Faculty & Staff Directory

Colin Achiles

Colin
Achilles

Associate Director, Center for Effective Lawmaking

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. 

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Shawn Anderson

Shawn
Anderson

Assistant Director of Student Services
Garrett Hall L002B

Shawn Anderson is the Batten School's Assistant Director of Student Services and is responsible for advising undergraduate and graduate students in their co-curricular and service-related endeavors, as well as organizing school-wide student programming. Anderson is currently working towards a doctorate in Higher Education Administration at UVA, where his key focus is student development.

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Maura Austin

Maura
Austin

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Maura Austin is a postdoctoral researcher at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She studies person perception, motivation, social judgment and decision making, and moral character judgment. 

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Natalie Baumeister1

Natalie
Baumeister

Lab Manager, JADE and SoBaD Labs

Natalie Baumeister is the Lab Manager for the Judgments and Decisions Experimental (JADE) Lab and the Social Behavior and Decisions (SoBaD) Lab in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. 

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Anne Carter Mulligan

Anne
Carter Mulligan

Director of Undergraduate Admissions
Garrett Hall 203

Anne Carter Mulligan joined Batten in January 2019 as Director of Undergraduate Admissions. She’s held multiple roles in higher education, most recently as Director of Strategic Initiatives in Enrollment Management at Longwood University, where she led projects designed to enrich the student experience and provide a seamless path from recruitment to graduation.

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Amanda Crombie

Amanda
Crombie

Assistant Dean for Academic Programs
Garrett Hall L054

Amanda Crombie is the Batten School’s Assistant Dean for Academic Programs and is responsible for academic advising, course scheduling and enrollment as well as curriculum management for the School.

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Leah Daniel is Batten’s Salesforce Manager. Prior to joining Batten, Leah was Senior Financial Analyst and Salesforce Administrator at UVA School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics. She brings years of database management experience to Batten from her role as database manager at both the Darden School Foundation (1997-2003) and the UVA Law School Foundation (2004-2017). Leah holds a B.S. from the University of South Carolina.

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Alec Davis headshot

Alec Davis is the Lab Manager for the Culture, History, Identity, and Policy Lab and the Social Motivation Lab in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

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Heather Downs

Heather
Downs

Director of Academic Operations

Heather Downs joined Batten in December 2023 as the Director of Academic Operations. She has served UVA Athletics since 2013, most recently as the Executive Director of Student Development.

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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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Fred Gui

Fred
Gui

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Center for Effective Lawmaking
Garrett Hall L028

Fred Gui is a postdoctoral research associate at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy working with the Center for Effective Lawmaking. Fred's research interests include American political institutions, interest groups, state and local politics, and racial and ethnic politics.

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Lyangela Gutierrez

Lyangela
Gutierrez

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Lyangela Gutierrez is a postdoctoral research associate at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Gutierrez researches diversity, equity, and inclusion in organizations by identifying and addressing factors that impact racial and gender equity in organizations.

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george hadijski headshot

George
Hadijski

Program Associate, Center for Effective Lawmaking

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. 

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Ben Hartless

Ben
Hartless

Assistant Director of Information Technology
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.

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Andrea Henry

Andrea
Henry

Events Manager
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.

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Steve Hiss

Steve
Hiss

Director of Career Services and Alumni Engagement

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.

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marie larounis

Marie
Larounis

Lab Manager, Applied Public Policy and Leadership Experiments Lab and Social Cognition and Behavior Lab

Marie Larounis is the Lab Manager for the Applied Public Policy and Leadership Experiments Lab and the Social Cognition and Behavior Lab in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

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Dana Laurens

Dana
Laurens

Assistant Director of Career Services & Alumni Engagement
Garrett Hall L002A

Dana Laurens most recently served as National Deputy Director for Advocacy, Policy Engagement & Partnerships at Education Reform Now, a national think-tank in Washington, DC, where she lobbied federal lawmakers to advance progressive policies that maximize educational opportunities for all students. 

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