Resources Faculty & Staff Directory Faculty & Staff Directory A B C D E F G (-) H J K L M N O P R S (-) T V W Facet Last Name - Directory Faculty Staff Facet Person Type - Directory Economics Education Leadership Political Science Social Psychology Domestic Policy & Politics Global Politics & International Relations Health Policy International Development Racial Justice and Equity Social Equity Facet Area of Focus - Directory Department of Economics School of Education and Human Development Center for Effective Lawmaking Darden School of Business Department of Politics Facet UVA Partner - Directory Development Information Technology Facet Batten Department - Directory George Hadijski Program Associate, Center for Effective Lawmaking xyf3yg@virginia.edu George Hadijski is the Senior Program Associate at the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), a joint partnership between the Batten School and Vanderbilt University. He is responsible for increasing the use of CEL’s research by lawmakers, their staffs, and their influencers. Read full bio Harry Harding University Professor Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Public Policy hh7b@virginia.edu 434-924-0812 Garrett Hall L027 Harry Harding is university professor emeritus and professor emeritus of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, a senior fellow in the Miller Center of Public Affairs at UVA, and Adjunct Chair Professor in the College of Social Science at National Chengchi University in Taipei, where he holds a Yushan Scholarship. Harding is a specialist on Asia and U.S. - Asian relations. Read full bio Ben Hartless Assistant Director of Information Technology bh4hb@virginia.edu Garrett Hall L029 Ben is the IT Manager at the Frank Batten School. Ben was born and raised an hour away in Lexington, Virginia where he worked at Washington and Lee University for thirteen years as a Technology Support Specialist. He also worked seven years at the Washington and Lee School of Law as the Director of Information Technology before beginning his new career at the Frank Batten School in Spring of 2020. Read full bio Andrea Henry Events Manager amh4tb@virginia.edu Garrett Hall Andrea Henry is an experienced professional fulfilling the role as our Events Manager. A University of Virginia alumna, class of 2019, with a dual degree in Art History and Sociology, her educational and professional journey from UVA and post-graduation provided a solid foundation in strategic planning and effective communication, all of which contribute to her expertise in event management. In her spare time, she indulges in HBO shows or tries new restaurants and coffee shops around town. Read full bio Gerald Higginbotham Assistant Professor of Public Policy ghigginbotham@virginia.edu Garrett Hall 105 As of Fall 2023, Gerald Higginbotham is an assistant professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Utilizing social and cultural psychological insights, Higginbotham researches the imprint of history on people’s modern social perceptions and policy attitudes, and the psychological underpinnings of how people perceive history and its consequences. Read full bio Steve Hiss Director of Career Services and Alumni Engagement steven.hiss@virginia.edu 434-924-2456 Garrett Hall L002D A lifelong public servant, Steve’s interest in the Batten School not only stems from his own career in the public service, but also the former and current Batten students with whom he has worked in his position as the Commander of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Virginia. Read full bio John Holbein Associate Professor of Public Policy, Politics, and Education; Shannon Center Mid-Career Fellow jh5ak@virginia.edu 434-243-2899 Garrett Hall 111 John Holbein is an associate professor of public policy, politics, and education at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Holbein studies political participation, political inequality, democratic accountability, political representation, and education policy. Read full bio Charles Holt Professor of Economics and Public Policy holt@virginia.edu 434-924-7894 Monroe 234 Charles Holt is a professor of economics and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the A. Willis Robertson Professor of Political Economy at the University of Virginia. Holt is also the current Director of the Experimental Economics Laboratory at Virginia, where he develops and programs the web-based VeconLab experiments that are widely used for teaching and research with over 90,000 participant logins per year. Read full bio Sally Hudson Assistant Professor of Public Policy sally.hudson@virginia.edu 434-924-7817 Garrett Hall L002C Sally Hudson is an assistant professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Hudson is a labor economist who studies recruiting and retention in the public sector. Her recent work analyzes teacher retention in hard-to-staff school districts and the effects of salary schedules on mid-career recruiting. Read full bio Chris Hulleman Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy Chris Hulleman is an associate professor of education and public policy at the Batten