Podcast: COVID Legislation, How to Hire Teachers and MO Toll Roads

Patrick Ishmael is the director of government accountability at the Show-Me Institute. He is a native of Kansas City and graduate of Saint Louis University, where he earned honors degrees in finance and political science and a law degree with a business concentration. His writing has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Weekly Standard, and dozens of publications across the state and country. Ishmael is a regular contributor to Forbes and HotAir.com. His policy work predominantly focuses on tax, health care, and constitutional law issues. He is a member of the Missouri Bar.

Before joining the Show-Me Institute, Susan Pendergrass was Vice President of Research and Evaluation for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, where she oversaw data collection and analysis and carried out a rigorous research program. Susan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, with a concentration in Finance, at the University of Colorado in 1983. She earned her Masters in Business Administration at George Washington University, with a concentration in Finance (1992) and a doctorate in public policy from George Mason University, with a concentration in social policy (2002). Susan began researching charter schools with her dissertation on the competitive effects of Massachusetts charter schools. Since then, she has conducted numerous studies on the fiscal impact of school choice legislation. Susan has also taught quantitative methods courses at the Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, at Johns Hopkins University, and at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. Prior to coming to the National Alliance, Susan was a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Education during the Bush administration and a senior research scientist at the National Center for Education Statistics during the Obama administration.

Zach Lawhorn joined Show-Me Opportunity in 2018. He earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Missouri. Prior to joining SMO he worked in marketing and strategic communications for the University of Missouri School of Health Professions and was a senior media producer at Mizzou Video Production.