Board of Directors
Rafael Baptista, Secretary
Rafael has worked in local government for over 7 years. He joined Buncombe County, NC in 2020 as the Director of Strategy & Innovation. In his current role, he oversees special projects, process improvement, policy management, innovation, and strategic planning for the County. Rafael believes that local government can and should be a leading industry in innovation. He holds a Master of Public Administration for UNC- Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Willamette University. Rafael loves exploring new activities with his family, watching Formula 1, and playing water polo.
Term Expires June 30, 2025
Amie Hendrix
Amie Hendrix is Deputy County Administrator of Performance and Innovation for Tompkins County, New York. She has more than ten years of experience in local government and not-for-profit administration. Prior to her current position, Amie served as Tompkins County's Director of Youth Services where she got the reputation of being the ever optimistic, real life Leslie Knope. Amie holds a Master of Science degree in Strategic Leadership from Roberts Wesleyan College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Niagara University. Out of the office she can be found in the gorges of the Finger Lakes with her two labs, Ruca and Lola.
Term Expires June 30, 2024
Cassie Johnson
Cassie Johnson is the Director of the Strategic Initiatives Division for the City of Scottsdale in the Police Department. She oversees the Planning, Research, & Accreditation, Budget & Finance, and Records sections in this role. Cassie oversees many high-profile projects for the department with expertise in the areas of performance measures, strategic planning, process improvement, workload analysis, policy, UCR, and data analytics. She manages the department’s law enforcement accreditation process (both CALEA and ALEAP) and supports other state agencies as the President of the Arizona Police Accreditation. She is a team leader on the City’s High Performance & Innovation Team and a What Works Cities certification team member. She holds a master’s in public administration from Arizona State University and a master’s in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School. She loves to travel, dabbles in both cooking and baking, and is a big fan of iced coffee.
Term Expires June 30, 2026
Maggie Jones, Chair
Marguerite “Maggie” Jones has been in public service for more than 15 years. She joined the Tarrant County, TX team in 2016 as Assistant Director of Community Development. In her current role, she works closely with development teams to increase the availability of quality, workforce housing; collaborates with local jurisdictions on economic development efforts; engages in local policy development; assists in the oversight of federal grant programs; and actively challenges the status quo in an effort to improve the lives of others. A proud Red Raider, Maggie holds a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, both from Texas Tech University. Additionally, Maggie serves on the Parks and Recreation Board of Directors in Bedford, TX where she resides. She loves exploring new activities, watching baseball, Jeeping, hiking, biking, reading, drinking excessive amounts of coffee, and just about anything with her two boys, Zachary and Nicholas, in the great outdoors. Maggie served as the Vice Chair of the Board from 2021 to 2023.
Term Expires June 30, 2024
Warren Kagarise, Vice Chair
Warren Kagarise is the Digital Engagement Manager for King County, WA, where he leads efforts to connect the nation’s 13th-largest county with 2.2 million residents via social media and other digital tools. Warren’s career in public service started in 2013 when he served as Communications Coordinator for the City of Issaquah, WA, where he launched the city’s nationally recognized social media presence. A former journalist, Warren first became interested in public service while working as a reporter covering local governments in Washington state and Florida. In addition to his King County role, Warren is the past president of the Government Social Media Membership Council, a member of Nextdoor’s Public Agency Advisory Board, and a regular contributor to ELGL’s Morning Buzz.
Term Expires June 30, 2025
Sanket Karuri
Sanket Karuri is the Chief Product Officer at Beam, where he helps local governments administer public benefits programs quickly, equitably, and effectively. Under his leadership, Beam has scaled their platform to support over 150 local and state governments, universities, and CBOs in administering over $250M dollars in assistance to hundreds of thousands of households across America. Sanket’s career started in the research of poverty, delving deeply into its societal and personal harms, and has extended to building products that fight poverty at a systemic level. He most recently ran Product for the College Board’s BigFuture Scholarship program, which supported more than 3 million students by providing large dollar scholarship incentives to drive quality college matriculation. When he’s not trying to improve access to the safety net, Sanket is likely hiking, biking, or cooking.
Term Expires June 30, 2025
Ben Kittelson, Treasurer
Ben Kittelson is a Senior Consultant at Raftelis where he works with local governments all across the country. He has helped run ELGL since May of 2013 and he produces and co-hosts ELGL’s GovLove Podcast. Previously he worked as a Sr. Budget & Management Analyst for three years at the City of Durham, NC and for two years at Guilford County, NC. Ben began his career in the Portland, OR region, where he served the Cities of Gresham, West Linn, and Beaverton, as well as Metro, the regional government for the Portland area. Ben has his Masters in Public Administration from Portland State University and his BA in Politics & Economics from Willamette University. Ben enjoys walking his dog, Franklin, and drinking hoppy craft beers. Ben served as the Chair of the Board from 2019 to 2023.
Term Expires June 30, 2024
Meredith Reynolds
Meredith Reynolds currently serves as a Deputy City Manager in Long Beach, CA and throughout her local government career, Meredith has worked on critical efforts in community services, parks and open space, sustainability, economic recovery, and innovation. Previously, Meredith served as the Long Beach Park Planning and Partnerships Manager and Park Development Officer. During the pandemic, she was reassigned to the Long Beach Health Department and was entrusted with the critical responsibility for standing up COVID-19 testing sites across Long Beach. She also served as the Community Services Manager and Environmental Programs Administrator for the City of Irvine. Meredith’s early career was spent as the first team of Sustainability Coordinators with the Long Beach Office of Sustainability and she started her career in the City of Long Beach’s Management Assistant Program. Meredith holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University with a concentration in Local Government Management, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration with a minor in Organizational Communication from California State University, Chico.
Term Expires June 30, 2026
Toney Thompson Jr.
Toney Thompson Jr. is an accomplished local government professional known for fostering a culture of innovation and leading high-priority strategic projects for organizations. As an Innovation Strategist for Wake County, NC, Toney manages several high-priority projects for County leadership, develops prototypes to test innovative improvements to government services, and provides multi-disciplinary consultation services to internal stakeholders and project teams. Toney's educational background includes a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Duke University, and an International Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification.
Term Expires June 30, 2026
Board Members Emeritus
Below are the ELGL Board Members Emeritus. These individuals completed their terms on the Board and are active representatives of ELGL.