School. Hulleman conducts research on educational interventions grounded in theories of social and personality psychology, motivation, and human development. Most recently, his work has focused on examining the extent to which helping students find relevance to their lives in their coursework increases learning and interest. Read full bio Elinor (Ellie) Tappé Executive Director of Strategic Advancement bcm2fj@virginia.edu Elinor (Ellie) Tappé serves as Executive Director of Strategic Advancement where she helps shape and realize the strategic objectives of the Batten School. With a 25-year history in strategic planning and development, Ellie has held a variety of leadership roles in the corporate sector, as well as higher education and nonprofit. Her experience in philanthropy spans more than a decade and includes UC Berkeley, Larkin Street Youth Services and Urban Teachers. Read full bio Sebastian Tello-Trillo Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics sebastian.tello@virginia.edu 434-924-0903 Garrett Hall 101 Sebastian Tello-Trillo is an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He studies health policy in the U.S and Latin America, with a particular focus on understanding how policies affect individuals’ health behaviors and economic outcomes. Read full bio Melissa Thomas-Hunt John D. Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Public Policy mcth@virginia.edu Melissa Thomas-Hunt is a professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the John Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Thomas-Hunt focuses on leadership, team dynamics, and negotiations and her research studies the factors that unleash, leverage, and amplify the contributions made by individuals, particularly women, underrepresented individuals, and numerical minorities. Read full bio Kerra K. Thurston Executive Assistant to the Dean kaykay@virginia.edu 434-924-0828 Garrett Hall 200 Read full bio Sophie Trawalter Batten Family Bicentennial Teacher-Scholar Leadership Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology strawalter@virginia.edu 434-243-3726 Garrett Hall L004B Sophie Trawalter, Batten Family Bicentennial Teacher-Scholar Leadership Professor of Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, studies phenomena related to social diversity, specifically how people navigate intergroup contact and intergroup contexts, with a particular focus on how people develop competencies and learn to thrive in diverse spaces. Read full bio Sarah Turner University Professor of Economics, Education and Public Policy sturner@virginia.edu 434-982-2383 Olsson Hall, Room 217 Sarah Turner is a University Professor of economics, education and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Souder Family Endowed Professor. Much of her research focuses on post-secondary education, where she explores the intersection of education and economics policies. Read full bio
George Hadijski Program Associate, Center for Effective Lawmaking xyf3yg@virginia.edu George Hadijski is the Senior Program Associate at the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), a joint partnership between the Batten School and Vanderbilt University. He is responsible for increasing the use of CEL’s research by lawmakers, their staffs, and their influencers. Read full bio
Harry Harding University Professor Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Public Policy hh7b@virginia.edu 434-924-0812 Garrett Hall L027 Harry Harding is university professor emeritus and professor emeritus of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, a senior fellow in the Miller Center of Public Affairs at UVA, and Adjunct Chair Professor in the College of Social Science at National Chengchi University in Taipei, where he holds a Yushan Scholarship. Harding is a specialist on Asia and U.S. - Asian relations. Read full bio
Ben Hartless Assistant Director of Information Technology bh4hb@virginia.edu Garrett Hall L029 Ben is the IT Manager at the Frank Batten School. Ben was born and raised an hour away in Lexington, Virginia where he worked at Washington and Lee University for thirteen years as a Technology Support Specialist. He also worked seven years at the Washington and Lee School of Law as the Director of Information Technology before beginning his new career at the Frank Batten School in Spring of 2020. Read full bio
Andrea Henry Events Manager amh4tb@virginia.edu Garrett Hall Andrea Henry is an experienced professional fulfilling the role as our Events Manager. A University of Virginia alumna, class of 2019, with a dual degree in Art History and Sociology, her educational and professional journey from UVA and post-graduation provided a solid foundation in strategic planning and effective communication, all of which contribute to her expertise in event management. In her spare time, she indulges in HBO shows or tries new restaurants and coffee shops around town. Read full bio
