Zach Schiller is our research director. Zach has more than two decades of experience researching and writing about the Ohio economy as a business reporter for The Plain Dealer and Business Week. His education includes a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan.

His releases include Home Insecurity 2004: Foreclosure Growth in Ohio and Wal-Mart Special: Ohio Job Tax Credits to America's Richest Retailer. He has also examined the Ohio unemployment insurance system, Cleveland school vouchers, and the state's corporate franchise tax.

Jon Honeck, our research analyst, runs the Columbus office for Policy Matters. Jon has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where his dissertation focused on industrial policy in Ohio and the Basque region of Spain. Before coming to Policy Matters, he researched labor and economic development issues for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.

Pam Rosado is our outreach coordinator. Pam brings powerful experience fighting for workers' rights and economic justice as Political Director and Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU Local 47, which represented building service, public sector, and hospital workers in Cleveland. Pam has also been a leader within Cleveland Jobs with Justice and in the Day Laborer's Hiring Hall effort in Cleveland.

Jeff Miller joined Policy Matters in 2004 as a staff assistant.  For twenty years, he owned and operated Archwood, Inc., a furniture and woodworking company in Wooster, Ohio.  After closing Archwood in 2002, he enrolled at the University of Akron to study philosophy, political science, and economics.  Recognizing the integral role that business plays in the life of the community, Jeff is both personally and professionally committed to advancing corporate social responsibility.

David Rothstein is our research assistant.  David has a B.A. from John Carroll University and a Master's in Political Science from Kent State University, where he is pursuing a Ph.D. He has interned in the U.S. Congress and at the Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners. David brings excellent data and research skills to our staff. For Policy Matters, he will work on the Apollo Alliance for good jobs and clean energy, an exciting national and state level project to dramatically increase energy investment, energy-related employment, and America's energy independence.

Wendy Patton is our policy liaison.  Wendy has a BA from Kent State University and a Masters of City Planning from the University of California at Berkeley, brings extensive experience in economic development, research, policy development and project management, with organizations like AFSCME, the Ohio Employee Ownership Center and Columbus Urban Growth Corporation. Wendy has published extensively on economic development and served as a Deputy Director for the Ohio Department of Development, where she worked from 1988-1991. This new position will enable Policy Matters to dramatically increase its outreach to policymakers, community leaders and citizens in central Ohio.

Interns and Volunteers

Christine Haley Medina is a second-year master’s of social work student at Case Western Reserve University.  Before moving to Cleveland, Christine worked in social services in northern Chile and later in Chicago, IL for six years.  Christine has been assisting Policy Matters with research on the Earned Income Tax Credit and volunteer income tax assistance.

Hee Yon Sohng received her bachelor’s from Case Western Reserve University in economics and Spanish.  Her thesis studied the efficacy of sweatshop activism on college campuses.  She is working on a report on Ohio’s minimum wage.

Internship Opportunities at Policy Matters Ohio