Jennifer is the senior editorial intern for the Journal of Politics.  She graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin, earning degrees in Political Science, International Studies and French. Now in her third year of graduate work, her research interests include political communication, foreign policy and public opinion. Before coming to Vanderbilt, she worked for the Tennessee state legislature and studied at the University of Orleans in France. A self-proclaimed sports enthusiast, Jennifer also enjoys traveling, bargain hunting and board games.

Jennifer´s CV        email: jennifer.ogg@vanderbilt.edu

Corey is originally from Durham, Connecticut; he entered the Vanderbilt PhD program in the fall of 2004. He has undergraduate degrees in both Political Science and Humanities, but has spent the last few years teaching high school History both in the U.S. and in Europe. Corey's specific interests include U.S. Foreign Policy and U.S.-Latin American Relations. Currently, Corey is working on a empirical study with a fellow colleague on the impact of a U.S. military presence on domestic and regional stability. He is also researching relationships between U.S. Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy. Corey has been active in social justice movements both here and abroad and has traveled often to Latin America with grass-roots organizations, particularly Witness For Peace.

Corey's CV        email: corey.d.bike@vanderbilt.edu

Patrick joined the department in 2007 after completing his bachelor's degree in International Affairs at the University of Georgia. He has many substantive interests, but his main focus right now is on the effectiveness of counterterrorism policies and alliance reliability. Additionally, he is interested in formal modelling and statistical research methods. He has worked at a teaching assistant and is currently an editorial intern for the Journal of Politics. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf on some of Nashville's many municipal courses, listening to music downtown, and hosting out-of-town guests with his wife.

Patrick's website      email: patrick.r.bentley@Vanderbilt.Edu  

B.A. Political Science, Bethune-Cookman University, Spring 2008

Camille joined the program in the Fall of 2008. Prior to attending Vanderbilt University, Camille was a participant in the Summer 2007 Ralph Bunche Summer Institute at Duke University under the direction of Dr. Paula D. McClain and Florida State University Summer Law for Undergraduates Program in the Summer 2005 where she received the Best in Oral Advocacy Award for her Mock Trial Performance. While at Bethune-Cookman University, Camille served as the Vice-President of the Student Government Association, Women’s Senate Vice-President, NAACP President and Recording Secretary for the Model United Nations. Camille currently serves as the Department of Political Science Representative to the Graduate Student Council and is an active member of the Organization of Black Graduate and Professional Students. Camille’s research interests are American Politics with a concentration in urban and judicial politics, primarily constitutional law, judicial activism and felon disenfranchisement. Camille’s personal interests and hobbies include scrapbooking, singing and shopping.

email: camille.d.burge@vanderbilt.edu

 Anna hails from the Great Lakes State. She graduated in 2003 from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor with a B.A. in French and Francophone Studies, with much of her time spent abroad in Grenoble and Montpellier, France. She went on to serve in Senegal, West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. She then returned to academia in 2005 to pursue a M.A. in International Affairs from The American University of Paris and a Master (M2) in 'Sociologie des conflits' from the Faculté de Sciences Sociales et Economiques at the Institut Catholique de Paris. During her graduate internship with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Kigali, she conducted field research for her Master’s thesis, titled “British and American Foreign Aid in Rwanda: A Critical Analysis.” Anna came to Vanderbilt in 2009 from the private sector, where she had been consulting for state health and human service agencies. In her spare time, Anna enjoys adventure sports and astrology.

Stacy holds a B.A. in Communications and an M.A. in Political Science from Ohio University. Originally from Crooksville, Ohio, she joined the Vanderbilt PhD program in the fall of 2006. Her first field is Political Theory with a subfield in American Politics. Her primary interests are in feminist theory, social contract theory, human rights, and disability rights. Recently she has helped organize a disability studies seminar at the Robert Penn Warren Center. In her spare time (and under nice weather conditions) she enjoys exploring the many nature hikes in and around Nashville

email: stacy.a.clifford@vanderbilt.edu

Margarita Corral is originally from Spain; she holds a B.A in Political Science and a Masters degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Salamanca (Spain). Before joining the Vanderbilt PhD program in the fall of 2007, she held a Research Fellowship sponsored by the regional government of Castile and Leon that allowed her to work on various research projects through that University. For several years, Margarita had the opportunity to conduct field work in Central America focusing on the region´s legislators. Currently, Margarita works as a research assistant for the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). Her primary field of interest is Comparative Politics, specifically, Latin America. She is interested in attitudes toward democracy, political institutions, representation, and political behavior.

