Deanna K. Anderson Staff
Deanna Anderson is the President and Founder of Organized Management Solutions, LLC, an operations management company established in 2005. Deanna has extensive experience managing associations, law firms and small businesses in Arizona and prides herself on her long-term client relationships. She is a graduate of Northern Arizona University where she obtained her degree in Public Relations with a Minor in History and she also obtained her Paralegal Certificate from Phoenix College. Deanna provides GCI with various administrative and bookkeeping services. Deanna is the proud single parent of a daughter who is a freshman at Washington State University studying Advertising.
Dave Wells, Ph.D. Research Director
Dave Wells helped found the Grand Canyon Institute in 2011. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Public Policy and served on the faculty of Arizona State University through 2023. Dave is one of Arizona’s most prominent policy experts. He has authored research for GCI in many areas including Medicaid expansion, evaluating the impact of a higher minimum wage, analyzing education funding in Arizona, and helped develop proposals for improving charter school accountability and transparency. Most recently he has focused on the impacts of eliminating progressive income state taxation in Arizona and the impact of the universal ESA voucher program. His research has been touted in places as ideologically diverse as Mother Jones and Fox News. His research has also been cited by the Washington Post, New York Times, and, most recently, internationally by the BBC. He frequently appears in Arizona media to share GCI’s latest research.
Contact: (602) 595-1025 ext. 2 • dwells@azgci.org
Amy Pedotto Research Project Manager
Amy Pedotto has bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Spanish from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in International Policy and Management from UC San Diego. Her experience includes communications, strategy, business development, and project management. She has contributed to GCI’s research on empowerment scholarship accounts, charter school financial transparency and accountability, and unemployment reform among other issues.
Contact: apedotto@azgci.org
Laura Rethmann Research Associate
Laura Rethmann is an Instructor in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University and serves as a Research Associate with the Grand Canyon Institute. Laura’s work centers on community health and safety, with a specific emphasis on examining the relationship between communities and the criminal legal system. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Northland College and a master’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Northern Arizona University.
Contact: lr835@nau.edu
Fellows
Research reports, policy briefings, guest editorials, newsletter articles, etc. are produced through a network of Fellows contracted by the GCI. Fellows are scholars or recognized experts in particular fields of study as determined by the GCI. The GCI Research and Publications Committee serves to provide guidance related to research methodology and content during the Fellow’s preparation of the research product.
Once completed and approved by the Committee, the GCI arranges for distribution of the research product to appropriate media, policy makers, stakeholders, and the general public. If you have an interest in being a GCI fellow, please feel free to contact us at dwells@azgci.org with more about your expertise and background.
Curtis J. Cardine Fellow
Curt Cardine is a retired educator with 45 years of experience in both districts and charter sectors in multiple states. He has served as a superintendent, principal, adjunct faculty member, company CEO and teacher.
Mr. Cardine has expertise in school law and school finance. He has over 1,200 hours of post-graduate studies in the areas of school law, school finances, and leadership and change and has presented on these topics at conferences.
He has written two books on charter schools published by Rowman and Littlefield. He has a Master’s in Organization and Management with post-graduate work in leadership and change. He has been a national presenter at the American Leadership Conference and was regional leader for the Coalition of Essential Schools.
Cary Funk, Ph.D. Senior Research Fellow
Cary Funk is a social scientist with a focus on social, political and policy issues. She is past director of science and society research at Pew Research Center, where she led the Center’s public opinion surveys and qualitative studies to understand public views about the social, ethical and policy implications of science for society. During her time at Pew Research Center, she worked with research teams covering U.S. and international policy, economic and family trends, racial and ethnic group experiences, religion and public life, as well as science and technology.
Funk held faculty roles in political science at Rice University and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where she focused on political psychology and political behavior. At VCU, she taught survey research and evaluation research methods for mid-career professionals in public policy. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.