Our Team
Dr. Amanda Brown
Managing Director
Amanda Brown, EdD, is the Managing Director at APA. Having joined the company in 2005, she has 20 years of experience in the field. Her primary focus areas are school finance and evaluation. At the state level, she has worked on and led large-scale adequacy studies, structural reviews of finance systems, studies of the resource implications of specific education reform legislation and implementation of instructional best practices, and stakeholder engagement efforts. Recently, she has supported state school finance commissions to implement new funding formulas based on APA’s work. At the local level, Amanda has assisted local school districts on topics including student-based budgeting, salary competitiveness, declining enrollment, and efficiency of facilities usage, and evaluations of the implementation costs and effectiveness of programs. She holds bachelor’s degrees in sociology and advertising, a master’s degree in public administration and a Doctor of Education, all from the University of Colorado. Amanda also serves on a local charter school board and enjoys spending time with friends and family taking advantage of all Colorado has to offer.
Dale DeCesare
Senior Advisor
Dale DeCesare, JD, is a Senior Advisor at APA, having joined the company in 2005. He has 24 years of education policy experience. Dale supports APA’s program evaluation work, conducting qualitative and quantitative analyses to help inform local, state, and federal education leaders about the implementation and impacts of a variety of early childhood education, K-12, and higher education programs. He has led research and evaluation projects at all levels of rigor, including a randomized controlled trial study for the U.S. Department of Education designed for publication in the federal What Works Clearinghouse, as well as a variety of quasi-experimental design studies, case studies, qualitative research and a variety of other study designs. Prior to joining APA, Dale served as a writer and policy analyst at the Education Commission of the States. He was trained in cost-benefit, cost-effectiveness, and return on investment analyses, through an Institute of Education Sciences program at Columbia University, and has incorporated these analysis into numerous evaluation studies for clients. Dale holds a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in Texas and a law degree from the University of Denver. Dale enjoys playing the drums, writing, and running.
Dr. Robert Reichardt
Senior Associate
Robert Reichardt, PhD, is a Senior Associate at APA having joined the company in 2013. He has over 25 years of experience supporting education policy development and program improvement with a focus on equitable outcomes for all students. He contributes to APA’s evaluation, policy analysis and school finance portfolios. He has expertise in program evaluations, cost modeling, qualitative and quantitative analysis, instrument design, and teacher labor market analysis. Prior to working at APA, Robert ran his own firm, directed a non-profit, and lead a university research center. He served on the Littleton Public Schools Board of Education and is currently a Littleton City Council Member. He has a PhD in policy analysis from the RAND Graduate School, master’s in public policy from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Colorado. His hobbies include hiking and serving as an elected official.
Jennifer Piscatelli
Senior Associate
Jennifer Piscatelli, MA, is Senior Associate at APA, having joined the company in 2012. She has 25 years of education policy experience. She contributes to APA’s evaluation and school finance portfolios. She has participated in multiple state school funding and adequacy studies, and has participated in APA projects on assessment, program evaluation, teacher compensation, and early childhood education. Prior to joining APA, Jennifer spent over 8 years as a researcher and policy analyst at the Education Commission of the States, staffed New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen’s Kids Cabinet, and served as a Legislative Aide to the New Hampshire State Senate. As a trained Critical Friends Group coach, she is experienced in facilitating professional learning communities. Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree in political science with an emphasis in public policy from the University of Colorado, Denver.
Michaela Tonking
Senior Associate
Michaela Tonking, MA, is a senior Associate at APA, and was with the company from 2016-2018, then re-joined in March 2020. Michaela has ten years of experience in education. She contributes primarily on APA’s evaluation and school finance portfolios. She has participated in multiple state school funding and adequacy studies and has participated in APA projects on cost modeling, program evaluation, district technical assistance, and early childhood education. She previously worked as Director of Policy and Data for Educate Nevada Now, as a research assistant for Rhode Island’s School Funding Formula Working Group, and for Deloitte in the audit department. Michaela holds a master’s degree in urban education policy from Brown University and a master’s and bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Colorado, Boulder. In her free time, she serves on her community council as an elected official, snowboard and wakeboards, and has taken up horseback riding.
