Colin Foard is a manager with Pew’s fiscal federalism initiative, leading the project’s research into state and federal spending on natural disasters and other topics. He also engages stakeholders to improve understanding of the federal-state fiscal relationship and ensure that policymakers have data and evidence to inform their decision-making.

Before joining Pew, Foard spent five years on the staff of a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives’ appropriations and budget committees, handling committee work as well as a broad policy portfolio that included homeland security, transportation, housing, and immigration issues. He also served as a congressional constituent caseworker and field representative in Oakland, California.

Foard holds a bachelor’s degree from Union College in Schenectady, New York, and a master’s in Latin American studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Jake Akervik, MS, PMP, is an Analyst for Community Initiatives with the US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Minneapolis Office of Field Policy & Management. In addition to leading HUD Midwest Region OZs efforts, he also serves as the Federal Liaison to the North Minneapolis Promise Zone initiative. Jake has spent the past five years helping Federal, Tribal, and local partners and stakeholders across the country, state, and Twin Cities metro build place-based and collective impact efforts around a range of issues, including racial equity, affordable housing, living-wage job creation, minority entrepreneurship, community health, public safety, education, civic engagement, the opioid epidemic, technology, data, innovation, and more. Jake holds an AA from Minneapolis College; a BS from the University of Minnesota; a MS from the University of Denver; and numerous program and project management certifications.

Born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, Basma came to the U.S. with her husband as a refugee in 2010, leaving behind her career as an engineer with the Ministry of Oil within the Government of Iraq. As a refugee and activist, her stories and activism have been featured in the media. Most recently, she was nominated to be one of the Athena40 women in the world who are leading change and was the recipient of the 2019 OneJax Humanitarian Award. She was also elected the Florida delegate for the  Refugee Congress and is a board member of USAHello (formerly, Refugee Center Online) and many other nonprofits. Currently, she is the State Refugee Organizer with the Florida Immigrant Coalition and resides in Jacksonville and the co- founder for WeaveTales.