Lauren Ayers Email & Phone Number

Albany, New York, United States

The Fiscal Analysis Research Unit (FARU) is responsible for the calculation, verification, and projection of over $31 billion in State Aid distributed annually to over 670 school districts and 37 BOCES in support of public elementary and secondary education in New York. Data that supports these activities is collected internally and externally from other State agencies and is analyzed and used to calculate projections of State Aid. My duties included: • Assisting in the annual update of data collection forms, automated edits, aid calculations and testing of programmed changes;• Assisting in the quarterly update of data files required for State Aid Projections;• Analyzing data such as expenditures, revenue, and pupil counts, to identify trends, outliers and understanding the impact of changes to the calculation or collection of these figures;• Assisting in the review of enacted legislation and determining appropriate action related to aid calculations and payments;• Participating in the ongoing business process re-engineering and enhancement of SAMS, including documenting the "As Is" state and "To Be" requirements; and,• Assisting in special projects as needed to review, extract data, and correct errors.During SY 2023-24, • performed descriptive, exploratory, and outlier analyses of specific school districts, focusing on school revenue, district expenditures, cash flow, and student need, and reported on unique cost drivers; • compiled, executed, and monitored programs and jobs in BRIDGE to produce State Aid projections that accurately reflect fiscal impacts of proposed statutory changes to NYS Education Law; • led the publication of the 2024-25 State Aid Handbook; • updated the Regional Cost Index for 2024;• reviewed school- and district-level MOE outliers for federal ESSA requirements; and, • created a data tool to verify projected modeled pupil counts and wealth measures (essential drivers of state allocations of foundation aid).

Albany, New York, United States

The Special Education and "Education - Other Local Assistance" Team within the Education Unit at the Division of Budget reviews, analyzes, and monitors NYSED expenditures and encumbrances related to preschool special education and other local assistance programs administered by NYSED.As a budgeting analyst, I reviewed, analyzed, and provided staff support to division program managers and administrators in recommending alternative fiscal plans and forecasting the adequacy of available fiscal resources to meet long-term needs. I relied on Microsoft Excel to perform in-depth studies of related issues, programs and operations; and analyzed and made recommendations concerning potential legislation with fiscal consequences related to nonpublic schools, preschool special education tuition rate-setting, and Native American education.Passed the Grade 18 - Budget Examiner Civil Service Exam.

Albany, New York, United States

The Division of Local Government and School Accountability enables and encourages local government and school officials to maintain or improve fiscal health by increasing efficiency and effectiveness, managing costs, improving service delivery, and accounting for and protecting assets. It also promotes government reform and foster good governance in communities statewide by providing local government and school officials with up-to-date information and expert technical assistance.My duties included the following: • act as a source of information and policy analysis relating to local governments, and assist local governments and schools in addressing operational, financial and economic development challenges;• provide studies, best practices information, technical assistance, training, reference materials, local government data and other information to local governments, schools, state government, and other customers using an effective communications strategy; and, • provide support to staff with the skills and resources they need, improve work processes through collaboration and innovation, and apply technology to enhance effectiveness.

Archives, Remote Services, Etc.

My duties included digitizing documents from academic, state, and federal archives and libraries in Wisconsin and in Texas, organizing content into archives, compiling bibliographies and indices, and writing materials for doctoral students, dissertations, adjunct and tenured-track professors, television shows, and other projects.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

The Professional Responsibility & Compliance Department contains an administrative management team that monitors professional responsibility or compliance issues, undertaking research projects or special initiatives at the direction of the Associate General Counsel, and monitoring changes to the rules of professional conduct, as well as to various laws and regulations that relate to the emerging compliance requirements for lawyers and the firm.My duties included the following: • understanding of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct; • understanding of conflicts of interest rules, including the ability to identify conflicts and determine appropriate resolution; and, • strong legal research and writing skills with an ability to translate legal requirements into operational process in order to provide assistance with ethical and regulatory issues related to the firm’s Information Governance program.

Middleton, Wisconsin

Assisted librarian in collection development, cataloging and maintaining reference library. Cataloged and preserved marketing & retail displays, photos, and other documents to assist creative staff in ensuring historical authenticity of and continuity of company products.

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Received 4.5/5 in teaching evaluations;Created curricula and presented information through lectures and guided discussions; and instructed 360 undergraduates in six courses in the Departments of History and Sociology (when noted), including:• American Environmental History, led by Dr. William Cronon, during Fall 2015 and Spring 2015;• America from the Civil War to the Present, led by Lecturer Daniel Hummel, during Spring 2016;• Citizenship and Freedom in the US, Civil War to 2017, led by Lecturer Scott Burkhardt, during Spring 2017;• Demography: Population Problems, Department of Sociology, led by Dr. Monica Grant, Fall 2017; and, • Latin America: An Introduction, led by Dr. Patrick Iber, during Spring 2018.

Houston, Texas; Austin, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin

• UW-Madison Project Assistant for Dr. William Cronon: Scanned newspapers, converted images into text using optical character recognition software, and then, cropped and categorized materials into an organizational schema that I created, adding metadata throughout. Proficient in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat Pro, and ABBYY FineReader. This research was for Professor Cronon's history of Portage, Wisconsin.• Consultant for Dr. James Sidbury, Rice University: Compiled a historiography of the sugarcane industry in Florida and attended the inaugural seminar: “Human Trafficking – Past and Present: Crossing Disciplines, Crossing Borders”.• Research Assistant for Dr. Erika Bsumek, University of Texas at Austin: Scoured the Briscoe Center for American History and the LBJ Presidential Archives for information relating to large-scale engineering projects and water conflicts; and, compiled evidence from federal records, and personal papers to contextualize the building of Glen Canyon Dam.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

As an Archer Fellow, I was selected as 1 in 15 undergraduates from the entire University of Texas System to intern and take classes in Washington, DC for a semester.I worked full time at the Council on Environmental Quality, a division of the Executive Office of the President that coordinates federal environmental efforts nationwide and works closely with agencies and other White House offices on the development of environmental and energy policies and initiatives.Worked as intern on the Energy and Climate Change team under Chair Nancy Sutley during the administration of President Barack Obama, where I provided research support including working on the 2010 Climate Change Adaptation Task Force’s Progress Report, researching state and federal energy policies, and preparing summaries on key issues for decision makers.

Master Of Arts - Ma, American History (United States), 3.89

Spent five years in the University of Wisconsin's Department of History doctoral program in American history, taking 67 graduate credit.

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, History, 3.99

Activities and Societies: As a Liberal Arts Honors student, I lived in the "Quad" and worked as an aide in the Joynes Reading Room. My.

Completing Prerequisites For Admittance To The M.S. Accounting And Data Analytics Program, Accounting And Business/Management, 3.82

Activities and Societies: I'm completing the academic prerequisites (through SUNY Plattsburgh's online B.S. Accounting Program) to gain.

Language Certificate, Spanish

Achieved Level 3 language proficiency in Advanced Intermediate Spanish

Incomplete M.S. Information Science, Information Science/Archives & Records Administration, 4.0

Activities and Societies: Women in Government and Civil Service Fellowship (see honors/awards), which included tuition and a stipend.