Maragarita's CV      email: margarita.corral@vanderbilt.edu
 

B.A. in Psychology from Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in San Salvador and M.Sc. in Public Policy on Latin America at Oxford University, England. He has been the director of the University Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP in Spanish) at the UCA for ten years, and member of the Editorial Board of the academic journal Estudios Centroamericanos (ECA). He has been also a consultant for the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the United Nations Development Program in the topic of Central American violence. Currently, Miguel works for the Latin America Public Opinion Project and is involved in research projects on Latin American political culture and violence.

email:  jose.m.cruz@Vanderbilt.Edu   website: JOSE MIGUEL CRUZ

Alejandro is originally from Mexico City, holds a BA in Political Science from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM), and he has some studies on philosophy from the Institute for Higher Level Ecclesiastical Studies in Mexico City. Alejandro worked previously at the main Mexican electoral agencies: IFE (Federal Electoral Institute), IEDF (Electoral Institute of the Federal District in Mexico City), and TEDF (Electoral Court of Federal District). In addition, he has published papers and presented his work in academic conferences that focuses on religion and politics, as well as electoral management bodies. Currently, Alejandro is a Research Assistant at the Latin American Public Opinion Project, and also he worked on the High Courts Judicial Database.

Alejandro's CV       email: alejandro.diaz-dominguez@vanderbilt.edu

Brian joined the graduate program in political science at Vanderbilt in the fall of 2007 after completing his undergraduate studies in international affairs and modern language and culture at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. As an undergraduate he was awarded the David L. Boren Scholarship to study in Monterrey, Mexico for the 2005-06 academic year. Currently he studies comparative politics with a focus on political behavior and public opinion in Latin America. He works as a research assistant for the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP).
Brian´s website     email: brian.m.faughnan@vanderbilt.edu

email: jens.frederiksen@vanderbilt.edu 

Jeremiah joined the political science program in 2004 after graduating with a BA degree from Case Western Reserve University in Political Science with extensive coursework in Physics and Mathematics. His interests span Quantitative Methodology and American Politics with particular substantive emphases on public opinion change, sexuality and politics, campaigns and
elections, and legislative studies and methodological emphases on ideal point estimation and Bayesian analysis. Jeremiah's dissertation project focuses on determining why social attitudes towards minority groups, particularly gays and lesbians, have changed so rapidly in the last thirty years while public opinion on most matters is marked by stability. He has presented his work at meetings of the Southern Political Science Association, Midwest Political Science Association, and the Summer Meeting of the Society for Political Methodology.

Recent Conference Presentations:

- "Does Changing Media Change Minds?: TV and Public Opinion Towards Gays." April 2008. Paper Presented at the 2008 Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association.
- "Estimating Legislator Ideal Points with a Paucity of Roll Calls: A Cosponsorship-Roll Call Hybrid Ideal Point Model of Support for Gay Civil Rights in the U.S. House." July 2008. Poster Presented at the 2008 Summer Meeting of the Society for Political Methodology.

email: jeremiah.j.garretson@Vanderbilt.Edu

John graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 2005 from the University of Connecticut with majors in Political Science and Economics. He completed an Honors thesis entitled, "An Appropriate Role for the Leadership: A Quantitative Analysis of the Effects of House Leadership on Open-Seat Races." He is currently a third year Ph.D. student with interests in judicial politics, Congress, separation of powers and oversight. John is Junior Fellow at the American Academy of Political and Social Science and formerly served as an intern in the Washington, DC office of Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03). Currently, he is working with Jenna Lukasik on the creation of an ideology measure of state supreme court justices, using Bayesian Ideal Point Estimation. John is also an Editorial Associate at the Journal of Politics and co-chair of the Political Science Graduate Student Association.


