Justin Theal is a lead fiscal researcher with Pew’s Fiscal 50 project and manages research on key state fiscal trends—including revenue, spending, and reserves—while providing data-driven insights that help policymakers understand and navigate complex fiscal challenges. He plays a leading role in expanding Pew’s research on emerging risks to state budgets, with an emphasis on the fiscal impacts of climate change. In this capacity, he also advises policymakers on practices and policies that support long-term budget sustainability and provides expertise in how federal spending and tax policy choices affect state finances.Before joining Pew, Theal conducted research and analysis at Taxpayers for Common Sense, one of the nation’s leading nonpartisan advocates of fiscal responsibility in the federal budget.Theal holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Arcadia University and a master’s degree in public management and finance from the University of Maryland, and serves on the boards of the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis (President, 2020-21) and Public Financial Publications, Inc.