Staff

Remy Trupin, Executive Director

Remy is the founding executive director of the Budget & Policy Center. Before joining the Budget & Policy Center, Remy was the Government Affairs Director for the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and also served as legislative consultant to United Way of King County. Remy has a diverse array of public policy experience, including working for the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC, and researching programs and strategies to improve health outcomes for children at the Urban Health Initiative. Remy serves on several boards, is an American Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund, and is member of the Governor’s Priorities of Government Guidance Team. Remy’s undergraduate and graduate degrees are from the University of Washington; a BA in political science and a MPA from the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs.

Contact: remyt (at) budgetandpolicy.org

Jeff Chapman, Research Director

Jeff is an expert on economic and fiscal policy. As the research director of the Budget & Policy Center, his focus is on improving public policy through solid and accessible research. He has published reports on a wide variety of issues including tax policy and the low wage labor market and is an expert on microdata analysis. He serves on the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. Previously, Jeff was an economist with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in Washington, DC. Jeff’s research has been widely cited in print and broadcast media and published in places including the Monthly Labor Review and The State of Working America. Jeff has a BS from Oregon State University and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Contact: jeffc (at) budgetandpolicy.org

Kery Murakami, Communications Manager

Kery joined the Budget & Policy Center after 19 years in journalism. An experienced political reporter, Kery has written extensively about such issues as welfare and health care reform as state government reporter for The Seattle Times.  Kery also covered City Hall and the monorail measure for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Most recently, he founded a news site, seattlepostglobe.org, with other former P-I journalists. He attended the University of Michigan.

Contact: kerym (at) budgetandpolicy.org

Andy Nicholas, Policy Analyst

Prior to joining BPC, Andy worked as a Research Associate at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, DC.  At CBPP he co-authored numerous reports and performed extensive research on state fiscal policy.  Additionally, Andy taught English in Yang Zhou, China and worked several legislative sessions in the Washington State Legislature.  He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Central Washington University and a Master of Public Policy from American University’s School of Public Affairs.

 Contact: andyn (at) budgetandpolicy.org

Caitlin Cosgrove, Manager of Donor Relations & Administration

Prior to joining the Budget & Policy Center, Caitlin worked with a nonprofit organization in Vancouver, British Columbia. She aided in the development of new health care initiatives and worked to implement strategies for improved care on a national level.

Contact: caitlinc (at) budgetandpolicy.org

Kate McMullen, Development Associate

Kate joins the Budget & Policy Center after having spent three years with the Pew Center on the States, a division of the Pew Charitable Trusts, in Washington, DC. At Pew she ensured that internal operations ran smoothly, managed the reporting and forecasting of the departmental budget and tracked donor activities in support of the unit’s fundraising goal. She graduated from Dickinson College in 2007 with a B.A. in International Studies and French.

Contact: katem(at) budgetandpolicy.org

Tara Lee, Outreach Coordinator

Prior to joining the Budget & Policy Center, Tara led the public policy efforts for the Washington Dental Service Foundation where she worked with the state legislature and state-wide coalitions to advance health policy and oral health programs.  She has also worked for Seattle-based non-profits including the Homelessness Project which provides transitional housing and for the University of Washington Women’s Center.  Tara began her career working to elect progressive candidates in California to political office. She has a BA in history from Western Washington University and a MPA from Seattle University. 

Contact: taral (at) budgetandpolicy.org