Staff
Ed Sivak – Director
Ed Sivak is the director of the Mississippi Economic Policy Center. As director, Sivak coordinates MEPC's policy efforts to advance public policy issues that improve the quality of life for low-income and low-wealth Mississippians. Prior to joining ECD, Sivak worked as a graduate fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership (formerly the Center for the Study of Voluntary Organizations and Service) and as an intern at the Aspen Institute. He also coordinated programs at L'Arche Irenicon, a nonprofit organization that provides homes to adults with developmental disabilities. Sivak holds a Master of Public Policy from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and a Bachelor of Arts in History and English from Marquette University. He is currently a member of the Federal Reserve Board's Consumer Advisory Council.
Sara Miller – Senior Policy Analyst
Sara Miller is Senior Policy Analyst for the Mississippi Economic Policy Center. As a senior policy analyst, Miller primarily focuses her work on Mississippi tax and budget issues. Before working at the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, she served for three years as an Evaluator for the Mississippi Legislature’s Joint Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER). She went to Louisiana State University for her undergraduate degree and was awarded a Master of Public Administration degree from George Washington University. Before and during graduate school, she worked at a nonprofit HIV/AIDS organization in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and at the Health Resources and Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. She lives in her hometown of Hattiesburg with her husband, David, and beagle, Houston.
Rebecca Dixon – Policy Analyst
Rebecca Dixon is a Policy Analyst with the Mississippi Economic Policy Center. Her areas of focus include state budget and tax analysis and policy supports for low-income working families. Prior to joining MEPC, Rebecca worked as a Medical Communications Coordinator for a biopharmaceutical company while finishing up her joint degree program at Duke University School of Law. Her duties included contracting and policy/procedure compliance for company-sponsored continuing medical education activities. Her program of study included coursework in community economic development law, non-profit law, and low-income health care policy. She holds a B.A. in English from Duke University and a joint degree, J.D. /M.A English, from Duke University School of Law.
Mary Elizabeth May – Policy Analyst
Mary Elizabeth is a policy analyst focusing on housing and mortgage lending policy. Most recently, she was the Housing Director of a non-profit organization in Birmingham, Alabama that developed affordable housing with the goal of revitalizing inner-city neighborhoods. She previously was a housing policy analyst at the National Coalition for the Homeless, and a Mickey Leland – Bill Emerson Congressional Hunger Fellow with the Congressional Hunger Center. Mary Elizabeth has a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Birmingham-Southern College.
Davetta Cooke - Program Analyst
Davetta Cooke is a Program Analyst with the Mississippi Economic Policy Center. As a program analyst, Cooke focuses her work on analyzing the impact of community development programs. Cooke also focuses on mortgage lending policies and the recovery of small businesses on the Gulf Coast. Prior to joining MEPC, Davetta served as a legal intern at the Mississippi Secretary of State Elections Division. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana and a J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law. Her program of study included Real Estate Law, Health Care Law, Race & the Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution.