Leadership and Staff
Melody Barnes
Executive Director, Karsh Institute of Democracy
W.L. Lyons Brown Family Director for Policy and Public Engagement
Professor of Practice, Miller Center of Public Affairs
Stefanie Georgakis Abbott
Director of Programming
Mary Beth Aungier
Event Planner
Frances Capaccio
Executive Assistant
Laurent Dubois
John L. Nau III Bicentennial Professor of the History & Principles of Democracy and Professor of History, University of Virginia
Academic Director, Karsh Institute of Democracy
Director, John L. Nau III History & Principles of Democracy Lab
Nikki Kain
Assistant Director of Programming
Jessica Kimpell Johnson
Director of Research
Manager, John L. Nau III History & Principles of Democracy Lab
Jane Kulow
Lab Coordinator
Randy Richards
Senior Finance Generalist
Natalie Ermann Russell
Associate Director of Content and Marketing
Erin Tör
Director of Communications
Nicole Woods
Managing Director
Advisory Board
Christa D. Acampora
Dean, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, UVA
Buckner W. Clay Professor of Philosophy, UVA
Ben Allen
Executive Director, Center for Community Partnerships, UVA
Robert Allen
*Special Invitee
Associate Vice President of Development, UVA
William J. Antholis
Director and CEO, Miller Center, UVA (CLAS ‘86)
Melody Barnes
Executive Director, Karsh Institute of Democracy
W.L. Lyons Brown Family Director for Policy and Public Engagement
Professor of Practice, Miller Center of Public Affairs
Megan Barnett
Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives, UVA
Matthew Barzun
Former U.S. Ambassador to the UK and Sweden; Chair & Publisher, Tortoise Media
Ian Baucom
Executive Vice President and Provost, UVA
Megan Beyer
Director, Art in Embassies, U.S. Department of State
John Bridgeland
Founder and CEO, More Perfect
Executive Chairman, Office of American Possibilities (Law ‘87)
Mary Schmidt Campbell
President Emerita, Spelman College
Jim Donovan
Vice Chairman, Global Client Coverage, Goldman Sachs
Adjunct Professor, UVA School of Law
Laurent Dubois
John L. Nau III Bicentennial Professor of the History & Principles of Democracy and Professor of History, University of Virginia
Academic Director, Karsh Institute of Democracy
Director, John L. Nau III History & Principles of Democracy Lab
Heather K. Evans
John Morton Beaty Endowed Chair in Political Science, UVA College at Wise
Benjamin L. Ginsberg
Volker Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Co-Chair, Pillars of the Community
Co-Chair, Election Official Legal Defense Network
Risa Goluboff (Chair)
David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law, UVA School of Law
Professor of History, UVA
Judge Thomas B. Griffith (Retired)
Fellow, Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University
Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law and Stanford Law
Special Counsel, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLC
John C. Jeffries, Jr.
David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law, UVA School of Law
Counselor to President James Ryan, UVA (Law ’73)
Bruce A. Karsh
*Special Invitee
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Oaktree Capital Management (Law ‘80)
Co-Founder, Karsh Family Foundation
Martha L. Karsh
Co-Founder, Karsh Family Foundation (CLAS ’78, Law ‘81)
Mark M. Luellen
*Special Invitee
Vice President for Advancement, UVA
Manu Meel
CEO, BridgeUSA
John L. Nau III
Chairman and CEO, SED Holdings LLC
President, John L. Nau III Foundation (CLAS ’68)
Alondra Nelson
Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study
Distinguished Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
John M. Owen IV (Vice Chair)
Ambassador Henry J. and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Professor of Politics, UVA Department of Politics
Faculty Senior Fellow, Miller Center, UVA
Faculty Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, UVA
Pete N. Peterson
Dean, School of Public Policy, Pepperdine University
William L. Polk Jr.
