Research & consulting
Alejandro Peña · Austin, Texas · contact@adpena.com
I research Texas public policy and build the software needed to investigate it. My work includes school-finance models, longitudinal analysis, public reports, data tools, and legislative research.
Skills
Policy and fiscal analysis, public data acquisition, source validation, record matching, geospatial analysis, Python, SQL, Excel and Google Sheets, automated reporting, responsive web tables, legislative drafting and stakeholder coordination.
Experience
Founder & Principal Consultant
- Lead nonprofit research across school finance, staffing, accountability, transfers, and closures for clients including Texas AFT and Our Schools, Our Democracy.
- Conducted all quantitative research and analysis for Facing Facts: Charter Schools in Texas, maintaining source records and independently checking fiscal totals.
- Analyzed HB 2 retention funding across 1,179 school systems; automated workbooks and 35 district PDFs with documented staffing assumptions and fallback rules.
Government Relations Specialist & Policy Analyst
- Served as Texas AFT’s lead Texas House legislative agent; produced testimony, amendments, briefs, maps, and reports with policy, communications, and organizing colleagues.
- Wrote the 2024 Lost Decade and a Half report, performed its analysis, and built responsive HTML tables. Wrote the June 2024 CharterCostTracker article.
- Collaborated with Every Texan on education savings account fiscal models under explicit participation scenarios, producing summaries for all 150 House and 31 Senate districts.
Legislative Director
- Directed research, constituent services, communications, and stakeholder work; drafted bills and amendments and managed legislative aides.
- Principal drafter of HB 2108, whose cottage-food framework became law in SB 572 (86-R). Worked with Mobile Loaves & Fishes on HB 115 (87-R) to support Community First! Village’s expansion.
Legislative Aide & Digital/Communications Director
- Advanced from intern to legislative and caucus communications roles; supported research and correspondence and managed websites, newsletters, and public communications.
Selected work
CharterCostTracker
Built all engineering for statewide charter-transfer revenue estimates and automated district reports. Reviewed the estimation method with school-finance experts and disclosed inputs and assumptions.
Education & certification
Rice University — B.A. in Political Science; Minor in Business, May 2013. Presidential Scholar.
PCAP — Certified Associate in Python Programming, 2019.
Updated September 25, 2026 · Get in touch