Pooja Paswan

Chair

Term: 2023-2026

Dr. Pooja Paswan an alumna of John. F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, she is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration, specializing in Public Policy, and has over 12 years of teaching experience. A recipient of the prestigious ASPA 2019 Founders Fellow award, Dr. Paswan also serves as the Chair of the Public Administration Theory Network (PATNet). 

Her research primarily focuses on development administration, public policy analysis, and governance, with particular emphasis on the intersections of institutional development, policy implementation, and socio-economic change in emerging economies. Her most recent publication is the book Public Administration in Amritkal. 

Dr. Paswan can be contacted via her Academia profile or at [email protected], and she is active on Twitter at @poojapaswan.

Samantha Larson

Co-Vice-Chair

Term: 2022-2025

Dr. Samantha June Larson (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She is also Research Director of the Whitburn Center for Governance and Policy Research and the Fire & Emergency Response Management (FERM) Program Coordinator at UWO. Sam is a social equity scholar who examines how government can enhance opportunity, healing, belonging, sustainability, and resilience. She earned her Ph.D. in Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver in 2017.

Victoria Williams

Co-Vice-Chair

Term: 2024-2027

I hold a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Penn State Harrisburg. My research centers on Health Administration and Policy, drawing from my extensive background in health administration, social work, and mental health nursing. With a strong passion for integrating academic theory and real-world application, I bring a unique perspective to my work. As the newly elected Co-Vice Chair of PATNet, I am dedicated to using my expertise to support the organization’s growth and contribute to its strategic development.

Edgar Ramirez

Treasurer

Term: 2023-2026

Edgar Ramírez is a Professor in the School of Public Policy and Leadership in Greenspun College of Urban Affairs at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He served as Director of the Public Administration Division of the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) in Mexico City from 2017 to 2022. Edgar Ramírez has published in academic journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, Public Administration Review, and Urban Affairs Review. CIDE published his coauthored book on the Private Capitalization of Public Goods in 2001. His most recent book on the use of evidence for decision-making in education policy was published in 2002 by Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, and CIDE. He currently serves as Associate Editor of Public Administration Review. Dr. Ramírez has also worked with numerous public, nonprofit, and private organizations in Mexico and the United States to create solutions for public problems. Dr. Ramírez was awarded the 2019 International Public Administration Award from the American Society for Public Administration.

Albena Dzhurova

Secretary

Term: 2022-2025

Dr. Albena Dzhurova is an Instructor at New College and New College LifeTrack, University of Alabama. Her teaching and research center on topics in public policy, public management and administration, organization theory, technologies and organization behavior, and bureaucratic dysfunction. Her work has been published in Administrative Theory & Praxis, International Journal of Social Economics, Politics & Policy, International Journal of Qualitative Methods, Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, etc. She holds a PhD in Public Administration and is a current Fellow at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University.

Samanta Varela

Assistant Secretary

Term: 2023-2026

Dr. Samanta Varela received her Ph.D. from the Center for Economics Research and Teaching (CIDE) in Mexico City. Her background in Public Administration and Public Policy helps her specialize in disaster, crisis, and technology policy. Samanta is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Technology & Information Policy Institute at the University of Texas, a position she started after visiting the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at The Hague Campus of Leiden University as a Ph.D. candidate. Dr. Varela has published articles using perishable data and contributing to theory on the impact of COVID-19 on organizations and public officials in Mexico. Her current work seeks to understand techniques to increase flood awareness in underserved communities in the United States.

Shilpa Viswanath

Board Member

Term: 2022-2025

Shilpa Viswanath is an assistant professor in the Department of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. Her research focuses on public sector human resource management with an emphasis on gender equity, diversity and inclusive workplace practices. Dr. Viswanath also studies comparative public administration with a special focus on South Asia. She was born and raised in Bangalore, India.

Nikolay Anguelov

Board Member

Term: 2023-2026

Nikolay Anguelov, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Public Policy and the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.  

Dr. Anguelov earned his Ph.D. in Policy Studies, concentration Regional Economic Development, from Clemson University in 2012. His research is interdisciplinary, integrating issues of social equity, environmental justice, and economic development. His academic publications span a variety of global public policy issues such as renewable energy proliferation, corporate taxes, economic sanctions and incentives, soft power, marijuana decriminalization, the global governance of multinational corporations, and international fashion economics. He is the author of six academic books, which include The Dirty Side of the Garment Industry: Fast Fashion and Its Negative Impact on Environment and Society (Taylor & Francis, 2015) and The Sustainable Fashion Quest: Innovations in Business and Policy (Routledge, 2022).

Meril Antony

Board Member

Term: 2023-2026

Meril Antony, PhD, is a post-doctoral scholar with the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. Dr. Antony’s research is interdisciplinary, with a focus on leadership, social equity, and education policy. Her current research examines the factors that influence employee’s sense of self and collective efficacy, and how it impacts organizational and individual outcomes. She studies this in the K-12 education context. Prior to earning her PhD in Public Administration and MPA at Rutgers University-Newark, Dr. Antony gained valuable experience working with nonprofit organizations in the United States and India, where she was involved in design, implementation, and evaluation of educational programs.

Karen Sweeting

Board Member

Term: 2022-2025

Dr. Karen Sweeting is an Assistant Professor in the department of Political Science at University of Rhode Island. Her research focuses on social equity, inclusion, public personnel administration, and the nexus between public administration theory and practice. In the broadest terms, she is interested in examining how public service can be more equitable, inclusive, and just – focusing on interrogating assumptions, systems, values, policies, and practices as they relate to equity and inclusion for those working within public sector organizations and for those who benefit from and interact with public programs.

Seth P. Wright

Board Member

Term: 2025-2028

Dr. Seth Wright is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Penn State Harrisburg.

Nuri Heckler

Co-Editor ATP (January 2024)

Nuri Heckler, J.D., Ph.D. focuses his research on Whiteness and Masculinity in public organizations including nonprofits, social enterprise, and government. Using experimental, qualitative, historical, and theoretical research methods, he examines the mechanisms that reinforce inequities and inefficiencies in public organizations. As a Maryland barred attorney, his research also examines the role law plays in the work of public administrators. His research can be found in Administrative Theory & Praxis, Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory, Administration & Society, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Urban Affairs Review, and Public Integrity among others. He is an avid commuter cyclist who spends his free time with his two children and baking award-winning cookies.

Ashley Nickels

Co-Editor ATP (January 2024)

Ashley E. Nickels, Ph.D. is an award-winning, interdisciplinary public affairs scholar. She works at the intersections of community development, urban governance, and civil society, centering her research on issues of power, civic/political engagement, and local democracy. She is the author/ co-editor of 5 books, including the award-winning book, Power, Participation, and Protest in Flint, Michigan (TUP, 2019) and the author of numerous peer-reviewed chapters and journal articles. As an Associate Professor in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies at Kent State University, Nickels teaches classes in conflict management, community organizing, and community-based conflict transformation. She also holds faculty status in the department of Political Science, teaching courses and advising students in the M.A./Ph.D. program.