Advisory Board
Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh
Nebraska State Senate
Senator Machaela Cavanaugh represents Legislative District 6, Omaha, in the Nebraska Legislature. She serves on the Health and Human Services Committee, Transportation and Telecommunications Committee and the Performance Audit Committee. She made history in 2019 as the first lawmaker to breastfeed her baby on the floor of the Nebraska Unicameral. Her policy agenda includes funding and services for developmentally disabled individuals and families, enhancements to childcare and child welfare and the advancement of family leave policies. Senator Cavanaugh led the effort to investigate and end the privatization of child welfare in the Eastern service area. Much work remains to be done with regard to child welfare and Senator Cavanaugh is continuing to push for improvements.
Senator Cavanaugh, an Omaha native with nearly 20 years’ experience in community engagement and public affairs, worked at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska. She previously served as the Director of Development for Opera Omaha and the American Province of the Servants of Mary. Her interest in policy was heightened during her time as Staff Assistant for U.S. Senator Ben Nelson in Washington D.C.
A graduate of Marian High School, Machaela obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Senator Cavanaugh is instrumental in the Women Who Run organization that recruits and supports women candidates. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Inclusive Communities and is a member of the Preschool Advisory Committee at Morning Star Preschool. Cavanaugh resides in the Peony Park Neighborhood with her husband Nick Brotzel and their children, Della, Harriet, and Barrett. Cavanaugh is the daughter of Kate and John Cavanaugh, the fourth of their eight children. Her dad, John, served as a U.S. Congressman for Nebraska’s Second Congressional District from 1977 – 80 and as a State Senator prior to that.
Joe Coletti
North Carolina House Oversight Staff Director
Everybody has answers, recommendations, and solutions for state legislators to turn into policy. Joe Coletti leads the team that helps House Republicans ask the right questions and define the real problems. Joe has helped North Carolina and other states cut taxes by reining in spending since 2005. He led Gov. Pat McCrory’s government efficiency and reform initiative. In his current oversight role, Joe has led investigations into Covid spending, hurricane recovery, and other government functions.
Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin
Oregon State Senate
Sara Gelser was sworn into the Oregon House in 2005, and was elected to the Oregon State Senate in 2014. She is Chair of the Senate Human Services Committee and also serves on the Judiciary Committee, the Education Committee, the Mental Health Committee and the Joint Transportation Committee. Prior to joining the Senate, she chaired the House Education Committee for 6 years and served as the National Education Policy Chair for the Council of State Governments. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Sara to the National Council on Disability. The nomination was confirmed by a unanimous vote of the US Senate.
Sara’s legislative accomplishments include strengthening Oregon’s rape statute, the creation of a charitable pharmacy program, expansion of Oregon’s mandatory child abuse reporting law, the establishment of statewide standards for modified and extended diplomas, strengthening protections for seniors and people with disabilities who are victims of abuse and neglect, strong anti-tobacco initiatives, establishing transparent child welfare fatality reviews known as CIRTs and reducing barriers for access to medical and support services for children with disabilities. In 2007, Sara spearheaded Karly’s Law which improves child abuse investigations across the state. She is currently leading Oregon’s workgroup to implement the national Family First Prevention Services Act. Sara also played a key role in making Oregon one of the very first states in the nation to achieve recognition for full rape kit reform by the Joyful Heart Foundation.
Sara served on the Corvallis School Board from 2001 until 2006. She is past president of The Arc of Benton County, was named Corvallis Junior First Citizen by the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce in 2004, and was a National Council on State Legislators Child Welfare Fellow. Sara was featured as one of Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” Silence Breakers in 2017, was honored by the Portland City Club with the Oregon Courage Award in 2019, received the Oregon Center for Women’s Leadership Transforming Policy Award in 2018, and was given the Voice for Justice Award by the National Crime Victim Law Institute in 2017.
Before serving in the Legislature, Sara was the Children with Disabilities and Family Support Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Human Services. She also worked as an instructor at Linn-Benton Community College and as a regional coordinator for the Oregon Parent Training and Information Center, where she provided training to parents, educators and administrators about special education law and practice.
Sara earned her BA in history and education from Earlham College and an MAIS degree from Oregon State University. She was a Council on State Governments Henry Toll Fellow, a Marshall Memorial Fellow, and a participant in an American Council of Young Political Leaders international exchange program facilitated by the US Department of State.
Sara lives in Corvallis with her partner, Dr. Michael Blouin, and is the proud mother of five children.
Dan Johnson
Mayor of Lewiston, Idaho
Mayor Johnson is the first Mayor elected by the citizens of the City of Lewiston since 1964. He was elected on November 2, 2021, when the citizens of Lewiston also voted to change the form of the City’s government from a Council-Manager plan to a Mayor-Council plan.
Johnson has been a proud resident of Lewiston since 2001. Many know him for his role in the Idaho State Legislature; having served District 6, which includes Nez Perce and Lewis Counties, from 2011 until appointing a substitute to serve the remainder of his term effective January 2022. During his time in the Senate, Johnson took part in several working committees, including serving as the Chair of the Local Government and Taxation Committee; serving as the Co-chair of the Interim Committee on Urban Renewal; serving as the Vice-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and serving as a member of the Idaho Bond Bank Authority.
Johnson believes that Lewiston has the potential to become a top-performing City in the great state of Idaho. His main priorities include lowering the tax burden, limiting budget growth, and taking the cost out of doing business.
Sen. Ed McBroom
Michigan State Senate
State Sen. Ed McBroom serves the people of the 38th Senate District in the Upper Peninsula and is Senate Republicans’ Caucus Dean.
McBroom serves on the Oversight Committee, the Transportation and Infrastructure, and the Elections and Ethics Committees.
McBroom is a fourth-generation dairy farmer, and operates his family’s 100-year-old farm, which in addition to raising Holsteins, also grows corn, wheat, and hay. He previously served a full three terms in the state House of Representatives from 2011 to 2016.
He is active in the community, serving on the U.P. State Fair Authority, as dairy superintendent of the Dickinson County Fair, and director of the Norway City Band. He also directs music at the First Baptist Church of Norway.
McBroom holds bachelor’s degrees in music education and social studies secondary education from Northern Michigan University.
Ed and his wife Sarah have five children and they reside in Waucedah.
John Sylvia
Director, Performance Evaluation & Research Division
West Virginia Office of the Legislative Auditor
John Sylvia is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts-Boston, and a master’s degree in economics from Indiana University. John has conducted legislative research and performance auditing for the state Legislatures of Indiana and West Virginia for the past 36 years. Eight of those years were in Indiana where he worked as a budget and tax analyst. As a budget and tax analyst, John assisted several state agencies in developing their budgets, assisted in the revenue forecasting of Indiana’s general fund revenues and other dedicated state revenues, conducted tax analysis and fiscal notes on major state tax and budgetary issues, and conducted performance audits of state agencies. His work in tax analysis contributed to major policy changes in the state of Indiana. He is currently the director of the Performance Evaluation and Research Division within the West Virginia Office of the Legislative Auditor where he has been employed for the past 28 years. John has overseen an extensive number of performance audits of state agencies and legislative research projects for West Virginia’s Legislature. Many of his division’s performance audits and legislative research have led to positive administrative and legislative changes, cost savings, and facilitated effective state policy decision-making for West Virginia.
