NCSL Staff Directory

Josalyn Williams is a policy associate with the Center for Legislative Strengthening and provides research and expertise on legislator demographics, legislator compensation and term limits. Previously, Williams taught political science and completed research on American politics and political institutions at the University of Colorado Boulder. She received her Ph.D. in political science from CU.

As a policy specialist with the Center for Legislative Strengthening, Mari Henderson focuses on committees, continuity of government issues, including COVID-19-related rules and procedural change, and legislative rules, protocols and procedures. Henderson comes to NCSL with experience in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Denver, as a Fulbright Fellow in Bulgaria, and with the U.S. House of Representatives and C-SPAN. She earned a bachelor’s in global affairs from George Mason University and a master’s degree in international relations and public diplomacy from the University of Denver.

Natalie Wood directs NCSL’s Center for Legislative Strengthening, providing expertise and leading research on legislative institutional issues, including internal legislative operations, management and human resources policies, legislative workplace culture, and critical issues impacting representative democracy in the states. She's worked with state legislatures for over 20 years, with prior experience in legislative management and organization, ethics and lobbying policy, and professional development and training for NCSL's members. Wood holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Saint Mary’s College at Notre Dame and a master's degree in political science, politics and policy from the University of Colorado Denver.

As a policy specialist with the Center for Legislative Strengthening, Selena Saucedo focuses on legislative sessions, legislative staffing and structure, human resource management, compensation and classification, and personnel policies and practices, including harassment and DEI. Saucedo comes to NCSL with more than 10 years of experience in both the public and private sectors focusing on public relations, public affairs, policy and communication, and legislative experience in the Texas House of Representatives. Saucedo earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.