Directory

Brian McCall is a professor of education, with courtesy appointments at the Ford School and Department of Economics. He is an economist whose research interests include applied econometrics, econometrics theory, economics of education and education…

Alexandra K. Murphy is an assistant professor of sociology and a faculty affiliate of the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, with a courtesy appointment at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public…

Jason Owen-Smith is the Barger Leadership Institute Professor of Organizational Studies; a professor of sociology; a research professor in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan where he also directs the Institute for…

Seefeldt’s primary research interests lie in exploring how low-income individuals understand their situations, particularly around issues related to work and economic well being. Currently, she is conducting research on families’ financial coping strategies and is a Principal Investigator of a survey examining the effects of the recession and recovery policies on individuals’ well being.

Shipan teaches and conducts research on political institutions and public policy. Current projects focus on the president's ability to change policy, whether elections can cause politicians to avoid passing good policies, and the effect of bipartisanship on public policy. His most recent book is Why Bad Policies Spread (and Good Ones Don’t).

Mel Stephens is professor of economics, with a courtesy appointment at the Ford School. He serves as a research affiliate at the Population Studies Center and a faculty associate at the Survey Research Center, both within the Institute for Social…

Udow-Phillips provides strategic consulting and mentorship to advance social justice, improve population health and strengthen the effectiveness of health, public health and mental health systems.

Alford A. Young, Jr. is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Sociology and a professor of African and African American studies, with a courtesy appointment at the Ford School. He serves as associate director of U-M's Center for Social…

Scott Atran is an anthropologist who experiments on ways scientists and ordinary people categorize and reason about nature, on the cognitive and evolutionary psychology of religion, and on limits of rational choice in political and cultural conflict.…

Dr. Mara Cecilia Ostfeld is the research director at the Center for Racial Justice, and an associate research professor in the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. In addition, Mara is a faculty lead at the Detroit Metro Area…

In November 2018, Ohio voters elected Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt to serve on the state's Tenth District Court of Appeals. She previously served on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, and as director of legislative affairs and counsel to the Voting Rights Institute for the Ohio Secretary of State.

Stephen E. Biegun is the Weiser International Policymaker in Residence with the Weiser Diplomacy Center at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. He has more than three decades of international affairs experience in…

William (Bill) Bynum is a Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Policymaker in Residence at the Ford School and CEO of Hope Credit Union. For more than three decades, Bill Bynum has worked to advance economic opportunity for disenfranchised populations. 

Bill De Blasio served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. He guided the country’s largest city through the pandemic, and among his many other accomplishments he created a groundbreaking early childhood education initiative which…

Dr. El-Sayed is a public servant, Michigan politician, former public health professor, and a medical doctor. He served as executive director of the Detroit Health Department and Health Officer for the city from 2015 to 2017, before running for governor of Michigan.

Joining the Foreign Service in 2002, Fintor, a UM alumni and Detroit native, served as U.S. Embassy spokesperson in the Middle East, South Asia, and Europe. As Diplomat in Residence (DIR), Fintor provides information on State Department opportunities…

Soojin Kwon is a lecturer in leadership communications at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. Her 30 year career spans the corporate, nonprofit and public sectors.Soojin is the founder of Talent Peak Advisors, a leadership…

The Honorable Sander “Sandy” Levin is a Distinguished Policymaker in Residence at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Pubic Policy, with support from the Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence program. For 36 years, Levin…

Lori Lightfoot served as Chicago's mayor from 2019-2023. She is the second woman, first Black female and first openly gay person in that role. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot served as senior equity partner in the Litigation and Conflict Resolution…

Ambassador Mark Pekala (BA Political Science '81) has served as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in Paris, DCM in Tallinn, Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) in the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and Senior Director for…

Ken Roy is a U.S. State Department Diplomat in Residence at the Ford School. He is the new Diplomat in Residence for the North Central Region. He worked as a lawyer and is now on a political officer career track, and he is fluent in Spanish, basic…

Ambassador (Ret.) Daniel Shields is a visiting policy practitioner at the Ford School's Weiser Diplomacy Center. He consults, teaches courses and conducts simulations relating to diplomacy and U.S.-Asia relations. From 2015-18, while on detail from…

Vieux serves as chief of staff for Kids in Need of Defense’s (KIND), where he aligns vision, strategy, and tactics in an organization dedicated to addressing the legal and psychosocial needs of migrant children. He was previously vice president, legal, at Human Rights First.

Kseniya Yurtayeva a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan, with support from the Weiser Diplomacy Center. Her current scientific interests focus on cyberaggression as a method applied in contemporary warfare and on engaging post-truth for…

Kristina Fullerton Rico is a sociologist who studies migration, transnationalism, aging, gender, family, and race and ethnicity. Her research focuses on the experiences of undocumented immigrants and their families who are physically divided but digitally close thanks to accessible communication technologies.

Peterson is a political scientist who researches international institutions and cooperation from a complex systems perspective using computational methods. His dissertation explored the relationship between histories of cooperation, dispositional beliefs among leaders, and demands for close political unions and incorporates agent-based modeling, qualitative case studies, network analysis, and text analysis.

Catherine (Cat) Summers is a social scientist studying the microfoundations of organizational change. Her research reflects her passion for assisting leaders and organizations in navigating sustainability and justice challenges.