Summer Diversity Academy Mentors

Browse our list of faculty mentors for the Summer Diversity Academy. Note: not all mentors will be available for the 2022 Summer Academy.

Khaldoun AbouAssi Provost Associate Professor SPA | Public Administration

Khaldoun AbouAssi holds a PhD in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs of Syracuse University. From 2012-2015, Dr. AbouAssi was an Assistant Professor at the

  abouassi@american.edu

  (202) 885-2509

Anna Amirkhanyan Professor and Chair, DPAP SPA | Public Administration

Professor Amirkhanyan’s research focuses on public and nonprofit management, organizational performance, public-private differences, and citizen participation. Her articles have been published in v

  amirkhan@american.edu

  (202) 885-6289

Karen Baehler Scholar-in-Residence SPA | Public Administration

Karen Baehler's teaching and research focuses on the craft of policy analysis and the intersection between public policy and public administration, with applications to the social and environmental po

  baehler@american.edu

  (202) 885-6072

Scott Bass Professor and Provost Emeritus SPA | Public Administration

Dr. Scott A. Bass is Provost Emeritus and Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the School of Public Affairs at American University (AU). Since his arrival at AU in 2008, Dr. Bass has focus

  sbass@american.edu

  (202) 885-6305

TaLisa Carter Assistant Professor SPA | Justice, Law & Criminology

TaLisa J. Carter, Ph.D. is a native of Long Island, New York, dedicated to understanding the interactions of deviance, social organizations, and race. Dr. Carter is an Assistant Professor in the Depar

  carter@american.edu

  (202) 885-3021

Seth Gershenson Professor SPA | Public Administration

Seth Gershenson holds a PhD from Michigan State University in Economics with a primary focus on education policy. While at Michigan State, he taught several courses and received an Outstanding Teachin

  gershens@american.edu

  (202) 885-2687

Lallen Johnson Associate Professor SPA | Justice, Law & Criminology

Jocelyn Johnston Professor SPA | Public Administration

Professor Johnston’s current research focuses on government contracting, public management, and intergovernmental programs and policy. Her publications can be seen in such scholarly journals as the Jo

  johnston@american.edu

  (202) 885-2608

Dave Marcotte Interim Senior Associate Dean SPA | Public Administration

Dave E. Marcotte is Professor in the Dept. of Public Administration and Policy. His recent research focuses on inequality and socioeconomic segregation in K-12 education; access and attainment in high

  marcotte@american.edu

  (202) 885-3108

Marquise McGraw Professorial Lecturer SPA | Public Administration

Marquise J. McGraw is an economist with a keen interest in applying economic principles and methods to affect real-world policy outcomes. He serves as the director of SPA's top-ranked Master's degr

  mcgrawm@american.edu

  (202) 885-1485

Kenneth Meier Distinguished Scholar in Residence SPA | Public Administration

Professor Meier’s research in public policy and administration is characterized by a multi-disciplinary approach that combines both empirical and normative questions. He uses institutional theories

  kmeier@american.edu

  (202) 885-2361

Taryn Morrissey Professor SPA | Public Administration

Dr. Morrissey's work centers on examining and improving public policies for children and families. Ongoing research examines early care and education policy, paid family leave, family economic inst

  morrisse@american.edu

  (202) 885-6323

Claudia Persico Associate Professor SPA | Public Administration

Claudia Persico is an Associate Professor of public policy whose research focuses on environmental policy, inequality, health and education policy using causal inference methods. Persico is also a Fac

  cpersico@american.edu

  (202) 885-2719

David Schwegman Assistant Professor SPA | Public Administration

David J. Schwegman is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy. He is also an Academic Affiliate with the Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES) in the General Service

  schwegma@american.edu

Aparna Soni Assistant Professor SPA | Public Administration

Aparna Soni is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University. She is also a research affiliate at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics and Univers

  asoni@american.edu

  (202) 885-3777

Erdal Tekin Distinguished Professor SPA | Public Administration

Erdal Tekin is the Fotis Family Distinguished Professor of Health Policy in the School of Public Affairs at American University, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

  tekin@american.edu

  (202) 885-6361

Vicky Wilkins Acting Provost PRO | Academics, Research & Awards

Vicky M. Wilkins is acting provost and chief academic officer at American University and professor of public administration and policy. Before assuming this role, she served as the dean of the School

  vwilkins@american.edu

  (202) 885-6443

Jhacova Williams Assistant Professor SPA | Public Administration

Jhacova Williams is an applied microeconomist focusing primarily on economic history and cultural economics. Her previous work has examined Southern culture and the extent to which historical events h

  jhacovaw@american.edu