Brett Guinan is a research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California, where she focuses on K–12 education policy. Prior to joining PPIC, she was a research data analyst at the California Department of Social Services. She has conducted independent research at the UC Center Sacramento and worked as a research apprentice for the political science department at the University of California, San Diego. She holds a BS in political science and data analytics from UC San Diego.

Julien Lafortune is a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, where he specializes in education and economics. He is also a member of the PPIC Economic Policy Center. His primary areas of focus include K–12 education finance, school infrastructure, human capital, and labor market policy. He has authored policy reports, briefs, presentations, and blogs on a variety of policy topics, including K–12 education, labor market issues, demographics, and housing markets. He has published academic research papers on school finance reforms and school capital investments in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics and the American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Iwunze Ugo is a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California whose work focuses on education from preschool through grade 12 and further on into postsecondary institutions. His research interests include public school finances and governance; student outcomes—with a focus on demographic disparities; and transitions to higher education. He is a former PPIC research associate and holds a PhD in economics from the University of California, Davis, where he worked as a graduate student researcher at the California Education Lab.