MPA@UNC Faculty
Learn from faculty who work with government officials every day.
As an MPA@UNC student, you will learn from the same faculty members who teach students in the top-ranked on-campus MPA program. These experts regularly advise public officials from all levels of government and bring their practical experience to the classroom.
Profiles of the following faculty members are included below.
Whitney Afonso
Gregory Allison
allison@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Governmental accounting and financial reporting; cash management and investments; Director, Municipal and County Administration Program
Profile
Greg Allison joined the School of Government (then the Institute of Government) in 1997. Prior to that, he was assistant director for the Technical Services Center of the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. He also served as finance director for the City of Morganton, North Carolina. Allison began his governmental career as a senior accountant and auditor for Deloitte and Touche. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and serves on the board of directors of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He is author of A Preparer’s Guide to Note Disclosures and Accounting Issues and Practices: A Guide for Smaller Governments. He is co-author of Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting: Theory and Practice, 8th Edition. Allison holds a B.A. in accounting from North Carolina State University and has been licensed by the State of North Carolina as a Certified Public Accountant since 1986. He was named the Albert and Gladys Coates Term Lecturer for Teaching Excellence for 2002-2004.
David N. Ammons
ammons@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Public administration; productivity improvement in local government; performance measurement; benchmarking
Profile
David N. Ammons writes and teaches about performance measurement, benchmarking, and productivity improvement in local government. His books on local government management include Municipal Benchmarks (M.E. Sharpe, 2012), Tools for Decision Making: A Practical Guide for Local Government(CQ Press, 2009), and Leading Performance Management in Local Government (ICMA, 2008). His articles have appeared in Public Administration Review, American Review of Public Administration, Public Performance and Management Review, State and Local Government Review, Administration and Society, Review of Public Personnel Administration, and other public affairs journals. He has served on the National Performance Management Advisory Commission, the National Council of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), and the Executive Council of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). He was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2006. Ammons earned a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma.
Maureen Berner
mberner@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Public administration; program evaluation; research methods and survey methodology; applied statistics; budget preparation and enactment; citizen participation
Profile
Maureen Berner first joined UNC School of Government in 1998, teaching program evaluation, statistics and budgeting. Between 2003 and 2005, she worked at the University of Northern Iowa, where she directed efforts to provide outreach activities for local governments based on the UNC model. In 2005, she returned to the School of Government to work with MPA students and public officials. Berner has been active in research and teaching in both academia and in government, and her publications include a variety of books, textbooks and journal articles. She currently heads the North Carolina Hunger Project, which documents and evaluates the prevalence of hunger and food insecurity in the state. Previously, Berner worked for four years with the Budget Issues Group at the U.S. General Accounting Office, including a rotation to the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee while serving as a Presidential Management Intern. Berner received an MPP from Georgetown University and Ph.D. in public policy from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.
Marguerite Creel
creel@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Grant management, leadership studies and training for judicial administration, economic development strategies, public administration, municipal finance, transportation, strategic planning
Profile
Marguerite Creel joined UNC School of Government in 2005, previously serving as an adjunct instructor in the MPA program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she taught human resources management and fiscal administration. She is currently the political science coordinator for Peace College in Raleigh. Creel’s professional experience includes tenure as a court administrator, finance manager and governmental affairs coordinator. She holds a BA from Middlebury College, an MPA from the University of New Orleans and a DPA from the University of Southern California.
