FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2015
Contact: Valerie Wickboldt | vwickboldt@jamesmadison.org | (850) 383-3131Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation and Sam Staley of the DeVoe L. Moore Center Join the Research Advisory Council of The James Madison Institute
~ Practiced, multidisciplinary experts in Florida further strengthen policy advisors to the Institute ~TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation and Sam Staley of the DeVoe L. Moore Center at The Florida State University were announced today as the newest members of The James Madison Institute (JMI) Research Advisory Council. They join 17 thought leaders advising the Institute on specific policy issues that have a significant impact on the Sunshine State’s economy and the increase in opportunities for all Floridians.“By adding these knowledgeable specialists to our list of renowned professionals on JMI’s Research Advisory Council we will considerably strengthen our expertise and influence,” said Dr. Bob McClure, JMI president and CEO. “Bob’s specialty issue is one of great importance to the state and Sam’s vast experience on a myriad of issues brings increased capacity to the Council.”Robert Poole is the director of transportation policy and the Searle Freedom Trust Transportation Fellow at the Reason Foundation. He lives in Broward County, FL. Poole received his B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering at MIT and did graduate work in operations research at NYU. His 1988 policy paper proposing privately financed, congestion-relief toll lanes inspired California’s private tollway pilot projects law (AB 680), which has served as the prototype for more than 20 similar laws in other states. In 1993 he directed a study that introduced the term HOT Lanes.Poole has been an advisor to the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the White House Office of Policy Development, and the DOTs of California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Utah, Virginia, Texas, and Washington State. He served on the Caltrans Privatization Advisory Steering Committee, in 1989-90, and was a member of California’s Commission on Transportation Investment in 1995-96.He is a member of the board of the Public-Private Partnerships division of ARTBA and a member of the Transportation Research Board’s Managed Lanes Committee. In 2003-05 he was a member of the TRB’s special committee on the long-term viability of fuel taxes for transportation funding. In 2008 he served as a member of the Texas Study Committee on Private Participation in Toll Roads. In 2010 he served as a member of the Expert Review Panel on Managed Lanes, for the Washington State DOT. He also served on the transition team for Florida’s Gov.-Elect Rick Scott. He writes a monthly column on transportation policy issues for Public Works Financing, and publishes the monthly e-newsletter, Surface Transportation Innovations.Sam Staley is the managing director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center at The Florida State University (FSU), an interdisciplinary research center in FSU’s College for Social Sciences and Public Policy, and the co-author of “Mobility First: A New Vision for Transportation in a Globally Competitive 21st Century,” (Rowman & Littlefield 2006).He also is a research fellow at the Reason Foundation and a senior fellow at both the Indiana Policy Review Foundation and the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions. Staley can address the need to examine social impact, cost vs. benefits and the long-range sustainability of the proposed Hyperloop.To see the full list of JMI’s Research Advisory Council, visit: http://www.jamesmadison.org/about/research-advisory-council.html. For more information on JMI, visit www.jamesmadison.org.# # #Trusted Solutions for a Better Florida: Founded in 1987, The James Madison Institute (JMI) is one of Florida’s oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organizations. JMI is dedicated to advancing such ideals as economic freedom, limited government, federalism, traditional values, the rule of law, and individual liberty coupled with individual responsibility. All JMI publications are available online at www.jamesmadison.org. For additional information please contact Valerie Wickboldt at vwickboldt@jamesmadison.org. Twitter: @JmsMadisonInst – Facebook: facebook.com/JamesMadisonInstitute