Rebecca Bruchhauser worked for 10 years in health care consulting with hospitals and health care systems across the nation, the last five years in the Saint Louis area’s fastest growing hospital, SSM DePaul Health Center. SSM became the first health care recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. As a member of the administrative team, she performed duties in strategic planning, business development, and special event planning. An Illinois native, she has worked in the Illinois Legislature and the office of Gov. Jim Edgar. She holds a B.S. in speech communication from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
Eric D. Dixon began working as the Show-Me Institute's editor in May 2007. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Brigham Young University, and although he originally planned to pursue a life in newspapers, he never got over his 1997 internship at the Cato Institute. He has since kept a foot in both journalism and public policy, working for U.S. Term Limits, Americans for Limited Government, the Cascade Policy Institute, Liberty magazine, the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, and the Idaho Press-Tribune.
Breck Frerking joined the Show-Me Institute in 2008, after working several years in wealth management. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a MBA with an emphasis in agribusiness from William Woods University. Breck is actively involved in several community organizations and boards, and has a passion for policy. She resides in Columbia.
Christine Harbin, a recent transplant from Wisconsin, joined the Show-Me Institute as a research analyst in July 2009. She holds undergraduate degrees in economics, mathematics, and French from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is currently pursuing an MBA with an emphasis in operations management from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, with an anticipated graduation in December 2010. She interned with the National Economic Council at the White House in Washington, D.C., during spring 2007. Prior to joining the Show-Me Institute, she worked as an advance planning analyst for hospitals and health care systems.
Joe Haslag is a professor and the Kenneth Lay Chair in economics at the University of Missouri–Columbia. An expert in monetary policy, Professor Haslag has done research at the Federal Reserve Banks of Saint Louis, Dallas, and Atlanta. He serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Roundtable and the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis' Business Economic Regional Group. He has taught at Southern Methodist University, Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and Michigan State University. Haslag has published his research in the Journal of Monetary Economics, the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, and the International Economic Review. His research has been cited in more than 100 academic papers. In his role as director of EPARC, Haslag is a standing member of the Consensus Revenue Forecasting Group that forecasts state revenues for state legislators and the governor.
Dave Roland began working at the Show-Me Institute in 2007, after three years in the nation's capital as an attorney with the Institute for Justice, where he litigated school choice, economic liberty, and property rights cases in state and federal courts. Dave earned undergraduate degrees in political science and Biblical studies at Abilene (TX) Christian University before studying law and religion at Vanderbilt University, where he received his M.T.S. and his law degree in 2004. While attending Vanderbilt, Dave wrote a series of essays for the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center about the First Amendment and public education, and he clerked for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberties in Washington, D.C. His work has been discussed in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and other major newspapers nationwide. He has also presented expert testimony about school choice, eminent domain, and constitutional liberties before several state legislatures. His report "School Choice and the North Carolina Constitution" was published in 2006. Since joining the Show-Me Institute, Dave has traveled widely in the state of Missouri, speaking to elected officials, student groups at colleges and law schools, Federalist Society chapters, and community groups about education, property rights, health care reform, constitutional protections for liberty, and the American Founders' conception of virtue. His name has become a familiar sight in newspapers all over the state, and he has been a guest on radio shows such as the Charlie Brennan Show on KMOX in St. Louis and the Gary Nolan Show in Columbia. In 2009, Dave and his wife, Jenifer (the institute's director of publications), published a case study, “All Caught Up: How Tax Policy May Have Allowed Tennessee to Outgrow Missouri.”
Jenifer Zeigler Roland grew up in Mexico, Mo., and attended Truman State University before earning her M.P.A. and law degree from the University of Missouri–Columbia. While in school, Jenifer worked as a legislative aid in the Missouri Senate. Upon graduation, she moved to Washington, D.C., to serve as a legal and policy analyst for the Cato Institute, where her research areas included welfare reform, poverty, Medicaid, and faith-based initiatives. Jenifer was next hired as the legislative affairs attorney for the Castle Coalition, a project of the Institute for Justice, where her tireless efforts helped state legislatures reform their eminent domain laws in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo v. New London. The Show-Me Institute has finally brought her home to Missouri to assume responsibility as our director of policy and our tax-and-budget policy analyst. She now lives in Saint Louis with her husband, Dave, and her two Yorkies, Bridget and Molli.
Josh Smith began working as a research assistant at the Show-Me Institute in October 2008. He is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree at the University of Missouri–Saint Louis, majoring in economics and math. A lifelong Saint Louis resident, Josh attained his associate’s degree in mathematics from St. Louis Community College, and plans on pursuing a graduate degree in the same field. First introduced to free-market economics circa 2002, today Josh considers widespread economic freedom to be one of the most important goals for sound public policy. Working at the Show-Me Institute is Josh's first foray into public policy.
Audrey Spalding graduated in 2009 from the University of Missouri–Columbia with dual degrees in journalism and economics. She became fascinated with local government issues while working as an education reporter at the Columbia Missourian, and realized the importance of holding elected officials accountable. Her coverage of the Columbia Public School District’s tax levy increase election won a Hearst Journalism Award. Before joining the Show-Me Institute as staff writer, Audrey worked for the institute as a research intern for a year, and during that time filed more than 500 requests for public information. She is originally from Michigan.
David Stokes, a Saint Louis native, is a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (CT) University. He spent five years as assistant to Saint Louis County Councilman Kurt S. Odenwald, where he was closely involved with legislation including MetroLink expansion, property assessments, HVAC licensing codes, the new Cardinals ballpark, pharmacy privatization, and much more. He is currently the president of the University City Library Board. He has served on boards and committees for several area organizations: the University City Centennial, the Saint Louis County Pachyderm Club, and the Downtown Saint Louis Residents Association. He lives in University City with his wife, Jennifer, and sons, Nathaniel and Ryan.