Leisha DeHart-Davis
ldehart@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Public management; organization development; workplace climate and culture; effective bureaucracy
Profile
Leisha DeHart-Davis joined the School of Government in 2012. Previously, she was a faculty member with the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration, where she also served as doctoral program director. DeHart-Davis’ research focuses on “green tape,” the term she uses to describe effective policies and procedures. She specializes in employee engagement and workplace climate studies within local government organizations. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory and Public Administration Review. She holds a PhD in public policy from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Margaret Henderson
margaret@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Cross-sector working relationships
Profile
Margaret Henderson joined the School of Government in 1999. As director of the Public Intersection Project, she researches and communicates strategies that strengthen cross-sector working relationships for more effective public problem-solving. In facilitation work, she specializes in the practical implications of managing cross-organizational collaborations, community programs, and nonprofit organizations. Henderson’s 20 years of experience in human services includes work in state and local governments as well as nonprofits. Previously she was executive director of the Orange County Rape Crisis Center. Her current responsibilities include teaching in the School’s MPA Program, and she has co-authored articles that were published in Popular Government, ICMA’s IQ Report and PM Magazine, American Review of Public Administration, PA Times, and the FBI Law Enforcement Journal. Henderson holds a BBA in business administration from Angelo State University and an MPA from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Willow Jacobson
jacobson@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Human resource management; organizational theory; public management
Profile
Willow Jacobson joined UNC School of Government faculty in 2003. Prior to that, she taught in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Connecticut, and worked on the Government Performance Project and the New Jersey Initiative at the Alan K. Campbell Institute at The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. She has also assisted with strategic planning for community collaboratives in California and Oregon state governments. Currently Jacobson teaches in the Master of Public Administration program, and she was integrally involved in the 2005 inaugural session of the Public Executive Leadership Academy. Her research has appeared in Public Administration Review and Public Personnel Management. Jacobson holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University.
Jonathan Q. Morgan
morgan@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Economic development; public administration; regional collaboration; workforce development
Profile
Jonathan Morgan joined the School of Government in 2003. Prior to that, he worked for Regional Technology Strategies, Inc., an economic and workforce development consulting firm located in Carrboro-Chapel Hill. He has also served as director of economic policy and research for the NC Department of Commerce, as well as research and policy director for the NC Institute of Minority Economic Development. Currently Morgan serves as course director for the annual Basic Economic Development Course. His research has appeared in the International Journal of Economic Development and Popular Government. He is a member of the NC Economic Developers Association, ACCRA–The Council for Community and Economic Research, and the International Economic Development Council. Morgan holds a BA from the University of Virginia, an MPA from Clark Atlanta University, and a PhD in public administration from North Carolina State University.
Ricardo S. Morse
rmorse@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Public administration; community and regional collaboration; citizen participation; public leadership
Profile
Rick Morse joined UNC School of Government in 2006. He was previously an assistant professor in the Public Policy and Administration Program at Iowa State University. He currently teaches and advises state and local public officials in collaborative governance, visioning and leadership. His publications include several articles and book chapters on collaboration and citizen participation. He is lead editor of two books on public leadership, Transforming Public Leadership for the 21st Century (M.E. Sharpe, 2007) and Innovations in Public Leadership Development (M.E. Sharpe, 2008). Morse holds a BA and MA in public policy from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in public administration/public affairs from Virginia Tech.
Todd Nicolet
tnicolet@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Public administration; community and regional collaboration; citizen participation; public leadership
Profile
Todd Nicolet joined the School of Government in 2007. Prior to that, he worked at the School of Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill for more than five years, most recently as acting director of Instructional and Information Systems. Nicolet also served as a consultant and senior program manager at Eduprise, where he collaborated with colleges and universities to develop online and web-enhanced distance learning programs. His responsibilities at the School of Government include managing the Information Technology, Publications, and Library divisions. Nicolet earned a BA from Eckerd College, an MA from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a PhD in higher education administration from UNC-Greensboro.
Kelley O’Brien
obrien@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Civic education, professional communication, grant proposal writing
Profile
Kelley O’Brien joined UNC School of Government in 2002 as project director for the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium’s 2003 Civic Index, the first-ever statewide study of youth and adult civic engagement. O’Brien’s experience in the education sector includes teaching English as a Second Language; managing school-to-career programs in Durham, NC; and overseeing the expansion of the consortium’s curricular resources. O’Brien teaches grant proposal writing and professional communications for the Master of Public Administration program. She has secured more than $5 million in private and public grants, and led the drafting and publication of the 2010 North Carolina Civic Health Index. Her research has been published in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Popular Government and the Kappa Delta Pi Record. O’Brien earned a BA in honors interdisciplinary studies from the University of Georgia and an MPA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
William C. Rivenbark
rivenbark@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Public administration; local government administration; budget preparation and enactment; performance measurement and benchmarking
Profile
Bill Rivenbark joined UNC School of Government in 1999. Prior to that, he worked for the city of Greenville, South Carolina, in various management positions. His research at the School of Government primarily involves performance and financial management in local government and has appeared in Public Administration Review, Government Finance Review, Journal of Government Financial Management, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Journal of Public Budgeting and more. He also is coauthor of Performance Budgeting for State and Local Government (M.E. Sharpe, 2003). He helped to develop the County and Municipal Fiscal Analysis tool, a web-based dashboard designed to help North Carolina local governments analyze their fiscal condition. He was named director of the MPA program at the School of Government in 2011. Rivenbark earned a BS from Auburn University, an MPA from Auburn University at Montgomery and a Ph.D. from Mississippi State University.