Brianna Sailor
Associate
Brianna Sailor, MA, is an Associate at APA, having joined the company in 2020. She has 7 years of experience in education. She contributes primarily to APA’s program evaluation portfolios. She has participated in multiple federal, state, and local program evaluations that include complex quantitative and qualitative analyses. Examples of topic areas addressed in these evaluations include teacher workforce, early childhood education, gifted education, early literacy, curriculum implementation, community schools, higher education, and tutoring and mentorship programs. Prior to joining APA, Brianna was a high school math teacher and track and field coach for Atlanta Public Schools and was a policy and research analyst for the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement in Atlanta Georgia. Brianna holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from San Diego State University and a master’s degree in urban education policy from Brown University. Brianna enjoys playing tennis, creating new espresso drinks, and attending music concerts.
Noah Fortson
Associate
Noah Fortson is an education policy researcher and educator. Since joining APA in 2023, Noah has contributed to various projects in support and primary roles. Noah led stakeholder engagement and data analysis for an evaluation of the childcare system in West Lafayette, IN. His other work at APA has focused on sustaining the impacts of grant-funded education programs, improving access to Career and Technical Education, and increasing the number of students identified as gifted and talented in rural settings. He has additional experience facilitating interviews with school and community leaders, drafting outreach and communications, writing literature reviews, and visualizing geospatial data. Prior to joining APA, Noah was a high school A/V Production teacher in San Antonio, TX where he launched and oversaw an award-winning student news program. He was nominated as an SAISD Rising Star Teacher of the Year in 2021. He holds a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and Government & Politics from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in Urban Education Policy from Brown University.
Anna Adams
Associate
Anna Adams is a recent Associate at APA, having joined the company in 2024. Anna holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of South Carolina with a minor in computer science. During her time at USC, Anna conducted undergraduate economic research with USC's Econ Scholars program and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, honing both her quantitative and quantitative skills. Since joining APA, Anna has worked on various projects, including state program evaluation, stakeholder engagement, school funding implementation, evaluating program return on investment, and recruitment and retention analyses. Anna enjoys skiing, exploring Colorado, and cheering on the Gamecocks from afar.
Our Advisors
Dr. Lawrence Picus
Dr. Lawrence Picus is the Richard T. Cooper and Mary Catherine Cooper Chair in Public School Administration at the USC Rossier School of Education where he is a professor of education finance and policy. He is a nationally recognized expert in public financing of schools, equity and adequacy of school funding, school business administration, education policy, linking school resources to student performance and resource allocation in schools.
He is past president of the Association for Education Finance & Policy and was a member of the EdSource Board of Directors for 14 years, two as its president. Picus is the coauthor of School Finance: A Policy Perspective 6th Edition (2020) with Allan Odden. It has been the leading textbook in the field of school finance for over 30 years. He has published numerous articles in professional journals and has consulted extensively on school finance issues in more than 35 states.
Dr. Picus holds a PhD in Public Policy Analysis from the RAND School of Public Policy, an MA in Social Science from the University of Chicago, and a BA in Economics from Reed College.
Justin Silverstein
Justin Silverstein currently serves as the Executive Director of the Colorado School Finance Project (CSFP), a non-profit dedicated to compiling, analyzing, and distributing research-based, non‑partisan information on school finance to education stakeholders across Colorado.
Before joining CSFP, Silverstein served as co-CEO of APA, originally joining the firm as an intern. He has over 25 years of experience working with policymakers to help them better serve students. Silverstein is a national expert in school finance having led statewide studies in many states including supporting reforms in Maryland and Nevada. In addition to his work for states, he has supported school districts to understand how to strategically allocate resources through budget reviews, provided facilities task force support, and conducted teacher compensation studies.
Silverstein holds a BS in Accounting from the University of Colorado.
Michael Griffith
Michael Griffith is a nationally recognized consultant in school finance. Over the past 20 years, he has worked with policymakers in all 50 states to help them reshape and reform their school funding systems, always to improve student achievement and education equity. His research work has focused on the condition of state and district budgets, the adequacy and equity of state finance formulas, and promising practices in funding programs for high-need students.
Griffith holds a BA in Political Philosophy from Michigan State University, an MA in Public Administration from The Ohio State University, and an MA in Education Management from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.