Tim
Ransdell Biographical Information 
The California Institute -- a Source for Information on California and Federal Policy
Tim
Ransdell Biographical Information
The California Institute -- a Source for Information on California and Federal
Policy
Tim Ransdell, Executive Director, The California Institute for Federal Policy Research
A native Californian, Tim Ransdell has worked in Washington D.C. in Congressional and federal affairs for more than twenty years. In 1996, he was appointed Executive Director of the California Institute for Federal Policy Research, a nonprofit organization located in the nation's capital that advises the state's Congressional delegation and prioritizes federal issues important to the California economy -- including formula grants, trade, technology, taxation, transportation, infrastructure, defense, base closures, immigration, health, and education.
During his 14 years at the California Institute, he has written many reports and white papers, and he developed a number of the Institute's signature products, including the California Capitol Hill Bulletin, which is faxed and e-mailed weekly to Congressional delegation members and staff, state leaders, the news media, and many others in the business, labor, academic, government, and nonprofit communities. He directs the Federal Formula Grants and California project, a joint venture with the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), that provides objective, nonpartisan analysis regarding the state's share of federal grants and the often-convoluted mechanics through which those funds flow to states. Mr. Ransdell's issue areas include federal budget and appropriations issues, formula grants, K-12 education, Medicaid, defense, science and technology, base closures and re-use, space, energy, census, and "California fair-share" issues. His annual "Balance of Payments Report" -- showing that California receives back 79 cents for every dollar Californian taxpayers send to Washington -- provides a rallying cry for Californians seek a fair share of federal dollars for the state.
Before joining the California Institute as it opened in 1991, Mr. Ransdell served for eight years as an associate at the Washington D.C. policy & public affairs consulting firm of Francis, McGinnis & Rees, where he managed Congressional affairs and grassroots projects for a range of corporations, trade associations, employee organizations and government agencies. Earlier in his career, he worked for a range of California elected officials, including three Members of Congress, a Governor and a State Assemblymember.
Born in Santa Monica and raised in the San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles, Mr. Ransdell has also lived in Sacramento, San Diego and the Bay Area. He received a bachelors degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1981 and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986, and he is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. He is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, serves on the National Advisory Council of the Institute of Governmental Studies at U.C. Berkeley, and has advised the National Academy of Sciences' Panel on Formula Allocations. He is a regular contributor to the op-ed pages of California newspapers, a frequent guest on California broadcast shows, and serves as a regular contact point on federal issues for California reporters.
California Institute for Federal Policy Research, 419 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003, phone: 202-546-3700, fax: 202-546-2390, e-mail: ransdell@calinst.org