Alla Polyakova is the senior director of budget, planning, and forecasting at American Progress. Prior to joining American Progress, she was an assistant director of finance at the Brookings Institution. Polyakova’s 17-year career has focused on nonprofit management of organizations ranging from a community foundation serving exclusively Chicago-area needs, national organizations such as Legal Services Corp., and think tanks such as the Stimson Center and Brookings. Polyakova received a bachelor’s degree from New York University and an MBA from George Mason University. She can be often found passionately discussing change management and supply chain theories while mixing the perfect Old-Fashioned.