Kirsten Gelsdorf is a professor of practice of public policy at the Batten School and the Director of Global Humanitarian Policy. Gelsdorf has 19 years of experience working in the humanitarian sector, most recently serving as the Chief of the Policy Analysis and Innovation section at the United Nations Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

David Leblang is a professor of public policy at the Batten School, the Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, and the Dorothy Danforth Compton Professor of Public Affairs at UVA's Miller Center. His research focuses on global migration including refugee and migrant choice as well as the link between migration and observed international investment, remittance flows, and the spread of democracy.

Lucy Bassett is an associate professor of practice of public policy at the Batten School and an expert in children, caregivers, and communities in humanitarian and development contexts. Over her 15 year career, Bassett has worked with governments in low- and middle-income countries to expand access to quality education, nutrition and social protection services, particularly for poor and marginalized children and families.