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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Xiao Wang

Xiao
Wang

Director, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic; Assistant Professor of Law and Public Policy

Xiao Wang (MPP '09) is director of UVA's Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. In addition, he organizes the En Banc Institute and supervises the National Appellate Clinic Network, which was recognized as a finalist for Bloomberg Law’s Law School Innovation Program. Wang writes about federal courts, constitutional law, and law and religion. His research addresses generally how lower courts implement and apply Supreme Court precedent.

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Gerald Warburg

Gerald
Warburg

Professor of Practice in Public Policy

Gerry Warburg is a professor of practice in public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Prior to Batten, he worked with Congress for several decades, serving as a legislative assistant to members of leadership in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

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Dr. Cameron Webb

Cameron
Webb

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Assistant Professor of Public Health Sciences, Assistant Professor of Public Policy by Courtesy

Dr. Cameron Webb is an assistant professor of medicine, assistant professor of public health sciences, and director, health policy and equity in the School of Medicine; he is also assistant professor of public policy by courtesy at the University of Virginia. Webb has devoted his career to helping others, as a physician, professor of medicine, advocate for equity in healthcare and, most recently, as senior advisor to the White House Covid-19 response team. 

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Michael Williams

Michael
D.
Williams

Associate Professor of Surgery and Public Policy

Michael D. Williams is an associate professor of surgery and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Williams is interested in, among other things, comprehensive, apolitical analysis of current and proposed health policy for citizens and policymakers.

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Brian Williams

Brian Williams is a professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Director of the Public Engagement in Governance: Looking, Listening and Learning Laboratory (the PEGLLLLab) at UVA. His research centers on issues related to demographic diversity, local law enforcement, and public governance, with special attention devoted to the co-production of public safety and public order.

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Timothy Wilson

Timothy
Wilson

Sherrell J. Aston Professor Emeritus of Psychology

Timothy Wilson is Sherrell J Aston Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Virginia. Wilson has conducted research showing the limits of introspection as a source of self-knowledge, the dangers of engaging in too much introspection about why we do what we do, the difficulty in predicting our future emotional reactions, as well as the pleasures we can derive from “just thinking.” He has also conducted research on applications of social psychology to address social problems.

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Dakota Workman

Dakota Workman is a dedicated professional serving as the Events and Operations Coordinator at the Batten School, leveraging his expertise in daily operations and event management.

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Derek Wu

Derek
Wu

Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics
Garrett Hall

Derek Wu is an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Wu’s research interests lie in labor and public economics, with focusing on poverty and inequality, the effects of government programs, and the economics of education.

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James Wyckoff

James
H.
Wyckoff

Professor Emeritus of Education and Public Policy

Jim Wyckoff is a professor emeritus of education and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Memorial Professor of Education and Policy. Wyckoff focuses on issues of teacher labor markets, teacher preparation, recruitment, assessment and retention. His current research examines how teacher assessment and evaluation systems influence the quality of teaching, especially in traditionally low performing classrooms. 

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