Partner, Egis Capital Partners
Bertrall Ross
*Special Invitee
Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law, UVA School of Law
Director, Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, UVA
James E. Ryan
*Special Invitee
President, UVA
Larry J. Sabato
Founder and Director, Center for Politics, UVA
University Professor of Politics, UVA (CLAS ’74)
Reverend Gabriel A. Salguero
Pastor, The Gathering Place
President and Founder, National Latino Evangelical Coalition
Karly Scholz
Student Representative
Micah J. Schwartzman
*Special Invitee
Hardy Cross Dillard Professor of Law and Roy L. and Rosamond Woodruff Morgan Professor of Law, UVA School of Law
Director, Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, UVA
Eric Scorsone
Executive Director, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, UVA
Evan Smith
Co-founder, The Texas Tribune
Senior Advisor, Emerson Collective
Professor of Practice, The LBJ School of Public Affairs
Ian H. Solomon
Dean, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, UVA
Suzanne Spaulding
Director, Defending Democratic Institutions Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CLAS ‘78, Law ‘81)
Jayme Swain
President and CEO, VPM and the Virginia Foundation for Public Media (CLAS ‘97)
Craig Volden
Professor of Public Policy and Politics, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, UVA
Co-director, Center for Effective Lawmaking, UVA
Past Advisory Board Members
Deborah Archer
Years Active: 2022–2024
President, ACLU
Professor of Clinical Law, NYU Law School
Lonnie G. Bunch III
Year Active: 2022
Secretary, The Smithsonian
Laura Farish Chadwick
Years Active: 2022–2023
Vice President, William Stamps Farish Fund (CLAS ‘89)
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar
Years Active: 2022–2024
President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Desiree Ho
Years Active: 2023–2024
Student Representative, UVA (Batten ’25)
Lawrence D. Howell
Years Active: 2022–2024
Global Chairman & Co-Founder, UCAP Group of Financial Services Companies and Banks (CLAS ’75, Law ’79)
Alberto Ibargüen
Year Active: 2022
President and CEO, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The Honorable Anthony Kennedy
Years Active: 2022–2024
Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court (retired)
Yuval Levin
Years Active: 2022–2024
Director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Senior Fellow, Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy, American Enterprise Institute
Sandra Wicks Lewis
Years Active: 2022–2024
Former Relationship Manager, Professional and Executive Banking Division, Bank of America
Co-Founder, Lewis Family Fund (CLAS ’72)
Sarita Mehta
Year Active: 2022
Student Representative, UVA (CLAS ‘22)
James B. Murray, Jr.
Years Active: 2022–2024
Managing General Partner, Court Square Ventures
Founder, Presidential Precinct (CLAS ‘68)
Meghan Murray
Year Active: 2023
Former Interim Executive Director, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service
Alexis K. Ohanian
Years Active: 2022–2024
Founder, Seven Seven Six
Co-Founder and Former Executive Chair, Reddit (Com ‘05)
Margaret Spellings
Years Active: 2022–2024
President and CEO, Bipartisan Policy Center
U.S. Secretary of Education, Bush Administration (2005–2009)
Christian Taylor
Years Active: 2022–2023
Student Representative, UVA (CLAS ‘24)
Larry D. Terry II
Year Active: 2022
Executive Director, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, 2018–2022
Affiliated Faculty
Jacqueline Arthur-Montagne
John L. Nau III Assistant Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy, University of Virginia
Assistant Professor of Classics
Emily Burrill
Associate Professor of History, University of Virginia
Christopher Carter
John L. Nau III Assistant Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy, University of Virginia
Assistant Professor of Politics
Indrani Chatterjee
John L. Nau III Distinguished Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy, University of Virginia
Professor of History and Distinguished Chair on Democracy and the History of South Asia
Deborah Kang
John L. Nau III Associate Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy, University of Virginia
Associate Professor of History
Alexander Motchoulski
John L. Nau III Assistant Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy, University of Virginia
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Kristina Richardson
John L. Nau III Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy, University of Virginia
Professor of History and Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures
Albert Rivero
John L. Nau III Assistant Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy, University of Virginia
Assistant Professor of Politics
Amir Syed
Assistant Professor of History, University of Virginia
Rachel Wahl
Associate Professor, School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia
Director, Good Life Political Project, Karsh Institute of Democracy