John's CV        email:  john.hudak@vanderbilt.edu  

Jason Husser joined the department in fall 2006. Originally from
Franklinton, Louisiana, Jason graduated from Southeastern Louisiana
University with a BA in Political Science when he was 18 years old.  His
primary research interest is in American Politics, particularly religion's
influence on mass political behavior.

email: jason.a.husser@vanderbilt.edu

B.A. Political Science, Georgia State University
 
Gbemende joined the Political Science program at Vanderbilt in the Fall of 2006. Before entering the graduate program she interned for the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), researching the effect of desegregation litigation on school district demographics in Florida. Her main research interests are American Politics with a concentration in Judicial Politics and also Political Theory.  Gbemende enjoys reading, playing Sudoku, and spending time with her nieces. 

Gbemende's CV        email: gbemende.johnson@vanderbilt.edu        

Irek’s interest in Political Science rests at the intersection of
International Relations and Comparative Politics. His dissertation employs a Multilevel Governance framework to explore the role of transnational networks of local governments in environmental governance around the Great Lakes region. His research is sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) as well as the Council for European Studies (CES).

He is a member of the department’s Baltic Sea Security project,  analyzing the links between security in the military, economic, political and social spheres.

He is also a proud member of the Political Science Department’s intramural volleyball, softball, and soccer teams, “the Heads of Tate”.

Irek's CV         email: irek.kusmierczyk@vanderbilt.edu

Matthew, a New Jersey native, joined Vanderbilt University’s Political Science department in the fall of 2009 after completing his M.A. degree in Latin American Studies as a FLAS Fellow with Vanderbilt’s Center for Latin American Studies. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, Matthew graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 2006 from Washington and Lee University with majors in History (Honors) and Politics. He completed an Honors thesis entitled “Origins of Brazilian Independence: The Rise of an American Empire.” Matthew has worked as an intern in Washington, D.C. with the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Representative Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (NJ-11). His academic interests encompass comparative Latin American politics and political behavior thanks to nearly three years of residence in Brazil during and after undergraduate studies. Matthew is currently a research assistant with the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP).

email: mingyan.li@vanderbilt.edu

Farhana completed her undergraduate degree summa cum laude, majoring in Political Science and Philosophy at the University of Kwa Zulu-Natal in South Africa, after which she came to the US as a Fulbright scholar and completed her masters in Philosophy at the University of Virginia. Farhana entered Vanderbilt’s PhD program in the fall of 2008 where she currently holds the International Peace Scholarship. Her areas of interest are Feminist Theory, International Relations and Ethics.

Prior to coming to the US, Farhana worked for the South African public broadcaster as an elections researcher and has produced and presented her own radio shows for the Al Ansaar Foundation. She has served as the editorial manager of the South African Journal of Philosophy since 2004. Farhana is passionate about issues of social justice, which has motivated her to serve on the Boards of community organizations in South Africa and the US. She enjoys spending time with her children, friends and family, preparing (and eating!) spicy Indian dishes and meditating.

Farhana´s  CV      email: farhana.loonat@vanderbilt.edu

Becca joined the department in the fall of 2009. Originally from the Nashville area, she received a BA from Belmont University in 2002, with a major in Political Science and minors in Russian and Journalism. She then studied Russian government and ethnic issues at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, receiving an MA in 2004. After working in the intelligence community as a political and leadership analyst for two years, she returned with her husband and son to the Nashville area, where she has been teaching political science classes at Belmont University for several years. Her research interests include the effect of membership in international and regional organizations on domestic policy choices, as well as the influence of intelligence exchanges on international cooperation. Becca enjoys spending time with her two children, Keegan (4) and McKenna (1). She usually spends her small amount of free time reading various genres of fiction.

Daniel, originally from Quito-Ecuador, joined the Political Science Ph.D. program in 2006. In addition, Daniel currently works as Research Assistant at the AmericasBarometer & Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). He has worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations (FAO-UN) as Technical Officer and at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture of the Organization of American States (IICA-OAS) as Development Advisor. His duties and responsibilities were mainly concerned with Public Policy advice for local development, the Millennium Development Goals and Institutionalization. Daniel's main interests are Decentralization, Democratization and Development. He earned a M.S. degree in Agricultural Economics with mention in Development Economics from Wageningen University, The Netherlands in 2003.

