Andrew Woods is the director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER). He brings over 15 years of public policy experience, most notably as a business and public affairs professional. Some of his research interests include strengthening research in education, transportation, workforce development, economic diversification, and other policy areas important to business and government.

Via a wide array of leadership positions in the public and private sectors, Woods has expertise in applying data and research to strengthen organizations and communities. Prior to joining UNLV in June 2021, he served as CEO of Woods Strategies, an economic analysis, financial management, and public affairs consulting firm. Projects included a research initiative detailing the importance of medical research to the well-being and growth of Nevada.

As director of CBER, Woods plans to increase the center's reach and reinforce its role as a trusted resource for business and economic information for the public. The center will continue to provide expertise on current and ongoing topics that are important to businesses and the community and will increase its output of high-quality academic research.

Woods is a regular contributor to media outlets, including Nevada Public Radio and a guest columnist for the Las Vegas Sun and The Nevada Independent.

Eileen McGarry is the executive director of Career Services at UNLV. With over 20 years of experience in community relations and higher education leadership, McGarry specializes in enhancing professional development and student success.

McGarry provides strategic direction and leadership for multiple stakeholders on campus to mobilize student career readiness and alumni career advancement. McGarry joined UNLV in 1988, directing the Career Services program for the dynamic growing university until 2010. McGarry spent the next few years as Career Services executive director for the University of Arizona and the University of California, Merced, before returning to UNLV in 2019. Since then, McGarry has directed the program for over 30,000 students and 10 staff that drives and supports the university's vision as a Top Tier Research Institution.

McGarry additionally works under the Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, developing and accelerating opportunities for students and alumni that serve a broad based employer constituency.

UNLV Lee Business School professor Nicholas Irwin studies microeconomics, particularly environmental and urban economics with a focus on the implications of these areas on real estate markets, human decision making, and demographics. His expertise is used to provide insight into proposed environmental or urban policies in Nevada and the economic implications surrounding them.

Irwin has conducted research on issues including the implications of COVID-19 on the housing market and water use, homeowners' response to new information about environmental hazards, the role of neighbors in homeowner decision making, and the implications of wildfire and other risks on housing demand and supply.

Irwin's work has been published in leading environmental and urban journals, including the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Energy Policy, Land Economics, and the Journal of Real Estate Research.

UNLV Lee Business School professor Makayla Palmer studies macroeconomics, insurance, and health economics. Her expertise is used to provide insight into health policies in Nevada and the economics surrounding them.

Palmer has conducted research on issues including health care shortages, policies addressing the health of low-income and at-risk infants and children, subsidized insurance, Medicaid, marketplace insurance, teen smoking behaviors, and foster children. For example, one project examined how managed care insurance affects health care utilization of foster children relative to fee-for-service payments. Another project centered around how marketplace eligibility under the Affordable Care Act affects pregnancies and female labor decisions.  

Her work has been published in the Southern Economic Journal, Health Economics, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Jessica Word is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Leadership at UNLV.

Her research focuses on capacity building in the public and nonprofit sectors. She also has expertise in program evaluation and organization theory.

Her work has been published in numerous journals including, Public Administration Review, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Personnel Review, Public Personnel Management, the Journal for Nonprofit Management, and Spirituality and Religion. She's worked with notable national nonprofits such as the Girl Scouts of the USA, Volunteers of America, and Opportunity Knocks on issues related to employee engagement and burnout. She also co-edited The Nonprofit Human Resource Handbook with Dr. Jessica Sowa.   

Bradley Marianno is a nationally recognized authority on the consequences of local and state education policy change. He is often called upon to discuss state and federal teacher labor policy, teachers unions and collective bargaining, and the micro-politics of local school district decision making and policy implementation.

His research specialties include teacher strikes and the role of teachers’ unions in federal, state, and local politics.

He has been featured in numerous academic and professional journals and news outlets including Time Magazine, NBC Nightly News, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The 74, Che Seattle Times, Associated Press, Politico, and USA Today.