Staff
Paul Cillo
President and Executive Director
Paul Cillo, founder of the Public Assets Institute, has been active in public policy work for over thirty years, as a local and state political representative, consultant on health care, education finance, and other tax and budget issues; and on energy efficiency. He represented Hardwick, Walden, and Stannard in the Vermont House of Representatives for ten years, serving four years on the tax-writing Ways & Means Committee and four as Majority Leader. During those years he designed and led the Legislature to adopt a groundbreaking education financing system that equalizes opportunity for all Vermont children, regardless of where they live.
Paul has served extensively at the local level, as well, on Hardwick’s Select Board, Planning Commission, and other volunteer committees. He has been a member of numerous nonprofit boards and advisory committees, including the Lamoille Housing Partnership (Treasurer), Northern Counties Health Care (President), the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, National Conference of State Legislatures, and the Energy Foundation. He is a lifelong Vermonter, originally from Castleton. His parents, with Paul and his three siblings, ran a small summer restaurant and marina on Lake Bomoseen. He graduated the University of Vermont in 1975 with a BA in Philosophy.
Jack Hoffman
Senior Policy Analyst
Jack Hoffman joined Public Assets Institute in October 2007. He does research and analysis on state fiscal issues and prepares periodic reports published by PAI. Before joining Public Assets Institute, Jack covered politics and state government in Vermont for 20 years. He was chief of the Vermont Press Bureau, the capital bureau for the Rutland Herald and Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. Covering state government, he focused on tax and budget issues, especially education funding. After leaving journalism in 2002, he served for five years as executive director of the Vermont Broadband Council, a non-profit organization promoting the use and availability of broadband in the state.
Before he started his reporting career, Jack traveled extensively in Africa. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Libya in the late 1960s. He has called Vermont home since 1965, when he first enrolled in Middlebury College. He and his wife, Lark Upson, live in Marshfield, where he served on the Twinfield School Board from 2004-2010.
Sarah Lyons
Operations & Communications Manager
Sarah Lyons joined the Public Assets Institute in November 2006. She coordinates the administrative and communication functions of the organization. She serves as webmaster, assists with research, manages publishing activities, and provides support to staff and board members.
Prior to joining the Public Assets Institute, Sarah worked in small business development, marketing, and graphic design. She lives in Walden with her husband and daughter. She has been a Walden town lister, a mentor to eighth grade children, currently manages a maple sugar orchard, and is an active community member.