Dr. José Pacas (pronouns: he/him/his) is an applied labor economist with over a decade of working with large administrative datasets, poverty measurement, and innovative uses of Census data. José serves as Constellation Lab’s (CoLab) Director of Data Leadership & Investment where he leads the work on building collaborations to strengthen and leverage administrative data capacity and access for longitudinal impact evaluations.

Prior to joining CoLab, José served as the Chief of Data Science and Research at Kids First Chicago (K1C), a non-profit that aims to dramatically improve education for Chicago’s children by ensuring their families are the respected authorities on what their kids need and decision-makers in their kids’ education. In the role, José oversaw data analysis needs, data tool development, program evaluation, and the organization’s growing research agenda.

José previously served as an Economist in the Poverty Statistics and the Longitudinal Research, Evaluation, and Outreach (LREO) Branches at the US Census Bureau and as a Research Scientist at IPUMS, the world’s largest publicly-accessible database of census microdata, focusing on the Current Population Survey and American Community Survey. He served as a member of a National Academy of Sciences panel on poverty measurement.

José currently serves as a senior advisor for two organizations (Center for Migration Studies of New York and the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University) where he provides guidance on statistical, methodological, and data infrastructure issues. This includes providing guidance on the development of a new data platform that models the effects of methodological and policy changes on the Supplemental Poverty Measure’s estimates of poverty in the United States. José’s academic publications include analyses of immigration policy, employment, and poverty dynamics.

José is the son of Salvadoran immigrants, born in Los Angeles and raised in Argentina, Perú, and New Jersey. He holds a Ph.D. in Applied Economics and a Master’s of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota as well as a B.A. from Williams College.

Dr. Matt Morton (pronouns: he/him/his) is an applied researcher with significant experience in working with communities, government, and philanthropy to create and use evidence for action. Matt is the Executive Director of the Constellation Lab (CoLab), which aims to reduce poverty by producing actionable data through high-quality, longitudinal research on programs, practices, and their effects. CoLab is a new philanthropic partnership of the Constellation Fund and the Foundation for Educational Research and Development (FERD). 

Matt’s work has focused both in the U.S. and internationally on evidence-based practice and policy-making, research and evaluation methods, poverty-reduction policies, youth development and empowerment, housing justice and homelessness prevention, cash transfer and “cash plus” solutions, gender equity, and gender-based violence prevention. 

In Matt’s previous role as Research Fellow at Chapin Hall, he led the most extensive national research initiative to-date on youth homelessness and developed homelessness prevention models and a multisite longitudinal evaluation of cash transfer and support interventions for young adults. Matt held previous positions at the World Bank as an Economist and Social Protection Specialist, the U.S. government as a Special Advisor on youth and family policy, in philanthropy, and with youth-serving nonprofits. While working in the federal government, he was a key contributor to the development of the U.S. Government’s national strategy and framework to end youth homelessness. Matt’s work is widely published and has influenced policy, philanthropic investments, and practice. Central to his work is the importance of collaborating with lived and community experts to advance racial equity and the outcomes and solutions that they value. 

Matt is a Board Member for the Corporation for Supportive Housing, an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Adolescent Health, an Associate Member of University of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence Based Intervention, and a Research Management Committee Member for Making the Shift (in Canada). Matt holds a Masters of Science and Doctorate in Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the University of Oxford where he was a Green Templeton Fellow. 

Stacy Sweeney (she/her/hers) has twenty years of experience in housing, social services, and restorative practices. Her efforts have focused on building partnerships with community members to develop comprehensive solutions that address the interconnected issues of housing, social equity, racial justice, and economic stability. 

As founder and principal consultant of Sweeney Grants & Consulting, she excels in data analysis, grant acquisition, and team leadership. By conducting in-depth operational assessments, she identifies and resolves challenges, providing actionable recommendations to improve performance and system efficiency. Stacy’s notable achievements include developing a Strategic Framework for Equity-grounded Housing Stability Mediation Services in collaboration with Community Mediation Minnesota, supporting leadership transitions at The Bridge for Youth, and enhancing evaluation capacity for Community Dispute Resolution Programs in partnership with the Minnesota Judicial Branch and the Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution. Stacy’s other affiliations have included the 100 Day Challenge to End Youth Homelessness – Hennepin County, CoLab Lived Expert Impact Support Team, and the Hennepin County Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project. 

Previously, as Program Executive of Youth & Family Housing and Homeless Services at the YMCA of the North from 2013 to 2022. She established a robust infrastructure, enabling the program to support over 6,000 youth and families annually in attaining housing stability, well-being, and ultimate self-sufficiency. Sweeney is studying for a Master of Public Administration from Metro State University in 2024. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Justice Leadership from The Evergreen State College and an Associate of Applied Sciences in Social & Human Services from Seattle Central College.