Directory

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…

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…

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.

Robert Axelrod is the William D. Hamilton Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan, having held appointments at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Department of Political Science. His areas of…

John joined the IPPS faculty in 1970. He retired in 2014 after 43 years on the faculty. He taught MPP courses in Statistics, Applied Regression, Values and Ethics, and Nonprofit Policy and Management. He was the first director of the BA program at the Ford School.

In memoriam—David Cohen passed on September 23, 2020. Read a bit more about his impactful life.  David K. Cohen is the John Dewey Professor Emeritus of Education in the School of Education and professor emeritus of public policy at the Ford…

Mary E. Corcoran is a professor emerita of public policy, political science, and women's studies. Her research focuses on the effects of gender and race discrimination on economic status and earnings, and on professional women's career trajectories.…

Provost Emeritus Courant has authored half a dozen books and more than six dozen papers covering a broad range of topics in economics and public policy. More recently, his academic work has focused on economic and policy questions relating to universities, libraries and archives, and the effects of new information technologies and other disruptions on scholarship, scholarly publication, and academic libraries.

Sheldon Danziger is​ President of the Russell Sage Foundation and ​the Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at the Ford School​.​ ​He was also Director of the National Poverty Center at the Ford School.…

Deardorff’s research focuses on international trade. With Bob Stern, he developed the Michigan Model of World Production and Trade, which has been used to estimate the effects of trade agreements. He is also doing theoretical work in international trade and trade policy. He has served as a consultant to the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Labor, State, and Treasury and to international organizations including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Bank.

Goldenberg is a close observer of the electoral process. Her research interests include voting turnout of college students, and in 2017 she founded a Michigan group called Turn Up Turnout (TUT). She served as dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts from 1989-98 and is the founding director of the Michigan in Washington Program.

James S. House is the Angus Campbell Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Survey Research, Public Policy, and Sociology. His research has focused on the role of social and psychological factors in the etiology and course of health and…

Rabe examines the political feasibility and durability of environmental and energy policy, with a particular emphasis on efforts to address climate change in the U.S. and other federal systems. His most recent books examine the politics of carbon pricing and the limitations of unilateral executive branch policy actions. Current research explores the politics of intensive but short-lived greenhouse gases, such as methane and HFCs. Recent policy engagement includes work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

In memoriam—Bob passed away on Wednesday, October 13, 2021. Read more about Bob's life. Bob Schoeni is a research professor at the Institute for Social Research and professor of economics, with a courtesy appointment at the Ford School. He is also…

Simon was the founding director of the U-M Center for the Study of Complex Systems. His research centers on the dynamics of covid-19, of crime, of teenage smoking, and of Great Lakes salmon. He was named the 2007 LSA Distinguished Senior Lecturer.

Waltz specializes in human rights and international affairs, with a focus on arms transfer policy and regional expertise on North Africa. She also maintains the website Human Rights Advocacy and the History of International Human Rights Standards, hosted by U-M. For some 15 years she was involved in international efforts to promote an international Arms Trade Treaty and has more recently focused on U.S. firearms export regulations.

Weiss does research on policies to improve the leadership and management of public and nonprofit agencies. Weiss founded the Nonprofit and Public Management Center, and is currently the faculty director of the Nonprofit Board Fellowship program. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.

Marina v.N. Whitman is professor emerita of business administration and public policy. From 1979 until 1992 she was an officer of the General Motors Corporation, first as vice president and chief economist and later as vice president and group…

Heather Alemu is the senior business intelligence analyst in the Ford School's Business…

Nayab Ali joined Ford School as an Assistant Program Manager, bringing with her extensive hands-on experience in policy and research. Prior to joining Ford, Nayab held positions at The Brookings Institution within their Governance Studies Program and…

Prior to coming to the Ford School, Cindy spent more than 22 years in the University of Michigan's Washington DC office where she served as a liaison for the University with Congress, the Administration and national higher education associations on…

Trevor Bechtel is the student engagement and strategic projects manager for Poverty Solutions. Bechtel provides leadership and oversight to several Washtenaw County research projects, including the Prosecutor Transparency Project, and he engages…