Gerald Higginbotham Assistant Professor of Public Policy ghigginbotham@virginia.edu Garrett Hall 105 As of Fall 2023, Gerald Higginbotham is an assistant professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Utilizing social and cultural psychological insights, Higginbotham researches the imprint of history on people’s modern social perceptions and policy attitudes, and the psychological underpinnings of how people perceive history and its consequences. Read full bio
Steve Hiss Director of Career Services and Alumni Engagement steven.hiss@virginia.edu 434-924-2456 Garrett Hall L002D A lifelong public servant, Steve’s interest in the Batten School not only stems from his own career in the public service, but also the former and current Batten students with whom he has worked in his position as the Commander of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Virginia. Read full bio
John Holbein Associate Professor of Public Policy, Politics, and Education; Shannon Center Mid-Career Fellow jh5ak@virginia.edu 434-243-2899 Garrett Hall 111 John Holbein is an associate professor of public policy, politics, and education at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Holbein studies political participation, political inequality, democratic accountability, political representation, and education policy. Read full bio
Charles Holt Professor of Economics and Public Policy holt@virginia.edu 434-924-7894 Monroe 234 Charles Holt is a professor of economics and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the A. Willis Robertson Professor of Political Economy at the University of Virginia. Holt is also the current Director of the Experimental Economics Laboratory at Virginia, where he develops and programs the web-based VeconLab experiments that are widely used for teaching and research with over 90,000 participant logins per year. Read full bio
Sally Hudson Assistant Professor of Public Policy sally.hudson@virginia.edu 434-924-7817 Garrett Hall L002C Sally Hudson is an assistant professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Hudson is a labor economist who studies recruiting and retention in the public sector. Her recent work analyzes teacher retention in hard-to-staff school districts and the effects of salary schedules on mid-career recruiting. Read full bio
Chris Hulleman Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy Chris Hulleman is an associate professor of education and public policy at the Batten School. Hulleman conducts research on educational interventions grounded in theories of social and personality psychology, motivation, and human development. Most recently, his work has focused on examining the extent to which helping students find relevance to their lives in their coursework increases learning and interest. Read full bio
Elinor (Ellie) Tappé Executive Director of Strategic Advancement bcm2fj@virginia.edu Elinor (Ellie) Tappé serves as Executive Director of Strategic Advancement where she helps shape and realize the strategic objectives of the Batten School. With a 25-year history in strategic planning and development, Ellie has held a variety of leadership roles in the corporate sector, as well as higher education and nonprofit. Her experience in philanthropy spans more than a decade and includes UC Berkeley, Larkin Street Youth Services and Urban Teachers. Read full bio
Sebastian Tello-Trillo Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics sebastian.tello@virginia.edu 434-924-0903 Garrett Hall 101 Sebastian Tello-Trillo is an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. He studies health policy in the U.S and Latin America, with a particular focus on understanding how policies affect individuals’ health behaviors and economic outcomes. Read full bio
Melissa Thomas-Hunt John D. Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Public Policy mcth@virginia.edu Melissa Thomas-Hunt is a professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the John Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Thomas-Hunt focuses on leadership, team dynamics, and negotiations and her research studies the factors that unleash, leverage, and amplify the contributions made by individuals, particularly women, underrepresented individuals, and numerical minorities. Read full bio
Kerra K. Thurston Executive Assistant to the Dean kaykay@virginia.edu 434-924-0828 Garrett Hall 200 Read full bio
Sophie Trawalter Batten Family Bicentennial Teacher-Scholar Leadership Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology strawalter@virginia.edu 434-243-3726 Garrett Hall L004B Sophie Trawalter, Batten Family Bicentennial Teacher-Scholar Leadership Professor of Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, studies phenomena related to social diversity, specifically how people navigate intergroup contact and intergroup contexts, with a particular focus on how people develop competencies and learn to thrive in diverse spaces. Read full bio
Sarah Turner University Professor of Economics, Education and Public Policy sturner@virginia.edu 434-982-2383 Olsson Hall, Room 217 Sarah Turner is a University Professor of economics, education and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Souder Family Endowed Professor. Much of her research focuses on post-secondary education, where she explores the intersection of education and economics policies. Read full bio