Guaranteed Basic Income Pilots have been a strategic tool in driving the national conversation about the value of direct cash and informing state and federal policy design. This Keynote Discussion will include leaders from the movement who led initial pilots to discuss the history and vision of these programs and how they are informing the next stage, including narrative work, grassroots coalition building, and policy design at the state and federal level.

Madeline Neighly, Economic Security Project

Madeline Neighly is the Director of Guaranteed Income at the Economic Security Project and Co-Chair of the Guaranteed Income Community of Practice. Prior to joining ESP, she was a Director of Advocacy and Policy at the Roosevelt Institute where she focused on corporate power issues.

Halah Ahmad is Vice President for PR and Policy Communications at the Jain Family Institute, an applied research organization that designs guaranteed income pilots and policy. Halah manages the Jain Family Institute’s work with grassroots organizations and policymakers, as well as engagement with journalists, academics, and peer research groups. An advisor to multiple pilots on communications and policy change, Halah’s areas of expertise include translating research for policy, storytelling and messaging in national media, and collaborating with grassroots movements for safety net reform. In her research capacity, she has developed resources like JFI’s Toolkit on Guaranteed Income in the US, JFI’s Messaging Guaranteed Income series, and policy analysis of cash legislation for federal and state policymakers. Halah received a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Cambridge as the Lionel de Jersey Harvard Scholar. Her past work in policy research and analysis has covered issues of urban inequality and displacement nationally and internationally.

Kathrine Cagat, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income

Kathrine is the Research and Program Officer for the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income. Kathrine holds a PhD in anthropology, and prior to joining MGI, conducted research on sustainable development and household and community resilience. She has taught anthropology and human ecology courses in the United States, United Kingdom, and South Korea. She's excited about contributing to work that expands people's adaptive capacities and strengthens communities.

Stacey first landed in the classroom, then in user-experience product agencies, and eventually to the non-profit space. Her passion for economics and human-centered program design brought her to the basic income community where, in early 2019, she began to work with organizations across the basic income ecosystem. Stacey's focus on collaborative coalition-building and the fostering of a thriving grassroots movement for basic income led her to create Income Movement.

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From Pilots to Policy