Albany, NY — The Empire Center is expanding its research operations with the addition of three research fellows:
Ken Girardin, Fellow, Labor Policy: Ken helped to produce the first independent analysis of New York’s property tax cap, which demonstrated the cap’s effectiveness and boosted efforts to extend the cap and ultimately make it permanent. He also authored The Janus Stakes, a quantitative analysis of the influence New York’s public-sector unions have over public policy in the Empire State. Ken has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in materials engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York.
Dr. Holly Grant, Adjunct Fellow, Education Policy: Dr. Grant is affiliated with the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the New York State Association of School Business Officials. She earned a PhD in Mathematics at Virginia Tech, a Master of Arts in Teaching at Montclair State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Smith College. She also completed an advanced Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.
Dr. Ian Kingsbury, Adjunct Fellow, Education Policy: Dr. Kingsbury received his PhD in education policy from the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy. He has published more than ten peer-reviewed studies, mostly addressing school choice.
These fellows—and all of Empire Center’s experts—are available to speak to the media. Please send requests to [email protected].
The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALBANY, N.Y. - New Yorkers across the political spectrum are considering leaving the state. A new finds that Republicans and independent voters most often cite taxes as the reason, while Dem Read More
Albany steered $97.2 million to 206 local projects during the first half of 2026 in the newest batch of state discretionary grants, according to. The new tranche is the latest addition to the pork-barrel grant database the Empire Center h Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s shows New York households paid the fifth‑highest residential electricity prices in the country in June 2026, trailing only Hawaii, California Read More
Nine millionaires, all healthcare executives, emerged among the 88,228 New York public authority employees, according to, the Empire Center’s transparency website.
The data includes payroll information from 385 different agen Read More
A total of 132 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible to collect $200,000 or more in pensions during the 2026 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Among the 132 Read More
ALBANY, N.Y. — New Yorkers gave the state’s education system a sweeping vote of no confidence: 47 percent said the state should improve student performance, 41 percent said it should improve performance while spending less, and only 4 Read More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, N.Y. — Empire Center’s shows New York households paid the third-highest residential electricity prices in the country in May 2026, trailing only Hawaii and California.
The latest U.S. Energy Information Administra Read More
Twenty Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year, while average pay agencywide rose three percent, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
The Por Read More