she/her), President, is an experienced public policy leader who advocates for equitable solutions that center communities’ needs with racial, social, and economic justice.

Before joining New Jersey Policy Perspective as Research Director, Nicole was senior researcher at Community Labor United (CLU) — an organization that brings community and labor partners together to speak in one voice on issues affecting working families throughout Greater Boston. Nicole drove strategic campaigns with rigorous research and leadership that stabilized and strengthened low-paid families and communities of color.

Before that, Nicole worked as senior policy analyst for the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an independent research organization that produces nonpartisan policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations to improve the lives of low- and middle-income residents and strengthen the state’s economy. Nicole wrote numerous reports focusing on family economic security and the state budget.

She has also worked for foundations, nonprofits, and state and local governments. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Villanova University.

Individual Giving Manager

Shelby Siwczak

Shelby Siwczak (she/her), Individual Giving Manager, works closely with the Development Director on creating strategies and programs to meaningfully engage individual donors and increase their understanding of and commitment to NJPP’s work.

Prior to joining NJPP in 2024, Shelby worked as the Manager of Individual Giving and Special Events at McCarter Theatre Center and as the Manager of Patron and Individual Giving at The Metropolitan Opera. In these roles, she strengthened their respective individual giving programs through personalized donor engagement, targeted fundraising communications, and the management of various development events throughout the year. She is also well-versed in fundraising data analysis and made improvements to existing systems and reports at each organization, leading to data-driven strategies for successful campaigns.

Shelby received her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Montclair State University.

Senior Policy Analyst

Marleina Ubel

Marleina Ubel (she/her), Senior Policy Analyst, researches the criminal legal system with a focus on alternatives to policing that center restorative justice.

Previously, Marleina was NJPP’s 2020-2021 Kathleen Crotty Fellow where she analyzed the state budget process and researched public spending on state and local law enforcement.

Marleina began her undergraduate work at Valencia College and earned a transfer scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she earned a B.A. in Philosophy. As a PIKSI fellow, she spent a summer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology challenging demographic disparities in institutions of higher learning. In 2021, she earned her M.S.W. in Management and Policy at Rutgers University and served as an Eagleton Fellow in the New Jersey Assembly Majority Office. Marleina lives in Lambertville with her husband and daughter.