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ALYSON HENDRICKS-BENTON 
PhD, Expected 2025

Curriculum Vitae

Fields of Study:
Judicial Politics, Constitutional Law, Digital Politics, Gender and Race

Dissertation Committee:
Susan Haire (co-chair), Teena Wilhelm (co-chair), Richard Vining, Laura Moyer

Dissertation Title:
You’re a Woman, So What? The Impact and Influence of Gender on State High Courts

Alyson Hendricks-Benton is a PhD candidate studying political science with a focus on law and courts. Additional areas of study include the impact of race and gender on political processes, the influence of media, and Constitutional law. She has been Instructor of Record for classes such as Gender, Law, and Politics, Criminal Procedure, and Introduction to American Government. Her dissertation focuses on gender in state high courts, examining if female justices exert influence over case outcomes, legal reasoning and prose, and case salience after publication. Some of her publications include “Case Salience in the State Supreme Courts: A Research Update” with Teena Wilhelm and Rich Vining and “Gender and Racial Influences on Decisionmaking” with Susan Haire and Vanisha Kudumuri. She believes collaborative work is one of the greatest things about the diverse pool of knowledge political science has to offer and welcomes working with colleagues and undergraduate students. This is a passion she followed through the UGA at Oxford Program, where she served as a graduate assistant in Spring 2022 and Spring 2023. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys reading, spending time with her husband and dogs, and traveling the world with her family.

SOLBI KIM

PhD, Expected Spring 2025

Curriculum Vitae

Fields of Study:
Political Behavior, Public Opinion, Political Trust, Party Polarization

Dissertation Committee:
Shane Singh (major professor), Markus M.L. Crepaz, Alexa Bankert

Dissertation Title:
From Trust to Action: Examining the Dynamics Between Trust and Political Behavior in Democracies
I am currently the Instructor of Record for INTL 4305: Comparative Public Opinion and Participation, having previously worked as a Teaching Assistant for POLS 1101: Introduction to American Government and INTL 3300: Introduction to Comparative Politics. My approach to teaching focuses on promoting critical thinking and active participation through comparative analysis and real-world applications. I want to foster an inclusive teaching climate that values varied perspectives and analytical skills.

My dissertation explores the complex relationship between political trust and political activity. It offers a new viewpoint on how political trust affects voter turnout in low-income democracies and party polarization. In addition, my research program includes a survey experiment aiming to study the direct relationship between political trust and party polarization. With this research, I hope to contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics that promote political engagement and democratic stability.

When I’m not in class, I enjoy traveling, playing tennis, reading mystery novels, and watching true crime documentaries.

KARSON PENNINGTON RAY 
PhD, Expected 2025

Curriculum Vitae

Fields of Study:
Judicial Politics, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice Administration

Dissertation Committee:
Teena Wilhelm (major professor), Christina L. Boyd, Susan Haire, Harrison Frye

Dissertation Title:
Access to Justice: Technology in the Criminal Courtroom

Karson Pennington Ray is a Ph.D. candidate studying Political Science at the University of Georgia. Karson is interested in judicial politics, constitutional law, and criminal justice studies. At the University of Georgia, Karson has served as an instructor of record since 2023 for POLS 4760: Supreme Court Politics, POLS 1101: Introduction to American Government, POLS 4780: Special Topics in Law (Judicial Politics), and POLS 3600: Criminal Justice Administration. In May of 2023, Karson had the opportunity to travel to Italy to teach on a study abroad program, SPIA a Firenze. Currently, she is working on her dissertation, which explores technology usage in the federal district courts before, during, and after COVID-19, specifically in criminal cases. Karson’s dissertation will also include a chapter on legal adversarialism, which posits that technology is a legal resource which offers advantages to some, as well as a chapter on teaching simulations in the political science classroom.

Throughout her academic career, Karson has worked part-time at a nonprofit organization, Reach Out and Read Georgia, that provides literacy resources to pediatric offices across the state. Her passion for education and early literacy skills works in tandem with her interests in increasing civic engagement. In 2021, Karson represented the University of Georgia as Miss UGA at the Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition. After becoming Miss Georgia 2021, she competed at the 100th Miss America Competition while advocating for equal education for all. Karson grew up in Augusta, Georgia and currently resides in Norcross, Georgia. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and hanging out with her husband and three cats.

SU YOUNG CHOI 
PhD, Expected 2023

Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website

Fields of Study:
Nonprofit Management, Nonprofit Finance, Collaboration, and Civic Engagement (Volunteerism)

Dissertation Committee:
Rebecca Nesbit (major professor), Katherine Willoughby, Michelle Lofton

Dissertation Title:
Nonprofit Resources: Revenues, Relationships, and Volunteers 

Su Young Choi is a Ph.D. student studying Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia. Su Young is interested in public and nonprofit management, focusing on nonprofit financial management, volunteering, and cross-sectoral collaboration. Her dissertation examines the extent to which nonprofit revenue diversification mitigated nonprofits’ revenue volatility during the 2008 Great Recession, finding that revenue diversification did not effectively lower revenue volatility in times of crisis (in comparison to pre-crisis levels). Currently, she is working on a book that explores how public and nonprofit organizations manage volunteers, particularly court-ordered community service workers including relevant processes, management challenges, CSW experiences, and barriers to completing their service. Her other research has been published or is under review in VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

Prior to her academic career, she worked for 12 years in various international public and nonprofit organizations. Her relevant professional background, paired with her academic training, allows her to connect social science theory with salient and pressing social public issues in practice.

