In preparation for next month’s CSG West 76th Annual Meeting, we take this opportunity to highlight some of the fantastic speakers presenting at this year’s event. Addressing critical topics from artificial intelligence (AI) to the US-China relationship, CSG West has a dynamic lineup for those attending. We kick off Round 3 below with a spotlight on speakers Tracee Henneke, Michael Griffith, and Justin Silverstein.

Spotlight: Tracee Henneke | Community First! Village

Director of Relationships & Giving, Mobile Loaves & Fishes

Housing Affordability & Homelessness in the Rapidly Growing West

Tuesday, November 14

10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

CSG West is pleased to have Tracee Henneke lead a special presentation during the Annual Meeting highlighting Community First! Village, a 51-acre master planned development that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for individuals coming out of chronic homelessness. Operating for over two decades in Austin, Texas, Community First! Village is rooted in a fundamental belief that “the single greatest cause of homelessness is a profound, catastrophic loss of family.” The community has garnered national interest, with features in major media outlets, including Today, People, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and CNN. It has also hosted several visiting state and city delegations encouraged by the development’s success.

Tracee has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 21 years and has been fundraising for over 17 years. As the Director of Relationships & Giving for Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Tracee provides strategic leadership in relationship building and fund development to advance the mission and vision of the organization. 

Be sure to watch the video below, providing an introduction to Community First! Village.

Watch:

Finding Home: Community First! Village

Spotlight: Michael Griffith & Justin Silverstein

Michael Griffith

Senior Researcher and Policy Analyst

Learning Policy Institute

Justin Silverstein

Co-CEO

Augenblick, Palaich and Associates

Decoding School Funding Formulas

Monday, November 13

2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

In today’s educational landscape, it is crucial to comprehend the mechanisms that underpin school funding formulas. Distinguished school finance experts Michael Griffith and Justin Silverstein will render a comprehensive understanding of funding formula structures, examine their impact on resource allocation, and explore emerging trends and policy implications in funding formula reform.

Justin Silverstein is nationally known for his work over the past two decades examining state school finance formulas and for analysis of educational resources. This includes leading studies focusing on the resources needed for students to meet educational standards in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. In each case the results of the study were implemented by the state. He has led reviews of state finance formulas or components of the formulas in many states, including Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, Utah, and Washington D.C., and Wyoming.

Michael Griffith is part of the Learning Policy Institute’s (LPI) Equitable Resources and Access team, where he focuses on school funding issues. Before joining the LPI team, Griffith was a school finance expert, first with the Education Commission of the States and then as an independent contractor. Over the past 20 years he has worked with policymakers in all 50 states to help them reshape and reform their school funding systems, always to improve student achievement and education equity.

Recent Events

CSG West recently facilitated the fourth installment in its Interstate Housing Collaborative, virtually convening state legislative housing leaders from the West. The featured guest was Toni Henneman, Research Analyst for Montana’s Legislative Services Division, who helped draft Montana’s Land Use Planning Act (SB 382.) Passed and signed into law during the 2023 legislative session, SB 382 was a wholesale rewrite of Montana’s land use planning, zoning, and subdivision laws. Toni led participants through the bill’s drafting process and key components, while also discussing the unique coalition of bipartisan support which culminated in its passage. CSG West looks forward to continuing the Interstate Housing Collaborative in 2024, furthering legislative dialogue on pressing issues of the current housing crisis.  

Alaska Senator Löki Gale Tobin

CSG West congratulates Alaska Senator Löki Gale Tobin and Montana Senator Daniel Zolnikov, recently announced as recipients of the 2023 CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award. This annual honor recognizes the work of twenty up-and-coming elected and appointed officials from across the country who are committed to working across the aisle to serve the citizens of their states. 20 Under 40 Leadership Award recipients are selected from a competitive pool of applicants based on their bipartisan work, leadership, and work within a specific policy area.



CSG will honor award recipients at the 2023 CSG National Conference this December in Raleigh, North Carolina. View the full list of recipients and read more about the CSG 20 Under 40 Leadership Award HERE.

Montana Senator Daniel Zonikov

In Memoriam

Photo Credit: Washington Legislative Support Services

The CSG West family is mourning the loss of former Washington Representative Sherry

Appleton, who represented her state’s 23^rd district from 2005-2021. A member of the Western Legislative Academy Class of 2007 and the CSG Toll Fellowship Class of 2008, Representative Appleton was highly engaged with CSG West throughout her legislative tenure. She served as chair of the Public Safety Committee (2019-2020), a member of the Executive Committee (2015-2020), and twice as a member of the Canada Relations Committee. She also attended each of the CSG West Annual Meeting from 2015 - 2020. 

During 16 years in the Washington House of Representatives, Representative Appleton was elected to chair two committees - Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs, and Local Government. Representative Appleton was honored as Legislator of the Year by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and as Humane Legislator of the Year by the Washington State Humane Society. Upon her retirement in 2021, she described some of her legislative highlights as drafting and passing Washington’s patient bill of rights and helping to create the state’s “Silver Alert.”

Representative Appleton was also appointed by Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to serve as an advisor to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Further, she was appointed to the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission and chaired the Commission’s Juvenile Sentencing Committee.



CSG West expresses its sincere condolences to the family and colleagues of former Representative Appleton, along with others who had the opportunity to know and collaborate with her over the years. A true embodiment of public service, she will be deeply missed.

For further reading about the life of Former Representative Appleton, please see this news story. 

Public Safety

The National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), a CSG affiliate organization, recently produced a white paper on empowering emergency management to meet current and emerging threats. Emphasizing the increasing frequency, severity, and complexity of disasters, the report underscores that state emergency management agencies are in critical need of resources to meet the changing landscape of public safety. Included are key recommendations for state officials. The white paper can be downloaded here.