Staff

National Priorities Project
Staff Biographies
2010

 

Juan Carlos Aguilar, Associate Director of Networking and Training, has more than 20 years experience working to achieve social justice through funding, strategic planing and community organizing. He previously worked as Program Officer for the Environmental and Global Justice Programs at the Solidago Foundation and as the Director of Grants and Training at the Peace Development Fund.


Barb Chalfonte, Acting Research Director, is a social scientist with over 20 years of research and teaching experience in the education, private, and non-profit sectors. Prior to joining NPP, Barb worked at Bell Communications Research and was on the faculty of Mt. Holyoke College. She has written and lectured on how people understand and remember information and how to design technology to support that understanding. She has also worked on several political campaigns, served on the boards of political action committees, and holds a Bachelors Degree from Williams College and a PhD from Princeton University.


Jo Comerford, Executive Director, joined the National Priorities Project staff in July 2008 bringing with her two decades of experience in community organizing and a strong background in nonprofit administration. Most recently, Jo served as Director of Programs at The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and worked to meet the complex and immediate demands of hunger in the region, as well as for systemic community food security. Prior to The Food Bank, Jo directed the American Friends Service Committee's community organizing efforts in western Massachusetts. She holds an MSW in community organizing from Hunter College School of Social Work and is an adjunct faculty member of Smith College School of Social Work.


Kristine Elinevsky, Director of Administration and Finance, has been with NPP since 1997. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the University of California at San Diego and a Masters Degree in Public Administration for Non-Profit Management from the University of San Francisco. She has worked in education, activist and non-profit settings for over 30 years.  kris at nationalpriorities.org
 

Chris Hellman, Communications Liaison, joined NPP after serving as a military policy analyst for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where his work focused on national security spending, military planning and policy, base closures, major weapons systems, trends in the defense industry, global military spending, and homeland security. Prior to joining the Center, Chris spent six years as a Senior Research Analyst at the Center for Defense Information. He also worked for two years as a military budget specialist at Physicians for Social Responsibility. Previously, Chris spent ten years on Capitol Hill as a congressional staffer working on national security and foreign policy issues. He is a frequent media commentator on military planning, policy, and budgetary issues and is the author of numerous reports and articles. He holds a Bachelors Degree from Middlebury College in Vermont.
 

Mary Orisich, Research Associate, is a long-time activist concerned with issues of social justice, labor, and the environment. Mary holds Bachelors Degrees from Purdue University as well as a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Presently she is a doctoral candidate in Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. 
 

Sara Lockard Silvia, Acting Development Director, has over twenty-five years of non-profit experience working to improve the well being of individuals and communities.  Her work has encompassed administration, fundraising, human rights, training, diversity and finance.  Prior to NPP, Sara worked with the Sisters of Providence Health Care System, Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) and the Center for Human Development and Behavioral Health Network.  She holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and a Masters Degree in Organizational Development. 

Brendan Smith, IT Coordinator, has diverse skills and expertise in the field of IT. He has worked in infrastructure and development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and for various web design and development firms. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.
 

Greg Speeter, Senior Advisor, founded the National Priorities Project in 1983 as a way for community groups and the public to understand and participate in critical federal budget decisions. He served as NPP’s Executive Director for more than two decades. He has been a featured speaker at both policy conferences and training sessions for community organizers, has held a number of budget briefings on Capitol Hill, and is frequently sought out by the media for analysis of budget policies. Before founding the National Priorities Project, Greg worked for six years at the Citizen Involvement Training Project in Amherst, MA, where he authored training books on community organizing and access to the political process. He began his career as a VISTA Volunteer in 1966, and spent the first decade of his professional life as a community organizer and policy analyst.