Faculty & Staff

Ken Goldstein is a professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco and Faculty Director of the USF in DC program.

Before joining the University of San Francisco, Goldstein was a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he won the University of Wisconsin's Kellet Award for his career research accomplishments and the Chancellor's Award for excellence in teaching. Goldstein is one of the country's premier experts on the use and impact of political advertising. He has...

Seth Lynn is the Administrative Director for the Masters in Arts, Public Leadership program. He is an adjunct professor of civil-military relations public leadership. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2002, and served for six years as an active duty Marine Corps officer, during which time he deployed to Okinawa, Kuwait, and Iraq, and spent two summers studying Arabic at Middlebury College. After leaving active duty, he studied international relations and politics at Princeton...

Kelly Bare is a Lincoln, Nebraska native living in Brooklyn, New York, with her two teenage children. She is a writer and editor with a background in magazine journalism, book publishing, digital media, and strategic communications. She spent almost a decade at The New Yorker, helping the near-century-old magazine become fully digital, then left to help cover the rise of Donald Trump at Bloomberg Politics from 2014-2017. Since then she has devoted herself to teaching and interdisciplinary...

Dr. Callahan is a Professor at the University of San Francisco, with a joint appointment from the USF School of Management and the USF School of Nursing and Health Professions.

Callahan is Co-Director of the USF Master of Public Health Program in Sacramento and the Director of the Health Services Administration concentration in the Master of Public Administration in the School of Management. His health and human services consulting contracts have been in the states of California, Washington...

Nancy Bocskor is a nationally and internationally renowned speaker and expert on applied democracy. She has been a fundraiser for more than 100 Members of Congress and candidates, and has trained activists and leaders in all 50 states and more than 20 countries.

She is the author of the book Go Fish: How to Catch (and Keep) Contributors, a practical evidenced-based guide on how to ask for money, organize finance committees, and host profitable events for a successful political campaign.

De...

Alex Cornell du Houx served on the Energy Utilities and Technology and Legal and Veterans Affairs committees, sponsoring 14 successful pieces of legislation and co-sponsoring 98 successful bills. He won the REED award for the best national Public Affairs Campaign for his work co-founding Operation Free, a coalition of lawmakers and veterans promoting energy security. Cornell du Houx participated in and led State Department delegations to Southeast Asia to foster government-to-government...

For nearly two decades, Brett Di Resta has been a part of some of the biggest wins for Democratic campaigns. Whether it is Chuck Schumer in 1998, Jennifer Granholm in 2002 and 2006, or Delaware’s John Carney in 2010, Mr. Di Resta has been providing winning research and strategy, regardless of the time or circumstance.

Before founding the Maccabee Group in 1999, Di Resta was involved in research and communications work for over seven years. He got his start as Deputy Research Director for Tom...

Kate Kranz Jordan served for 12 years as an active duty Naval Flight Officer. She spent her Navy career flying in the E-2C Hawkeye with the VAW-113 Black Eagles and the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, working as a member of the Commandant’s staff at the US Naval Academy, serving on the NATO Rule of Law Field Support Mission in Afghanistan, and acting as a Special Assistant to the Commander of US Naval Forces Europe/Africa/NATO Joint Force Command, Naples, Italy.
 
A 2002 graduate of...

Larissa Martinez is Founder and President of Women’s Public Leadership Network (WPLN). In this role, she uses her two decades of experience as a political strategist to help women across the country get involved in politics and be effective leaders. Larissa has worked on campaigns at every level, mainly for women candidates and she is the co-author of a children’s book, “My Mommy Is a Candidate.”

A political entrepreneur, Larissa also founded WPLN Action, Catalyst PAC, the Lion Leadership...

Tia McMillen is a senior communications planner and public affairs liaison at the Defense Health Agency (DHA). Tia Nichole is also a Navy Reserve public affairs officer (PAO) currently assigned to Navy Public Affairs Support Element Headquarters.

Outside of the office, she is a professor of business and communication courses at Tidewater Community College; she serves as a curriculum designer and facilitator in the graduate public leadership program at University of San Francisco; and is a...

Mark brings more than two decades of experience advising Fortune 100 clients, elected officials, trade associations and high profile individuals navigate a myriad of communications challenges in the global marketplace, especially developing compelling messaging, coalition building, advocacy and grass-top organizing to positively influence public opinion.

Over the years Mark has worked with many high-profile clients in engaging with major news organizations such as USA Today, The Washington...

Mike Moschella is a national leader in campaign data analytics. He is currently the vice president of innovation and director of analytics at media consulting firm DKC. Campaigns & Elections recently named him one of the top 50 campaign influencers in the country.

Mike was previously vice president of organizing at NationBuilder, where he led a team of fifty digital organizers and built engaged communities for brands, nonprofits, governments, and political parties all over the world...

The Honorable Patrick J. Murphy was presidentially appointed and Senate confirmed as the 32nd Under Secretary of the Army in December 2015, and served until January 2017. He led the management and operation for the Army — the Nation’s second largest employer, with a budget of $148 billion — a Fortune 10-sized organization. He focused on dynamic and efficient business operations, transforming the Army to be more innovative and responsive. He expanded the Soldier for Life initiative saving $340M...

Jalina Porter is a humanitarian, entrepreneur, and trusted political advisor. She began her career in service as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in rural Cambodia. Throughout Jalina’s career, she has advised and trained several Members of Congress, U.S. diplomats, Corporate CEO’s, and local elected officials nationwide. In 2021, Jalina was sworn in as Principal Deputy Spokesperson at the United States Department of State. As a sought after media and foreign policy expert, Jalina has...

Jeremy Teigen is Professor of Political Science at Ramapo College in the School of Humanities and Global Studies. He writes about political behavior, elections, public opinion, and American politics and specializes in the politics of military service and veterans as well as the politics of place.

Doug Usher is a Partner at Forbes Tate Partners. He spent the last two decades building insights that have helped change the strategic trajectory of major corporations, industry associations, and political campaigns. He’s spent years navigating the intersection between business goals and the political, policy, and regulatory spheres, Doug has helped build winning strategies and campaigns for clients across a broad range of industries, with a particular focus on the pharmaceutical and energy...

Mike Wittenwyler is an administrative and regulatory attorney, and the lead attorney Godfrey & Kahn, LLC’s Political Law Group. Mike works with clients each day on campaign finance, election law, ethics and lobbying regulation, and the tax regulation of political and lobbying activities. He performs legislative planning, analysis and drafting for business and industry groups. He often participates in litigation on these matters on behalf of coalitions of individuals, businesses and trade...

Steven Billet is an accomplished global policy advocate and a successful academic leader. At George Washington University’s Grad School of Political Management (GSPM), he directed the MA in Legislative Affairs while creating and managing an innovative graduate program for US Army Congressional Fellows. He conceived and ran a graduate certificate program in PAC management. He has taught classes for the University of Notre Dame’s Washington Semester Program for twenty years.

From 1983 to 2002...