Staff

John Kincaid is the Robert B. and Helen S. Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service and Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania.  He also is Senior Editor of the Global Dialogue on Federalism, a joint project of the Forum of Federations and International Association of Centers for Federal Studies, and an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.  He is the recipient of the Daniel J. Elazar Distinguished Scholar Award from the Section on Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations of the American Political Science Association and of the Donald Stone Distinguished Scholar Award from the Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management of the American Society of Public Administration.

He has served as Editor of Publius: The Journal of Federalism (1981-2006); Editor of a series of books on the Governments and Politics of the American States; President of the International Association of Centers for Federal Studies (1998-2005); President of the Southwestern Political Science Association (1993-1994); Executive Director (1988-1994) and Director of Research (1986-1988) of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Washington, D.C.; and Assistant and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas (1979-1994).  In 1972-1973, he was Vice President of the Pentagon Papers Fund for the Defense of Human and Civil Liberties–the legal-defense organization for Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo in the Pentagon Papers Trial in Los Angeles.

He is the author of various works on federalism and intergovernmental relations; editor of Political Culture, Public Policy and the American States (1981); and coeditor of Competition among States and Local Governments:  Efficiency and Equity in American Federalism (1991), The Covenant Connection: From Federal Theology to Modern Federalism (2000), Constitutional Origins, Structure, and Change in Federal Countries (2005), Interaction in Federal Systems (2008), and Local Government in Federal Systems (2008).

He has lectured and consulted on issues of federalism, intergovernmental relations, state and local government, and decentralization throughout the United States as well as in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, India, Iraq, Japan, Maldives, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Nicole Beckett has 21 years of experience in municipal management in northeast Pennsylvania, including 12 years as the Borough Manager in Lehighton, where she managed a full-service municipality with a total budget of $20 million.  She has a Masters of Public Administration degree and a Bachelors of Arts degree from Kutztown University.   She has extensive experience in finance and budgeting, labor contract negotiation, zoning and code enforcement, police, public works, economic development and public power.  She is a member of the International City and County Managers Association and the Association for Pennsylvania Municipal Managers.  Her experience in municipal government provides her with an excellent background to assist municipalities in managerial recruitment, administrative studies, financial analysis, and preparation of strategic plans.

Jennifer W. Smethers has over 25 years of experience in municipal government, community development and grant writing.  Her past management roles include 7 years as the Township Manager/Treasurer for Lower Mount Bethel Township and 6 years as the Township Manager for Williams Township, both second-class townships in Northampton County.  She also held leadership roles for the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Allentown.  She holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from Lehigh University as a Community Fellow where her studies focused on public administration, policy analysis, and land use management.  She further holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from Moravian University.  Her extensive experience in personnel management, public budgeting, grant procurement, contract management, and public administration enables her to successfully facilitate executive recruitment, administrative and financial analyses, organizational assessments, strategic planning, labor-contract negotiations and other administrative services.

Terry Cooper has been the Administrative Coordinator of the Meyner Center since 2000. She graduated with honors from Northampton Community College in 1996, earning an AA in General Studies. In 1999, she graduated from Lehigh University and earned a BA in History. Her interests include international travel, the environment, gardening, and animals. She is married to Wayne Titus and lives in Palmer Township. They have three children and two grandsons.