Welcome to the MEPC Press Room
Here you’ll find everything you should need when reporting on the Mississippi Economic Policy Center (MEPC). This page covers some basic background on the work we do and introduces you to our analysts and the individual policy areas they focus on. If you need more information about a policy issue focused on by MEPC and want to connect with one of our analysts, please contact our communications director or executive director.
What is The Mississippi Economic Policy Center?
The Mississippi Economic Policy Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that conducts independent research on public policy issues affecting working Mississippians. Through public outreach efforts, policy maker education and engaging the media, MEPC uses its analysis to ensure that the needs of low and moderate-income Mississippians, in particular, are considered in the development and implementation of public policy with the ultimate goal of improving access to economic opportunity.
MEPC is managed by the Hope Enterprise Corporation (HOPE). HOPE is a financial institution, community development intermediary and policy center that provides affordable financial services; leverages private, public and philanthropic resources; and engages in policy analysis in order to fulfill its mission of strengthening communities, building assets, and improving lives in economically distressed parts of the Mid South. Since 1994, HOPE’s efforts have generated over $1.6 billion in financing and benefited more than 120,000 individuals in the Delta, Katrina-affected areas and other distressed communities throughout Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Learn more about our work.
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Expert Sources/Presenters
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Ed Sivak
Ed’s expertise includes:
- Mississippi Fiscal Policy
- Predatory Lending and Asset Development
- Workforce development for low-income populations
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Sara Miller
Sara’s expertise includes:
- How the state collects its funds and what those funds support
- The equity of the Mississippi Tax System
- The state budgetA plan of proposed expenditures and the means of financing them with respect to a specific period of time. The plan may be for a particular organizational unit or for some combination-- such as all state agencies. (Source: MS Department of Finance and Administration) process
- Trends in revenueThe state’s income from any source. Mississippi revenue includes: tax collections, fees, and intergovernmental grants. collections and state services funding levels
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Sarah Welker
Sarah’s expertise includes:
- Wages, Jobs and Mississippi’s Workforce
- Community Colleges, Adult Education/GED and Workforce Training
- Economic Well-Being of Mississippi’s Families
- Disaggregating income and wage information by gender, race and age
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Francinia McKeithan
Francinia’s expertise includes:
- BudgetA plan of proposed expenditures and the means of financing them with respect to a specific period of time. The plan may be for a particular organizational unit or for some combination-- such as all state agencies. (Source: MS Department of Finance and Administration) and Tax Education and Monitoring
- RevenueThe state’s income from any source. Mississippi revenue includes: tax collections, fees, and intergovernmental grants. AdequacyA tax system is considered adequate if it collects enough revenueThe state’s income from any source. Mississippi revenue includes: tax collections, fees, and intergovernmental grants. to pay for the services required by residents and policymakers. One threat to the adequacy of a tax system is a structural deficit. and Equity
- Solutions for Building Assets in Low-Wealth Communities in Mississippi
- Mississippi’s Health Care Reform
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Jessica Shappley
Jessica’s expertise includes:
- Asset Building
- Predatory Lending
- Individual Development Accounts and Children’s Savings Accounts
- Community Reinvestment Act
- Affordable Housing and Housing-Related Issues
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