Faculty & Staff Directory

Sean Michael Flattery

Sean Michael
Flattery

Assistant Director of Events and Operations

As assistant director of events and operations, Sean Michael supports the Batten School’s mission by ensuring the efficient planning and execution of key events and daily operations. Before joining Batten, he was assistant technical director at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va., and previously toured nationally as an actor and deck manager, coordinating performances and technical operations in over 100 venues across 36 states, Toronto and off-Broadway.

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regina ford

Regina
Ford

Business Services Specialist

Regina Ford is the Business Services Specialist for the Batten School and supports multiple areas of our Finance and Business Servcies team.  She has extensive knowledge and experience as a fitness professional in health and wellness ranging from management to multi-faceted trainer and instructor. She also has more than 17 years of experience in the trade show industry. 

She earned her bachelor's degree in social work from Shippensburg University with a minor in psychology and art.

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Brian Ford

Brian
Ford

Senior HR Business Partner

As an HR leader with 20 years experience, Brian Ford currently is the Sr. HR Partner for the Batten School and McIntire School of Commerce. Prior to UVA, he led the Employee Experience function for the eastern US region at VMLY&R. In this capacity, he and his team drive culture, talent management and the overall employee experience for offices such as New York, Atlanta & Miami. Prior to VMLY&R, Brian was Chief People Officer at Fusion Media Group and had sr. leadership roles at Ogilvy, LG Electronics and Mercedes-Benz USA.

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George Foresman

George
Foresman

NSPC Executive Director & Senior Advisor

George Foresman has over three decades of leadership experience in government and business. While serving as Virginia’s homeland security secretary, Foresman was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

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Galen Fountain

Galen Fountain is a lecturer at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Previously, he served for nearly two decades as Clerk of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies and prior to that as Counsel to the Senate Committee on Small Business. 

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Leora Friedberg

Leora
Friedberg

Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy

Leora Friedberg is an associate professor of economics and public policy at the Batten School and an associate professor and Vice Chair at UVA's Department of Economics. Her focus is on labor economics, including research on social security, aging and retirement economic impacts.

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Christine Mahoney

Christine
Mahoney

Professor of Public Policy and Politics; Chief Innovation Officer

Christine Mahoney is a professor of public policy and politics and chief innovation officer at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.  She studies social justice advocacy, activism and direct action through social entrepreneurship.

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Paul Martin

Paul
S.
Martin

Associate Professor of Public Policy

Paul Martin is an associate professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Martin studies how and when political elites respond to the preferences of ordinary people; political participation and advocacy, how and when citizens become involved in the policy process; on the role of mass media; and on the origins and consequences of social capital .

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Isaac Mbiti

Isaac
Mbiti

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics

Isaac M. Mbiti is an associate professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. His research has focused broadly on African economic development with particular interests in examining the role of education policies such as free primary education and teacher performance pay programs. Mbiti's ongoing research projects in East and West Africa evaluate various policies that aim to improve the livelihoods of African youth through training programs.

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Cat McCue

Cathryn
McCue

Assistant Director of Communications

Cat joined the Batten School in 2023 as assistant director of communications. She brings extensive experience in communications, storytelling, public service, and state and federal policy to the Batten School from her prior roles at the UVA Office for Sustainability and several environmental nonprofit advocacy organizations, and as a journalist.

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Amy Meli

Amy
D.
Meli

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Center for Effective Lawmaking
Garrett Hall L028

Amy Meli is a postdoctoral research associate at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia, working with the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Her research centers around interest groups and the way they influence the political system.

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Naseemah Mohamed

Naseemah
Mohamed

Assistant Professor of African American and African Studies

Naseemah Mohamed is an assistant professor of African American and African studies at the University of Virginia. Her interdisciplinary research examines the relationships among education, media, technology, global politics, and violence in 20th-century.

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Nadirah Muhammad

Nadirah
Muhammad

Marketing/Communications Project Manager

Nadirah joined the Batten School in 2024 as our Marketing/Communications Project Manager. A George Mason University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in English, she brings years of experience crafting compelling narratives across digital, print and social platforms.

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Bala Mulloth

Bala
Mulloth

Assistant Professor of Public Policy

Bala Mulloth is an assistant professor at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Mulloth is a globally oriented educator and entrepreneur and his work focuses on innovation and social entrepreneurship.

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photo of Murphy

Jennett
Murphy

Assistant Director of Faculty Affairs
Garrett Hall L042

Jennett Murphy is the Assistant Director of Faculty Affairs at the Batten School and is responsible for supporting and managing processes to advance the success of the faculty.

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Noah Myung

Noah
Myung

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics

Noah Myung is an associate professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He is an experimental and behavioral economist with research interests in game theory, organizational economics, and financial economics. Myung's current research deals with equilibrium selection in coordination games as well as information sharing between competitors

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