Daniel´s CV    email:  daniel.montalvo@vanderbilt.edu

Mason joined the program in 2008 after receiving his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Spanish from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His first field is Comparative politics, with a focus on democratization and development in Latin America. In his spare time, Mason enjoys traveling, going to concerts, and indulging his borderline-unhealthy obsession with UNC athletics.

email: mason.w.moseley@vanderbilt.edu

Liz Norell joined the political science program in 2008, after an eclectic academic journey studying journalism and library science. Her research interests include campaigns and elections, political parties, and voter behavior. She is also interested in statistical research methods, and has attended the Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis. Before coming to Vanderbilt, she fell in love with teaching at a community college in Texas. She has presented her research at the Midwest Political Science Association, Western Political Science Association, Southern Political Science Association, and Council for European Studies meetings.

In her spare time, Liz enjoys hanging out with her basset hound, exploring Nashville, and traveling.

Liz's  CV          email: liz.clausen@vanderbilt.edu 
 

A native of Quito, Ecuador, Diana graduated from David Lipscomb University in Nashville in 2003. She has worked for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Diplomatic Academy of Ecuador in Quito, the GCA Services Group (Dell Computer) in Nashville, and as an assistant to the diplomatic staff in the Embassy and General Consulate of Ecuador in Paris. She is a Research Assistant with the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) at Vanderbilt. Her research interests include the impact of emigration and immigration on the political attitudes and behaviors of those left behind and migrants themselves.

Diana's CV      email: diana.m.orces@vanderbilt.edu

Grace is a first-year student from Wisconsin. She graduated in 2005 from Lawrence University with a B.A. in Political Science, receiving magna cum laude honors for her senior thesis "From the Classroom to Political
Office: the Link between African-American and Latino Educational Attainment and Descriptive Representation." She spent the next fifteen months in the AmeriCorps VISTA program in Madison, WI before entering the
Vanderbilt PhD program in Political Science in the fall of 2006. Her academic interests include political participation and, in particular, race, ethnicity and politics. Her personal interests include reading novels and cooking and, as of the New Year, running (it's going well so far).

email:  grace.m.radcliff@vanderbilt.edu  

Scott joined the graduate program in political science in the fall of 2009 after completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona. Hailing from Alameda (the bay area), CA, Scott is the product of a large, loving family, and loves some good old Raider Nation football, win or lose. Currently he studies comparative politics with a focus on political behavior.

email: scott.d.revey@Vanderbilt.Edu

Mariana, originally from Caracas, Venezuela, joined the PhD program in the fall of 2008. She has a bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is interested in international political economy and issues concerning development and democracy in Latin America. Mariana is a lover of the outdoors, Latin dancing, and jigsaw puzzles.

email: mariana.rodriguez@vanderbilt.edu

Carrie Russell, PhD candidate, entered the Political Science graduate program in 2004. Her research interests include active citzenship, civil rights and liberties, race and politics and the rule of law. Before coming to Vanderbilt, Carrie earned her BA in Political Science from Rhodes College in Memphis and her JD from the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville. At the College of Law, Carrie received the Kolwyk Public Interest Law scholarship and was named the College of Law’s Outstanding Female Student by the National Association of Women Lawyers in 1999. Carrie graduated from the College of Law in 2000, going on to clerk for Judge Carol Soloman of the Eighth Circuit Court for Tennessee’s Twentieth Judicial District. At Vanderbilt, Carrie taught Introduction to American Politics (Summer 2007, Fall 2008) and served as the Coach of Vanderbilt’s undergraduate Moot Court team (2008).

