Faculty & Staff Directory

Lucy Bassett

Lucy
Bassett

Associate Professor of Practice of Public Policy; Co-Director, UVA Humanitarian Collaborative
Garrett Hall L032

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.

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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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Kirsten Gelsdorf

Kirsten
Gelsdorf

Professor of Practice of Public Policy; Director of Global Humanitarian Policy
Garrett Hall 103

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.

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David Leblang

David
Leblang

Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics and Public Policy

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 Randolph Compton Professor of Public Affairs at UVA's Miller Center. Leblang is a scholar of political economy with research interests in global migration and in the politics of financial markets.

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Jennifer Ludovici

Jennifer
Ludovici

NSPC Director of Operations and Research Initiatives

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.

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Naseemah Mohamed

Naseemah
Mohamed

Postdoctoral Research Associate, UVA Humanitarian Collaborative
Minor Hall 227D

Naseemah Mohamed is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative at the University of Virginia. Her research is focused on the relationships amongst education, media, race, global politics, and violence in decolonial movements in Southern Africa in the 20th century. 

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Claire Oto

Claire
Oto

NSPC Senior Policy Analyst

Claire Oto is a policy researcher and writer at the NSPC. She also coordinates the Center’s internship program. Prior to joining Batten, she was a communications specialist at the U.S. Department of Energy.  Claire earned an M.P.P in Space and National Security from George Washington University and holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California San Diego.

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Philip Potter

Philip
Potter

Professor of Politics and Public Policy; Founding Director of the National Security Policy Center
S183 Gibson Hall and NSPC, 134 10th St NW

Philip Potter is a professor of politics and Founding Director of the National Security Policy Center at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. He is also a University Expert with the National Ground Intelligence Center, US Army INSCOM. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Politics and the Journal of Global Security Studies and is an Associate Principal Investigator for Time-Sharing Experiments in the Social Sciences (TESS). 

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john robinson

John
Robinson

NSPC Director of Academic Programs

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.   

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Logan
Stundal

Postdoctoral Research Associate, UVA Humanitarian Collaborative

Logan Stundal is a postdoctoral research fellow at the UVA Humanitarian Collaborative at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on political violence, armed conflict, and the intersection of public health and conflict including the spread of disease in war zones.

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Gerald Warburg

Gerald
Warburg

Professor of Practice of Public Policy
Garrett Hall 102

Gerry Warburg is a professor of practice of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Prior to Batten, he worked with Congress for several decades, serving as a legislative assistant to members of leadership in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

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