As part of UVA Public Service Week, please join Humans of UVA and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy for a conversation on leadership and public service with Dean Ian Solomon and Humans of UVA President DeMario Moore (Darden ’22). As dean of the Batten School, Solomon leads a multidisciplinary faculty in creating new knowledge and developing leaders who can solve humanity’s greatest policy challenges. Trained as a lawyer, Solomon is a devoted student and teacher of both negotiation and conflict resolution. Under the Obama administration, he served as the U.S. executive director for the World Bank Group, where he championed private-sector development and innovation in Africa. He has also been a consultant with Mckinsey & Company, an associate dean and visiting lecturer at Yale Law School, and a vice president and lecturer in law at the University of Chicago. Before joining the Batten School, he led his own international consulting practice focused on conflict and collaboration.

At the Batten School, public service is an expectation. Batten scholars, students, staff and alumni form a vibrant network of purpose-driven leaders who are attuned to today’s challenges and know how to mobilize collaborative, lasting change. The Batten community is dedicated to making an impact through public service—from nonprofits and public interest groups, to research institutions and think tanks, to government and the private sector—at the local, state, federal and international level.

Humans of UVA (HOUVA) is an initiative focused on a dual-purpose: 1) Reducing the barriers UVA students face with connecting with each other 2) Leveraging vulnerability to build deeper, genuine relationships. HOUVA serves as a safe space and outlet for our entire UVA community to unite as one.