Faculty & Staff Directory

Nick Elacqua

Nick
Elacqua

Lab Manager, APPLE and SCABL Labs

Nick Elacqua is the Lab Manager for the Applied Public Policy and Leadership Experiments (APPLE) Lab and the Social Cognition and Behavior Lab (SCABL) in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.

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Essence Ellis

Essence
Ellis

Academic Operations Manager

Essence Ellis joined the Batten School in 2024 as the Academic Operations Manager. Essence supports students and faculty by maintaining academic records and providing general programmatic assistance. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Randolph-Macon College and completed her Master of Divinity at Yale Divinity School. A native of Charlottesville, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones and traveling when possible.

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Bevin Etienne

Bevin
Etienne

Assistant Professor of Commerce and Public Policy

Bevin Etienne is assistant professor of commerce and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Etienne has extensive teaching and course development experience in the areas of sustainability, entrepreneurship, energy, and engineering design. He emphasizes the importance of capacity building in promoting sustainability and social entrepreneurship in developing countries as well as the role of open source in innovation and entrepreneurship.  

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Ashley Jardina

Ashley
Jardina

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Politics
Garrett Hall

Ashley Jardina is an associate professor of public policy and politics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Jardina’s research focuses on racial attitudes, racial conflict, and the way in which group identities influence political preferences in the United States.

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Hu Young Jeong

Hu Young
Jeong

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Hu Young Jeong is a postdoctoral fellow at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, he researches how individuals who have experienced collective violence make sense of their experiences and how these interpretations affect intergroup relations, conflict escalation, and resolution in global contexts.

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Peter Johannessen

Peter
Johannessen

Assistant Professor of Public Policy; CTE Faculty Fellow
Garrett Hall

Peter Johannessen is an assistant professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Johannessen’s research explores how popular participation shapes the local policy-making process, including projects that focus on local electoral responsiveness and the design of participatory governance institutions in Brazil.

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