In December, the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education approved the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities – Guinn Center – a statewide non-partisan research and policy center, which will be officially hosted by the University of Nevada, Reno, effective July 1, 2021.

The nonprofit seeks to advance evidence-based policy solutions through research, public engagement and strategic partnerships. As a policy lab, the Guinn Center works closely with practitioners to provide relevant analysis, develop and implement evidence-based programs, and test actionable solutions.

“The University and the Guinn Center will benefit from this formal affiliation,” said Jeff Thompson, Acting Executive Vice President and Rector of the University. “We look forward to seeing our faculty and students build on our previous collaborations and continue to provide expertise on a wide range of public policy issues that are central to the research of the State and the Guinn Center.”

Recently, the Guinn Center successfully partnered with the University’s School of Community Health Sciences, now the School of Public Health, as part of an Environmental Health and Safety Education Grant. the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

“We believe that the Guinn Center’s affiliation with the University will serve our respective entities and the Silver State,” said Guinn Center Executive Director Nancy Brune. “A strong higher education system is essential to Nevada’s ability to compete in the global market for ideas and to contribute to our economic recovery. New policy choices based on sound research, sensible and pragmatic thinking, and bold ideas can pave the way for a better future.

The Guinn Center has published over 60 policy reports in the areas of fiscal and fiscal policy, education, health, social policy, economic development, workforce development, good governance and energy. As a collaborative partner, the Guinn Center offers data collection, data research and analysis, policy development, program evaluation, research design, data visualization, grant writing , facilitation and strategic planning, as well as the development of workshops.

“The location of the Guinn Center at the University serves the long-term interests and goals of the University,” Brune said in an editorial submitted and published by The Nevada Independent on December 7, 2020. “The Guinn Center’s broad research portfolio aligns with the University’s strategic plans to maintain its Carnegie Tier 1 ‘R1’ classification and meet its commitment to ‘improve quality, value and Scope of University Research ”and“ invest in disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas of research that build on existing strengths and respond to emerging needs and opportunities. ”

Brune also said the Guinn Center is financially self-sustaining and will continue to seek external grants and philanthropic support to fund its operations.

To learn more, contact the GuinnCenter online, or follow Twitter @GuinnCenter, Instagram @GuinnCenter, or Facebook @GuinnCenter.

the Guinn Center Senior Team Members and their areas of research and expertise are summarized below.

Nancy Brune, Ph.D. is the executive director of the Guinn Center. Prior to joining the Guinn Center, she was Senior Policy Analyst at Sandia National Laboratories. Brune is the author of over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, reports, essays, blogs and opinion pieces on topics ranging from tax policy, education, good governance, economic development, development labor, health, social policy, criminal justice, public sector reforms, energy security, homeland security and climate change. Well versed in quantitative and qualitative methods, her work has appeared in the IMF staff documents, Social Sciences and Medicine, Energy policy, Annual review of political science, Foreign policy analysis, and Americas Quarterly. Brune got her doctorate. from Yale University in Political Science and her MA in Public Policy and her BA from Harvard University. Brune compiled two original global databases on financial openness and privatization, which were used by researchers at the International Monetary Fund, University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University and the Organization of economic cooperation and development. She has successfully written grants totaling over $ 20 million and has obtained and managed research grants from federal and private foundations totaling nearly $ 3 million.

Meredith A. Levine joined the Guinn Center as director of economic policy in 2016. She is the institutional expert on federal, state and local tax, budget and fiscal policies that affect Nevada. Levine’s portfolio of questions also covers healthcare and social policy. His work is rooted in empirical research, conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Levine is the author / co-author of 30 publications for the Guinn Center, which most recently analyzed real estate, sales and alcohol taxation; the Nevada budget; health insurance coverage; Medicaid funding; and workforce development, among others. Ongoing projects include monitoring, evaluation, and technical assistance for the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Rural Health and Safety Education grant (in partnership with University of Nevada, Nevada Public Health Training Center from Reno); an assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on the Nevada behavioral health system; program evaluations for several schools and school districts in Nevada; and a series of analyzes relating to federal and state revenues and the Nevada budget. Prior to joining the Guinn Center, Levine worked for the US House Appropriations Committee and the Congressional Research Service. She received her Bachelor of Public Administration from Cornell University and each holds a Masters and Masters in Philosophy. from Yale University, both in political science.

Kenneth Retzl, Ph.D. is the director of educational policy at the Guinn Center. During his tenure, Retzl wrote numerous applied research reports, policy briefs and research notes. Most recently, he analyzed the outcomes of rural education in Nevada, examined workforce development issues, and studied education finance considerations. Previously, Retzl worked at the Clark County School District (CCSD), leaving the position of Director of Research, Accountability and Data Services. While in the district, Retzl worked alongside the Nevada Department of Education, serving on the technical advisory committee to develop the current Nevada school performance framework. It also worked with the district executive leadership to provide data and research on expenditure-versus-performance measures, survey design and development, pay-for-performance, and an early warning system for identify college students who are likely to drop out before graduating from high school. . Prior to joining CCSD, Retzl worked for two accounting firms as a Certified Public Accountant. Retzl has published several peer-reviewed articles on topics of governance, transparency and partisan politics. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Retzl received his BA from Clarke University in Iowa and his doctorate. in political science from UNLV.