Who We Are

Jeffrey Vincent, PhD has studied and written about public school facility policy issues for 20 years. In 2004, he co-founded the Center for Cities + Schools (CC+S) within the Institute for Urban and Regional Development at UC Berkeley. CC+S is an interdisciplinary, action-research center, working to advance policies and practices that create opportunity-rich environments, both in and out of schools, where young people of all backgrounds can thrive. Jeff directs CC+S’s Equitable School Facilities Initiative and is a leading national voice on school facility infrastructure policy, finance, and equity issues. He holds a Doctorate in City and Regional Planning from Berkeley.

Charisma Acey, PhD conducts research on local and regional environmental sustainability with a focus on poverty reduction, urban governance, environmental justice, food justice, and access to basic services. She uses both quantitative and qualitative, community-based research approaches. Her research projects, teaching, and service-learning courses all address barriers to sustainable development, such as human-environment interactions at multiple scales, poverty and participation in local governance and development, and the financing and sustainability of publicly-provided services and utilities. She holds a Doctorate in Urban Planning from Berkeley.

Naomi Cytron served for 17 years as regional manager and research associate with the Community Development Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, where she worked with a range of non-profit, public, and private sector partners to advance systems-level solutions for challenges facing low-income communities and communities of color across the Fed’s 12th District. Her portfolio of research and community engagement strategies focused on comprehensive neighborhood reinvestment, gentrification and displacement risks, early childhood education, climate resilience, and data infrastructure. She holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Charlene Kaloki primarily serves at the Community Programs Manager at the Institute for Urban and Rural Development (IURD), in the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley, where she works closely with faculty and community partners to advance community-centered research focusing on the intersection of public health and the built environment. In her role with the National Center for School Infrastructure, Charlene builds partnerships and shapes communications strategies that expand the reach and impact of NCSI’s work. She brings years of experience from her work in community health centers, where she managed chronic disease care programs, developed health education initiatives, and forged partnerships to address pressing health disparities. Charlene holds an M.S. in Health Communication for Social Change from the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy.

Jenny Holland has a Bachelor’s degree from University of California, Davis and began working for UC Berkeley in 2012. Before joining the NCSI team, she provided administrative support for the English Department and the Institute of Governmental Studies.  She has a deep appreciation for education at all levels and admiration for the work being done across the consortium.

Mary Filardo is a leading national authority and advocate for improving the equity, efficiency and quality of public school buildings and grounds. For 30 years, she has conducted research, developed technology tools, provided technical support, and facilitated collaborative networks to empower local community stakeholders, school district leaders, and state officials to realize the goal of providing modern school facilities for all children. She has published extensively on public school facility policy and spending, and she founded the [Re]Build America’s School Infrastructure Coalition. Mary has worked with local and state leaders on effective long-range facilities master planning, facilities data management, and improved oversight and accountability for capital programs. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, and was a 1979 Truman Scholar from the District of Columbia.

Sean O’Donnell has over 20 years of research and communications experience in the K-12 school facilities field, working within the nonprofit, government, and commercial sectors. He has extensive school facilities research and data experience at the local, state and federal levels, with special expertise in cleaning, analyzing, and communicating large school facilities datasets. Sean holds Master’s degrees in Nonprofit Management from the New School University for Social Research and in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University.

Michelle Shirk served as lead teacher, curriculum fellow, and curriculum facilitator over 8 years at Achievement First, a network of non-profit, college preparatory K-12 public charter schools in Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island, and was an Education Policy Fellow and Research Assistant at Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a Master’s degree in Education Policy.

Shelton Lee, Jr. has partnered with 21st Century School Fund over nearly 30 years, creating innovative technology tools such as FORMAT-Pro®, a decision-support software for long-range K-12 school facility planning; School Boundary Planner, a web-based solution employed by the District of Columbia Public Schools boundary planning project; School Facilities Joint-Use Cost Calculator, a web-based tool that helps school system leaders calculate fair fees; and many other applications. Shelton has also built 21CSF’s websites, incorporating a structure that supports an extensive cache of data, reports, testimony, and other materials generated by local stakeholders. He began his career as a facilities manager for DCPS.

Dev Julien leverages data-driven research to improve public school facilities and advance equity. Drawing on his expertise as a data analyst, Dev has developed robust data sets, created dashboards to enhance data comprehension, and improved performance metrics through collaborative solutions. As a former educator, Dev redesigned curricula to center restorative justice and authored a policy memo addressing dropout rates among English Language Learners in New York City. Dev also served on the board of the National Fellowship for Black and Latino Male Educators, advocating leadership opportunities for educators of color. He holds a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Advocacy from New York University.

Brandon Payne is the Executive Director of the National Council on School Facilities. Previously, he served on the leadership team of the Alabama State Department of Education. He has over 25 years of experience in public education as a teacher, school and district administrator, and superintendent. Dr. Payne holds a doctorate in Education Administration and Instructional Technology from the University of Alabama. Additionally, Dr. Payne is certified as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and an Appraisal Team Member of CMMI for Services both of which focus on continuous improvement of organizational structure and processes.

Brandon Stratford, PhD has more than 20 years of experience as an educator and clinical social worker in school and community settings, both in the US and in Latin America, and has developed expertise in conducting formative and summative program evaluations in these fields. He has executed technical assistance projects sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Education, working to increase the capacity of state and local education leaders to ensure that schools are safe and supportive learning places and workspaces. His research focuses on understanding the pathways through which schools contribute to child well-being. He holds a Doctorate in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Lorena Aceves, PhD implements developmental and family science in her work to empower students and their communities and to transform educational systems to better serve students and their families’ at the intersection of research, policy, and practice. Her research has focused on examining the cultural, contextual,  familial, and individual level factors that contribute to students’ educational success. Prior to joining Child Trends, Dr. Aceves served as a postdoctoral fellow with the Society for Research on Child Development Federal Policy at the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Aceves earned Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Human Development and Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University.

Tyler Chandler is a senior research analyst in the education program area at Child Trends. He uses his experience in data and program analysis to ensure students, parents, and teachers maintain effective relationships. Prior to joining Child Trends, Tyler worked as a research specialist with the University of Virginia’s EdPolicyWorks center where he worked on projects related to understanding the impacts teacher working conditions have on student outcomes, the impact of the pandemic on student achievement, and teacher retention trends. He earned a Master’s degree from the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.