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.  

Michael Mallory is President of the Ron Brown Scholar Fund and Executive Director of the Ron Brown Scholar Program. In these roles, Mallory demonstrates a profound commitment to increasing educational opportunities for young people.  Since 1996 he has been instrumental in shaping a distinguished program named in honor of Ron Brown, former Secretary of Commerce. This program not only awards $40,000 college scholarships to academically talented African American students, but also creates a life-long network of outstanding black leaders committed to community and national service.

Jennifer Ludovici is the NSPC Director of Operations & Research Initiatives. She has over 18 years of experience in higher education administration in both the public and private sector. In her role at the NSPC, she focuses on faculty research collaboration, project coordination and program development as well as general operations and communications. Jennifer holds a post-graduate certificate in project management from UVA, and a BA/MEd in history and education from James Madison University.

Colin Achilles is the Associate Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), a joint partnership between the Batten School and Vanderbilt University. He is the manager of day-to-day operations at CEL. 

Mark was most recently the Director of Technology for the Orange County Public Schools in Orange, VA, has over 20 years of education-related technology leadership and management experience, worked in private industry for a Hewitt Associates, and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He brings a wealth of strategic and practical education technology experience to Batten.

John Robinson is the NSPC’s Director of Academic Programs. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focused on national security, including Innovating for Defense, an experiential course that pairs student teams with sponsors from the Department of Defense (DoD) to solve real-world national security problems. His research interests include international security and naval affairs.

John holds a Ph.D. in Politics from the University of Virginia, and a M.A. from the U.S. Naval War College.   

Sofya Olenicheva currently serves as a Policy Advisor at the Zero Emission Transportation Association, a federal coalition advocating for transportation electrification, and Pioneer Public Affairs, a climate- and renewable energy-focused lobbying firm. Sofya’s professional policy experience began at Batten with an assignment to conduct research for the Virginia gubernatorial transition team. Later, she worked as a Program Assistant at the Community Climate Collaborative, a nonprofit committed to facilitating environmental policy development in local government and encouraging residents to integrate sustainable solutions into their lifestyle. At UVA, Sofya earned a Bachelor of Arts with Highest Distinction in Public Policy and Global Environments & Sustainability.

Matt Gillam is from Long Island, NY and a 2021 graduate of the BA program. He has since joined Teach For America and is teaching first grade at Miner Elementary School in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC. While teaching, he is pursuing a MSEd from Johns Hopkins University. While at UVA, he served as Batten Undergraduate Council President, co-Director of UVA's Camp Kesem chapter and Chair of UVA's Hillel Jewish Leadership Council.

Hannah Semmes is a consultant at Guidehouse State & Local Government. Prior to that, she was a consultant in the private sector for Salt Flats (née Optimity Advisors). She is an alumna of the State Department’s Critical Language Scholar in Indonesian, and previously worked as intern at the World Wildlife Fund, in the Office of Congressman Beyer (VA-08), and various political campaigns. At UVA, she served as Co-Captain of Women's Club Soccer. As a BAAB member, it is her goal to support and grow Batten’s entrepreneurial community.

Donald Fryar was born in San Diego, California and raised in Fredericksburg, VA. He attended the University of Virginia, where he majored in Public Policy and Leadership. While at the University of Virginia, Donald was a part of the Army ROTC program. Upon graduation, Donald commissioned into the Army reserves as a Combat Engineer. Recently, Donald graduated from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. After graduation, Donald plans to move to Charlotte, North Carolina where he will work as a Corporate Attorney. Outside of school, Donald is heavily involved in the Washington, D.C. Community. He serves as a Program Director for MindsMatterDC, a non-profit that is aimed at providing SAT preparatory and mentoring high school students.