THE LATEST FROM THE VERMONT SENATE:
On education funding reform
05/23/25 11:10 AM update
05/23/25 11:10 AM update
Stephanie Yu will take leadership of Public Assets Institute January 1
Announcements & Updates, Press Release
MONTPELIER –– Steven Gold, chair of the Public Assets Institute Board of Directors, announced today that it has selected Stephanie Yu, current deputy director, as the organization’s next president and executive director. Yu replaces founder Paul Cillo, who will step down at the end of this year.
A nonpartisan nonprofit founded in 2003, Public Assets Institute is an independent research organization that works to improve the wellbeing of all Vermonters and advance racial, social, and economic justice through research, fiscal analysis, and public engagement and empowerment. It focuses on education funding, family economic security, and making state tax and budget decisions transparent, inclusive, and responsive to Vermonters’ needs.
“We are fortunate to have Steph’s experience and insights to lead Public Assets as the organization enters its third decade,” Gold said. “We’re excited about the prospects for Public Assets and for the state with Steph at the helm and are looking forward to the ideas and projects she advances in collaboration with Public Assets’ excellent staff.”
The board reviewed more than 50 applications from around the country before making its unanimous decision.
“Public Assets has a strong foundation in research and analysis on state tax, budget, and economic issues that affect us all. And we’ve built successful coalitions with Vermont’s diverse advocates,” Yu said. “Going forward, connecting with Vermonters across the state, particularly those historically excluded from decision-making, we can achieve policies and processes that empower people and advance racial, social, and economic justice. I’m thrilled to be guiding Public Assets’ important work in this new role.”
Yu was hired as a policy analyst at Public Assets in 2015 and became deputy director in 2018. Her work here is informed by fiscal experience in the public and private sectors in multiple states, including stints with AmeriCorps, state budget offices, and legislatures. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard University. She currently lives in Burlington with her spouse and two kids.
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To learn about Public Assets Institute, read its publications, or sign up for updates, go to www.publicassets.org. For more information contact communications and development director Sarah Lyons at or 802-223-6677.
I apologize for arriving late but I attended the VT Humanities hosted Public Assets talk on Funding Vermont’s Education System at Essex Junction’s Brownell Library. I am an advocate for better quality education and healthcare after experiencing firsthand how the system fails its students and patients. I suffered a complex head injury including a moderate TBI and skull fractures. The care I received was substandard to say the least: quality care should be timely, adequate, effective, coordinated, individualized and meets our whole person needs. What we receive leaves our most vulnerable students and patients behind. I spoke to Stephanie Yu after the talk about the limited funds schools are working with and a source of funding, our federal government, that was not mentioned that we MUST include in our conversation in order to address Vermonter’s’ needs. We have too many systems (housing, food security, mental & medical healthcare, transportation, education, justice…) failing us not to. Please visit realprogressives dot org for educational materials (podcasts, books, articles…), interviews of Economics professors and experts in the field. As Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan told US Rep. Paul Ryan, “There is no reason why the federal government couldn’t fund anything it wants…” For all of our sakes, please keep this in mind as you educate the Public and advocate for us in Montpelier- in so many ways, it could save our lives. Peace and Lifelong Learning. Cheryl