Christiana K. McFarland is the Research Director of the National League of Cities, the nation’s largest advocacy, resource and research organization dedicated to strengthening cities. As Research Director, McFarland leads the organization's research agenda, survey research, trend analysis and research partnerships. She is the principal author of NLC’s City Fiscal Conditions report, the only annual source of municipal sector data and trends, and manages the organization's priority research on city-state relations. Christy has been with NLC since 2001, and prior to her post as Research Director, launched NLC’s finance and economic development program, focused on supporting municipal leadership and outcomes in economic development, data efforts and municipal finance. She has published in applied research journals including Economic Development Quarterly, Public Administration Review, Urban Affairs Review, Public Sector Digest, International Public Management Review and Canadian Journal of Regional Science. Christy has a B.A. in Political Science and Economics and Master of Public Policy from The George Washington University. She is a PhD candidate in urban planning/economic development at Virginia Tech.