Our People

Our Faculty

Dr. Patrick Jones

Dr. Patrick Jones is the full-time executive director of the Institute. He currently serves on the City of Spokane’s Mayor’s Advisory Council on Economic Vitality, the Washington State Data Center (advisory to U.S. Census), a panel of the National Academy of Science, Engineering & Medicine, “Community Engagement in Southeast Texas: Pilot Project to Enhance Community Capacity and Resilience to Floods” and the steering committee of Priority Spokane, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-honored organization. For his local community impact, Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the City of Spokane in 2016.


Dr. Kelley Cullen

Dr. Kelley Cullen is the Institute’s policy analyst and economist who also teaches courses in economics and statistics in EWU’s School of Business. She received her PhD in Economics with concentrations in health, labor, and econometrics from Washington State University. Dr. Cullen enjoys presenting on these topics as well as sports economics through the National Economic Education Delegation (NEED).

Our Student Interns

Dylan Costinett

Hometown: Bothell, WA
Major: Data Science
Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2023
Post Graduation Plans:
Graduate with a BS in Data Science and head to work for an insurance or consulting firm.
After a few months of working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far:
Seeing the impact that covid has had across the state and how we are already beginning to bounce back is truly fascinating to take a look at.


Kate Guadarrama-Diaz

Hometown: Royal City, WA
Major: Data Analytics
Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2023
Post-graduation plans:
I am looking to secure a position in the Healthcare industry as a Data Analyst.
After a few months of working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far:
Being given the oppurtunities to update the healthcare and education data that will be used to make informed decisions in counties all over the state.


Katie Gower

Hometown: Spokane, WA
Major: Political Science
Expected Graduation Date: Fall 2022
Post-graduation plans:
Graduate school for political science and/or beginning a career in non-profit and activism organizations
After a few months of working on the Trends project, my favorite thing so far:
I found that reviewing and analyzing the Spokane Trends site was very rewarding. It was very interesting to get such a close-up look of my local community, and being able to contribute to that community by helping to ensure that the data was accurate and accessible.