Caitlin J. Saladino serves as the Director of Strategic Development at The Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West. The Lincy Institute is a public policy think tank organized to conduct and support research improving health, education, economic development, governance, non-profits, and social services in Nevada. Brookings Mountain West is a partnership between UNLV and the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution which brings high-quality, independent, and impactful research to the issues facing the dynamic and fast-growing Intermountain West region. Dr. Saladino holds a master’s degree in communication studies, and a Ph.D. in Public Affairs from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Dr. Saladino’s research focuses on governance and metropolitan policy, especially in the Las Vegas metropolitan region. This includes the connectivity of Las Vegas to the Mountain West and southwest United States, K-12 and higher education policy, best practices for Hispanic Serving Institutions, the college-going culture in the Las Vegas community, education governance models, public-private considerations in memorialization, and the policy environment of the Nevada Legislature.

Dr. Saladino also serves as a curriculum designer for the Brookings Public Policy Minor program at UNLV, and instructs both the URST 101: Brookings, Introduction to Public Policy and URST 442: Brookings, Metropolitan Policy courses in this unique program. The Brookings Public Policy Minor offers UNLV students a multidisciplinary curriculum based upon local, national and global themes. The courses in the minor unite the best teaching and scholarship from UNLV faculty, with national experts and scholars from the Brookings Institution. This collaboration draws upon the diverse faculty and programmatic interests of UNLV to link knowledge, academic inquiry, and practice with the outstanding policy programs of the Brookings Institution.