Dale J. Roenigk
roenigk@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Public administration; performance management; benchmarking; evaluation
Profile
Dale Roenigk joined the School of Government in 2005 and took over the directorship of the North Carolina benchmarking project in 2006. Prior to that, he worked for the State of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services doing program evaluation and quality monitoring for mental health services. He began his career in public service working for a policy consulting firm in Washington, DC. Earlier this year, Roenigk helped to develop the County and Municipal Fiscal Analysis tool, a web-based dashboard designed to help North Carolina local governments analyze their fiscal condition. Roenigk earned a BA from Duke University and a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Carl Stenberg
stenberg@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Intergovernmental relations; leadership education and training of public officials; local government management; public management; public administration; regionalism; strategic planning
Profile
Carl Stenberg joined UNC School of Government in 2003, previously serving as dean of Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts, University of Baltimore; director of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, University of Virginia; executive director of the Council of State Governments; and assistant director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. He is former feature editor of Public Administration Review and coauthor of America’s Future Work Force. Stenberg is a fellow and former chair of the board of directors of the National Academy of Public Administration and past president of the American Society for Public Administration. He served as director of the MPA program at the School of Government from 2006 to 2011. Stenberg holds a BA from Allegheny College, and an MPA and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Albany.
John B. Stephens
stephens@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Inter-agency and public policy dispute resolution; citizen participation; group collaboration and facilitation
Profile
John Stephens joined the School of Government in 1996. Previously, he was research director of the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management. His publications include Guidebook to Public Dispute Resolution in North Carolina and Public Management Bulletin: Using a Mediator in Public Disputes. He is co-author of Reaching for Higher Ground: Tools for Powerful Groups and Communities and School Funding Disputes: Mediate, Don’t Litigate. Stephens also teaches in the Natural Resources Leadership Institute at North Carolina State University. He is chair of the steering committee of the University Network for Collaborative Governance. Stephens earned a BA from Earlham College, a Master of Philosophy from The City University, London, and a PhD from George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.
Charles Szypszak
szypszak@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Real estate law, including registers of deeds and eminent domain; law for public administration education
Profile
Chuck Szypszak joined UNC School of Government in 2005 and teaches Law for Public Administration in the school’s graduate program in public administration. Prior to that, he was director of a general practice firm in New Hampshire, where he provided counsel and advocacy for real estate and business matters. He provides counsel to state, national and international institutions, organizations and public officials on real property registration and conveyance laws. In 2010, he was awarded the School of Government’s two-year distinguished professorship with the Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Teaching Excellence Award. He also was an adjunct professor of law at Franklin Pierce Law Center, a law clerk for Circuit Judge Hugh Bownes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. Szypszak earned a BA from the University of Southern California, an MA from San Diego State University and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.
afonso@sog.unc.edu
Areas of Expertise
Public administration; public budgeting and finance; local government finance
Profile
Whitney Afonso joined the School of Government in 2012. Previously, she taught in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia and in the Bush School of Government and Public Administration at Texas A&M University. Her research into how the choice of revenue streams by state and local governments affect government and citizen behavior has been presented at the annual conferences for the National Tax Association, the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management, the American Society for Public Administration, and the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. Afonso holds a BA in political science from Vanderbilt University, as well as an MA in economics and a PhD in public administration and policy from the University of Georgia.
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