Teaching

My teaching prepares students to analyze public problems through institutions, evidence, implementation, and accountability. I approach public administration and policy as fields concerned not only with what governments and nonprofit organizations should do, but also with how public authority is organized, how decisions are implemented, and how institutions can be designed to serve democratic, equitable, and effective public purposes.

Teaching Approach

Institutions, evidence, implementation, and accountability

I teach students to ask institutional questions: Who has authority? Which rules structure action? What evidence supports a decision? Who benefits, who bears costs, and who is excluded? How does implementation reshape policy? What accountability mechanisms exist?

Across my courses, I use cases, policy documents, organizational examples, applied assignments, and structured discussion to help students connect theory with real governance problems.

Instructor of Record:
PAD 4144 Managing Nonprofit Organizations, Florida State University.
Course evaluation: 4.92/5.00

Teaching Areas

Public administration, nonprofit governance, and policy process

  • Public administration and policy process
  • Nonprofit management and governance
  • Science, technology, and public policy
  • Environmental and urban policy
  • Collaborative governance and institutional design
  • Research methods and qualitative case analysis
Course Spotlight

Managing Nonprofit Organizations

In PAD 4144, students examine nonprofit organizations as governance actors involved in service delivery, advocacy, philanthropy, community problem solving, and cross-sector collaboration. The course introduces students to nonprofit missions, boards, executive leadership, accountability, fundraising, performance measurement, and government–nonprofit relations.

I emphasize that nonprofits are not only charitable organizations. They are also institutional actors that shape public problem definition, implementation, community trust, and accountability.

Pedagogy

Applied, analytical, and evidence-based learning

My courses combine conceptual learning with applied analysis. Students practice translating theory into professional forms of communication, including policy memos, organizational assessments, case analyses, stakeholder maps, program critiques, and short evidence-based arguments.

I design assignments to help students move from broad public problems to specific institutional diagnoses: what is the problem, who has authority, what rules matter, what evidence is available, and what implementation constraints shape possible solutions?

Courses of Interest

Future course development

  • AI Governance and Public Administration
  • Technology, Institutions, and Public Policy
  • Sustainability Transitions and Local Governance
  • Nonprofits, Civil Society, and Public Governance
  • Urban Governance, Public Space, and Community Wellbeing
Mentoring

Supporting students as emerging analysts of governance

Mentoring is central to my teaching. I work with students to develop research questions, strengthen writing, connect theory with evidence, and identify academic or professional pathways that fit their interests.

I aim to make research more accessible by helping students understand how scholarly and applied projects are built: how to move from a broad topic to a researchable question, how to evaluate evidence, and how to communicate findings clearly.

Inclusive Teaching

Analytical rigor with institutional support

My teaching is grounded in the belief that students learn best when they are both intellectually challenged and institutionally supported. I use clear expectations, structured participation, applied examples, and multiple forms of engagement to make the classroom accessible without lowering analytical standards.

In public administration and policy courses, inclusion is not only a classroom value; it is part of the subject matter. Questions of equity, representation, administrative burden, public trust, and institutional access are central to understanding how governance works.