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Montana Policy Institute's Board of Directors
Carl Graham
Carl Graham was born in Glasgow, MT, graduated from Montana State University, and then embarked on a twenty year career as a Naval Flight Officer, garnering nearly 500 'traps' and 2000 hours in the A-6 Intruder and F-14 Tomcat.
During his naval career, Carl also earned a Master's Degree in Foreign Affairs and Strategic Planning and served as special assistant and congressional liaison officer for the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command.
Carl retired from Naval service in July of 2004. Since then he has resided near Bozeman, MT, where he has been an adjunct professor of aviation science, a flight instructor, and a readiness evaluator working under contract for the Department of Defense.
Lisa Hazlett
Lisa Hazlett is the founder and chairman of the Montana Policy Institute.
Ms. Hazlett has extensive experience working with legislators, local public officials, and community leaders on a variety of areas, particularly in the areas of Taxpayer Bill of Rights, education policy, and the needs of the disabled. She has previously served as Director of Development for the Tax Foundation; Director of Foundation Strategy for the Institute for Humane Studies and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University; and Vice President for External Affairs for the Buckeye Institute in Columbus, Ohio.
Lisa has worked with state and federal legislators to improve educational choice opportunities for youth with disabilities and developed and launched a national model program for early economic education. She has presented educational advocacy and career development programs at international and national conferences and served as a member of the Florida Chamber Alliance for World Class Education, The Literacy Partnership Council, the Florida Council for Exceptional Children Government Relations Committee, and the Duval County Public Schools Workforce Development Executive Committee.
Ms. Hazlett is a native of Jacksonville, Florida. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Florida and a Master of Business Administration from the Davis School of Business at Jacksonville University.
Sam Staley
Sam Staley is a founding trustee of the Montana Policy Institute and has more than 20 years of experience working in public policy think tanks. His experience includes research, outreach and public affairs, and executive management. He is a co-founder of The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions in Columbus, Ohio, serving as trustee, secretary, vice president for research and then president before becoming a senior research fellow in 2004. He is currently director of urban and land use policy at Reason Foundation in Los Angeles and consults regularly with state-based think tanks.
Sam's articles have appeared in a wide range of academic and professional publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Investor's Business Daily, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. He is the author of several books, most recently (with Ted Balaker), The Road More Traveled: Why the Congestion Crisis Matters More Than You Think, and What We Can Do About It (Rowmand & Littlefield, 2006), http://www.reason.org/road/. His book Drug Policy and the Decline of American Cities (Transaction 1992) won first place in the Sir Antony Fisher Memorial Prize of the USA and UK for its contribution to an understanding of a free economy.
Sam earned his Ph.D. in public administration, with concentrations in public finance and urban planning, from The Ohio State University, his MS in applied economics from Wright State University, and BA in economics-public policy from Colby College.