2022 Alumni Impact Awards: Recognizes School of Public Policy (SPP) alumni (MPA, MPA Fellows, MPP and MASR) at any stage in their career who have made a significant recent contribution to their field. Nominees may work in any sector; public, private, or nonprofit. Examples may include but are not limited to driving a meaningful program outcome, contributing to new legislation, innovating a process or program, achieving a fundraising goal, brokering a partnership, etc.
Yahaira Escribano, MPA ‘19, Program Officer, Hartford Land Bank
Yahaira Escribano is a proud life-long north-end Latina resident, a first-generation high school and college graduate, and a proud product of the Hartford School System. She earned a B.A. degree in Urban and Community Studies and a master’s degree in Public Administration, both from the University of Connecticut. She was also an Obama Foundation Fellow.
Yahaira earned her nomination as the Finance & Programs Officer for the Hartford Land Bank where she implemented a new Developer Cohort Training Program to help Hartford residents realize their potential and become project managers. This is designed to ensure equitable opportunities while preserving Hartford’s history and culture.
Yahaira previously connected residents with needed nutritional assistance through her work at Connecticut Foodshare and she has also worked with Hartford students to obtain educational scholarships and other scholastic resources through her work with the Hartford Promise. Yahaira has recently been appointed to the Hartford Board of Education.
Tara Downes, MPA Fellow ‘20, Assistant State Comptroller
Tara Downes, Assistant State Comptroller, is a University of Connecticut 2020 MPA Fellow graduate. She has a 24-year career in state policy and communications. This New York native began her career in Connecticut as a print news reporter, covering local government and breaking news throughout the state. Tara made the shift to state government as Policy and Communications Advisor to the State Attorney General. Tara now serves as Assistant State Comptroller in the CT Office of the State Comptroller where she oversees operations and strategic planning. As the state comptroller’s appointee to the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls, she co-authored two research reports in collaboration with the director of the UConn School of Public Policy, Dr. Mohamad Alkadry. These reports, combining Tara’s passions for journalism and public policy, investigated gender and racial equity across Connecticut’s executive branch. Tara was nominated for the Alumni Impact Award as her work in this area has made representation a front-burner issue in state discussions about hiring during forthcoming retirement waves.
Kelly McElwain, MPP ‘19, Research Analyst, PAHRC
Kelly McElwain, a 2019 UConn Master of Public Policy (MPP) graduate, is a Senior Research Analyst at the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC), where she has spent nearly the past decade advancing the preservation of affordable housing through research and improved data accessibility. Kelly was nominated for her Alumni Impact Award because has been instrumental in the development of the Housing Preservation Database, an essential tool in CT and across the country for tracking the supply of affordable housing units.
Kelly has coauthored over a dozen reports on affordable housing programs in collaboration with other nonprofits. Her research has examined affordable housing preservation needs and programs, exposure of housing to natural hazards, the characteristics of housing assistance recipients, and initiatives affordable housing providers are engaged in to boost resident outcomes. She makes affordable housing data more accessible by organizing webinars, consulting, and building mapping tools to help practitioners apply her research to their work. Notably, she leads efforts to collect, clean, and disseminate data on federally assisted rental properties in the National Housing Preservation Database. Her work has helped localities track their affordable housing stock, make a case for preservation efforts, and evaluate their investment strategy. Before joining PAHRC, Kelly assisted nonprofits on research projects, donor stewardship, and grant writing as an intern and consultant. Kelly holds a Master of Public Policy and a Graduate Certificate in Survey Research from the University of Connecticut, and a B.S. in policy studies and biotechnology from Syracuse University.
Christopher Barnes, MASR ‘98, Chief Commercial Officer, Escalent
Chris Barnes, a UConn Master of Arts in Survey Research (MASR) graduate, leads Escalent’s Analyst teams as Chief Commercial Officer driving deep relationships and innovation to serve many of the world’s biggest brands in financial services, life sciences, and technology among others. Chris’ Alumni Impact Award nomination sited his many accomplishments over his career. Chris won Quirk’s Market Research Industry Researcher of the Year award as he combined his background in government, academia, and market research to advise clients ranging from Apple and Amazon to Verizon and Voya.
Chris was Senior Advisor to the Democratic Caucus of the United States House of Representatives during the 111th and 112th Congresses. As a policy advisor he was “in the room” for all the major issues from the financial crisis to the passage of the Affordable Care Act. He has deep background in market and public opinion research. His background includes co-founding the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut.
Chris launched and later successfully sold Pulsar Research and Consulting, a market research consulting firm. Chris’ studies have appeared frequently in the national media, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, and Time cover stories. Chris earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Kenyon College.