State Agency Placements

Chris Santaniello is an Associate Commissioner with the Department of Health and Human Services, first appointed on 6/16/2021 and most recently on 10/3/2022. Chris has broad policy and operational roles within the Department and directly provides leadership to both the Division of Economic Stability (DES) and the Division of Long Term Supports and Services (DLTSS). DES includes economic assistance, employment services, child development, and child support. DLTSS includes elderly and adult services, developmental services, family centered services, NH Care Path/Service Link and the choices for independence (CFI) program.

Chris joined DHHS in 2016 and prior this this, Chris spent more than 25 years working in the State’s developmental services system, with a career spent managing organizations and people, navigating and building systems to deliver services efficiently and effectively, with a focus on person-centered, whole family services, and creating and implementing organizational change. Chris works to align programs to be more flexible and responsive in the context of a person and family-centered approach to supports and services. Chris leads the Department’s efforts to mitigate the Cliff Effect; focuses on strengthening systems for children, families, and adults, from birth on through the lifespan; streamlining access; and works closely on collaborations with our community partners.

Dr. Kathryn Kigera is the Director of Quality Initiatives, in the Division of Early Learning at the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in Washington, DC. She oversees the implementation of Capital Quality, DC’s quality rating and improvement system, DC Child Care Connections, DC’s child care resource and referral program, the Quality Improvement Network, an Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership grant, workforce development and enhancement programs, and research partnerships. Prior to her current role, she served as a program manager at OSSE. She started her career in education conducting research on various grants focused on cultural and linguistic diversity and disability studies at The George Washington University (GWU) and served as a program manager and interim director of out-of-school time programs with the DC Public Schools. She has led innovative research and program design over the course of her career and aims to positively impact child outcomes by providing comprehensive support services to the education community. She has a bachelor's and master's degree in political science from Saginaw Valley State University and Central Michigan University, respectively, and a doctorate from GWU in education, specifically focusing on cultural and linguistic diversity and disability studies.

Dr. Lillie Moffett is an Education Research and Evaluation Consultant in the Early Education Division at the California Department of Education. She’s worked on various projects at the state, like revising the state’s early learning standards, revising the state’s preschool child assessment, and providing guidance to preschool and transitional kindergarten programs on curriculum implementation and instructional quality. Lillie received her PhD in Education & Psychology from the University of Michigan, and then was an SRCD fellow for two years before becoming an official employee of the California Department of Education in 2023.

Jocelyn Bowne is the Deputy Commissioner for Workforce, Program Supports and Innovation at the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) where she manages the development and implementation of state level supports for early educator and professional growth and program quality. Her portfolio includes the design of supports and expectations for educators, including a new educator credential, redesign of the program quality support system and testing of innovative approaches to funding programs. Jocelyn received her doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in March, 2014. Before her doctoral studies, she was an early childhood teacher for ten years in New York City.

Dr. Jaiya Choles is a senior data analyst who has worked at Oregon’s Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC; previously the Early Learning Division within the Department of Education) for over 4 years. In this role, she supports DELC’s data collection, management, and analysis of Oregon’s state-funded early learning programs and broader initiatives related to data governance and infrastructure. Before working at DELC, she received her doctoral and master’s degrees in Applied Developmental Psychology at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon and Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Lara Markovitz, Ph.D. is a former SRCD State Policy Fellow. She spent her fellowship in the Office of Child Support in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In her role, she focused on the Office of Child Support’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including the development of a child support navigation services pilot program. She is currently a court analyst in the Friend of the Court Bureau at the Michigan Supreme Court’s State Court Administrative Office, where she focuses on parenting time, custody, child support, father involvement, and domestic abuse. Dr. Markovitz holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and earned her Master of Science in Social Work at Columbia University in 2012 and her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Michigan in 2006.

Lindsay Turner Trammell is the Director for Policy at SRCD and oversees the SRCD U.S. Policy Fellowship program. Lindsay is a policy professional with over a decade of nonprofit leadership, policy analysis and strategic planning. She has been the executive director of a K-5 education nonprofit in Alabama, consulted with Scottish Parliament on gender disparities for elected officials, and was the Director of the Social Mobility Commission for the UK government. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Cambridge. She holds dual citizenship in the US and the UK. 

Dr. Jennifer Brooks specializes in the use of evaluation, metrics, and evidence-based policy to amplify the benefits of social programs for children and families. She provides expert advice on building more effective programs and policies to foundations, government, and non-profit organizations. Through an IPA between the University of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Brooks facilitates a federal peer learning group focused on the role core components frameworks can play in enhancing evidence-based policy and, ultimately, the outcomes of social programs. Previously, Dr. Brooks served as Senior Program Officer at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, helping to shape the foundation’s strategic investments in high quality public early learning programs. Prior to that she directed the human services, workforce, and economic development portfolios at the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices, where she led then-Governor Hickenlooper Chair’s Initiative, Delivering Results. She also led the Head Start research and evaluation portfolio in the federal government for ten years. Dr. Brooks received her Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University and a MA in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.