At the University of Georgia, Su Young has served as an instructor of record since 2021. She currently teaches a course, PADP 4640: Introduction to Nonprofit Administration.

Kyoung-cheol (Casey) Kim
PhD, Expected May 2024

Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website

Fields of Study:
Public Administration, Public Management, and Artificial Intelligence

Dissertation Committee:
Andrew Whitford (Chair), Katherine Willoughby, and Jason Anastasopoulos (Specialization: AI and Governance)

Dissertation Title:
Essays on Technology, Innovation, and Government

I am Kyoung-cheol (Casey) Kim, currently pursuing my doctoral studies in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia. My research interests include bureaucracy, motivation, and institutional analysis, with a specific focus on investigating how the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) systems into governance can transform the functioning of humans, organizations, and society.

My published works have appeared in Perspectives on Public Management and Governance (including one that received the Camilla Stivers Best Article Award by PMRA), Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, Data & Policy, and the Oxford Handbook of AI Governance, among others.

I have taught POLS1101 American Government (undergraduate-level) discussion sections for three years (2020-present), and I have consistently received excellent student evaluations. In addition, I have conducted “AI and Government” classes for Korean government officials several times as part of their career development training (MPA-level) at the University of Georgia.

Prior to embarking on my academic journey, I worked in several governmental organizations in Seoul, Korea, including the Ministry of National Defense as a secretary staff for a Marine Corps Major General, and the Seoul Institute as a researcher—a think tank for the metropolitan city. These experiences inspired me to delve more profoundly into the workings of public administrative organizations which are critical to the vibrancy, health and safety of individuals and communities.

Colt Jensen
PhD, Expected Summer 2024

Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website

Fields of Study:
State and Local Government, Rural Local Governance, Public Management, Public Personnel, Public Sector Labor Unions

Dissertation Committee:
Eric Zeemering (Chair), Katherine Willoughby, Emily Bell

Dissertation Title:
Rurality in Public Administration: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Implications for Organizational Capacity and Network Structure

Colt Jensen is a Ph.D. candidate in the Public Administration and Policy program at the University of Georgia. He specializes in local government management, public personnel administration, and network governance. His current research focuses on the evolving influence of government labor unions on public personnel outcomes, rural local governance, and the role of public values in decision-making processes. He is working to complete his dissertation by summer 2024.

Colt’s recently published work can be read in the American Review of Public Administration.

Ju Won Park 
PhD, Expected May 2024

Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website

Fields of Study:
Public Management, Organizational Behavior, and Public Personnel Management

Dissertation Committee:
Bradley Wright (Chair), Hal Rainey, Edward Kellough

Dissertation Title:
Telework: A Double-Edged Sword for Gender Equality?

My name is Juwon Park. I am a doctoral candidate in Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia (UGA) and expect to graduate in May 2024. My research and teaching interest focuses on public management, organizational behavior, and public personnel management.

My research agenda encompasses two areas of interest. The first area focuses on exploring managerial strategies that can make telework more effective in promoting positive job attitudes and intra-organizational equity. The second centers on how leaders can create a more ethical work environment within the public sector. As a result of the potential contributions of this research, I was selected as a 2023 NASPAA “Staats Emerging Scholar Award”. My work has been published in the International Public Management Journal (IPMJ), and I was recently appointed to the IPMJ editorial board.

To complement my research background, I have taught my own discussion sections of Introduction to American Government (POLS 1101), as well as my own course, Introduction to Public Administration (PADP 3000), to UGA undergraduate students with diverse backgrounds. My course evaluations are consistently high, and I won the UGA’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in 2023.

Alongside my research training and teaching experience, I worked as a junior human resource consultant at a Mercer consulting firm and experienced real-world aspects of management. My relevant professional background allows me to identify important research questions and bring real-world examples to future government bureaucrats in the classroom.

Melanie Waddell 
PhD, Expected May 2024

Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website

Fields of Study:
Public Finance, Disasters, Emergency Management, Public Policy

Dissertation Committee:
Katherine Willoughby (chair), David Bradford, and Felipe Lozano Rojas

Dissertation Title:
How do States Budget for the Worst?

My name is Melanie Waddell and I am a doctoral candidate in Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia. I expect to graduate in May 2024. I study governments’ efforts to plan for, understand, and respond to natural weather-related disasters, crises, and emergencies, primarily through a public finance and public policy lens.

My current work focuses on states as important managers in emergency management networks, local and state policy planning for severe disasters, and how budgeting decisions for disasters are tied to financial outcomes for states. My solo-authored paper, “Repeat Audit Findings: How FEMA Responds to Feedback”, is currently under review at the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. It focuses on questions of recurring problems experienced by local governments impacted by disasters and how FEMA handles that feedback, with findings showing that feedback is not utilized consistently, and that there are regional variations in addressing these recurring problems.

I have taught well-received sections of Introduction to American Government as a Teaching Assistant. I have also taught two courses, Introduction to Public Administration and Public Administration and Budgeting, as an Instructor of Record. My course evaluations are consistently high, and I won the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in February 2022.

Prior to my time at UGA, I received my Master’s from Northeastern University in Political Science, I worked at the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations in Washington D.C., and I worked as a paralegal at a law firm specializing in corporate nursing home negligence.