Carrie’s dissertation abstract:

With particular emphasis paid to the legislative intent of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the principles that undergird the Rule of Law in constitutional democracies, this project examines how a legacy of unacknowledged historical injustice influences the legitimacy of democratic institutions. Through systematic analysis of census data, court documents, newspaper archives and property records, using Tennessee as a case study, I offer evidence in support of the proposition that past intentional and negligent refusal of local, state and federal institutions to provide due process or the equal protection of law to black Americans remains a critical obstacle for present day governmental legitimacy among many localities throughout the United States. By examining other communal efforts to overcome this obstacle, I find the best policies reflect the specific needs of the communities where wrong-doing took place. I conclude with public policy proposals that could pragmatically further these efforts in Tennessee.

Carrie´s CV   email: carrie.russell@vanderbilt.edu

Sonalini Sapra is currently a fourth year Ph.D. student in Political Science and is a research assistant for the Global Feminisms Collaborative. Her dissertation looks at the critical analyses and strategies that women’s environmental groups have used to examine neo-liberal globalization and its impact on the environment and how these analyses contribute to strengthening the broader theoretical frameworks of feminist environmentalisms. Her research and teaching interests include Feminist Political Theory, Feminist Methodology, Environmental Politics and Social Movements. Prior to returning to graduate school, Sonalini worked in a labor rights organization in India which looked at the impact that domestic and international trade policies were having on India’s informal work force.

Sonalini is the 2008-2009 George Graham Fellow at the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities.

Sonalini´s CV    email: sonalini.k.sapra@vanderbilt.edu

Michael joined the Vanderbilt Political Science department in the fall of 2008. He comes to Vanderbilt from the University of Alabama where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. His studies are in American Government primarily and secondarily in Comparative Politics. His interests are in Bureaucratic institutions and the Principle-agent relationship. Outside of the classroom he enjoys cooking and board games.

email: michael.p.sanchez@vanderbilt.edu

Vivian is a Bolivian of Austrian descent. She has a BA in Sociology from the Universidad Mayor de San Simón, in Cochabamba (Bolivia) where she grew up. She worked most of her professional life in the Bolivian non governmental sector promoting political participation, the exercise of citizenship rights and improved democratic practices. She also worked promoting environmental conservation for protected areas in Bolivia.
Vivian is an Associate with CIUDADANIA, Comunidad de Estudios Sociales y Acción Pública (a Bolivian NGO) andworks for tthe Latin American Public Opinion Project at Vanderbilt (LAPOP). Her interest fields are Comparative Politics and Political Theory with a special focus on Latin American Politics. She is currently focusing on political institutions and issues of trust and system support.

She loves good literature, good music and good movies, dancing and crossword puzzles. She also likes learning new languages. She never rejects a good discussion about politics or religious issues and a good coffee. Her very special joy are her dogs, Isadora and Lucas.

email: vivian.schwartz.blum@vanderbilt.edu

Jennifer Selin, a Baltimorean, joined the Vanderbilt graduate program in 2008. She received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and American Studies from Lebanon Valley College and received her Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest School of Law. Prior to moving to Nashville, she practiced administrative and energy law in Washington, D.C., focusing on Western electricity markets and hydroelectric licensing and development. Jen’s primary field is American Politics. In her free time, Jen can be found running, playing sports, and cheering on her three favorite teams: LVC Field Hockey, Maryland Basketball, and Wake Forest Football (Go Deacs!).

email: jennifer.l.selin@Vanderbilt.Edu

Matthew Simpson, originally from Springfield, Missouri, joined the Vanderbilt graduate program in 2007 after graduating from Missouri State University with a B.S. in Political Science. His first field is American Politics with a subfield of Comparative politics. In his free time, Matt enjoys reading, cheering on his favorite sports teams, and watching movies with his wife.

Matthew's CV     email: matthew.e.simpson@vanderbilt.edu

B.A., Wake Forest University

A Philadelphia Yankee lost in the South for many years, Frank is interested in international conflict, strategic interactions, and decision-making processes. He is married to a doctor whose hobby is raising chinchillas.

email: franklin.e.wilson@vanderbilt.edu

Ying Zhang comes from the hometown of Confucius in northern China. She earned her Master’s degree of American Literature in China and worked at the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia as a young diplomat prior to coming to Vanderbilt. She is interested in international relations, particularly Sino-U.S. relations. She is also interested in democrtic theories.

Ying´s CV      email: ying.zhang.1@vanderbilt.edu

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