About APPAM

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Officers and Staff

On this page you will find our APPAM Leadership, APPAM Staff and the APPAM Leadership Blog below.

President

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Christopher (Kitt) Carpenter, Vanderbilt University, serves through 2023

 

 

President-Elect

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Don Moynihan, Georgetown University, serves through 2023

 

 

Immediate Past-President

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John Martinez, MDRC, serves through 2023

 

 

Vice Presidents

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Rucker Johnson, University of California, Berkeley, serves through 2023

 
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Marci Ybarra, University of Wisconsin, Madison, serves through 2024

 

Treasurer

Liana_Fox Liana Fox, Census Bureau, serves through 2024

 

Secretary

Bradley_Hardy_profilepic_(1) Bradley Hardy, Georgetown University, serves through 2023
 

 

Chair, Committee of Institutional Representatives

2023-01-12_Mark_Long_005_cropped Mark Long, University of California, Riverside, serves through April 2025

 

JPAM Editor

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Erdal Tekin, American University

 

Past Presidents

The Journal of Policy Analysis & Management (JPAM) has published the APPAM Presidential address since 1988. Each president's remarks have been printed in the year following their term. You can read the entire JPAM issue online through the link provided. (Please note that the 1995 remarks were those of Past President Donald Stokes, who presided as APPAM President from 1984-1985.)

APPAM Staff

Executive Director

Tara Sheehan has served as the Executive Director of the Association since 2010. In this role, she is the Chief Operating Officer and oversees all programs, services and the strategic direction for APPAM. Her responsibilities include oversight of all meetings and conferences, including the annual Fall Research Conference, attended by more than 1,750 academics, practitioners, researchers, and students who present original research at 250-plus sessions each November. She also manages APPAM’s finances, website, publications, awards, member services and all governance functions for the 2,000 member organization. During her tenure, APPAM underwent its first ever strategic planning process, redesigned the website, established a social media presence, redesigned the logo, reduced the size of the governing board, increased the budget of the organization by 20%, increased its membership and made the organization more responsive to member needs.

Previously, Ms. Sheehan was the Director of Membership and Marketing at the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). Her responsibilities included management of the annual conference, creation of content for the website, and management of a monthly magazine. Prior to RTDNA, Ms. Sheehan was the Membership and Marketing Director for the United Motorcoach Association (UMA), a trade association in Alexandria, VA. She has served as the number two staff position at both RTDNA and UMA and has a long history of association and non-profit management experience in the Washington, DC area.

Ms. Sheehan earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Politics from New York University. She received a Master of Public Policy degree, with a concentration in Transportation Policy, from George Mason University.

Deputy Executive Director

Samantha Oliver Thomason serves as the Deputy Executive Director for APPAM. In this role, she oversees all event, membership, and administration activities of the association. She works closely with APPAM leadership to ensure that the organization remains on the forefront of innovation within the public policy field.

Samantha earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from East Carolina University and moved back to the DC area after graduation. She planned & executed over 300 events during her time as an event manager in Tysons, VA. These events ranged from large-scale galas to small-scale meetings and everything in-between.

Senior Manager, Programs and Conferences

Leslie Ofori joined APPAM in July 2017 and serves as the Meetings and Conferences Senior Manager. She is responsible for coordinating the logistics and providing support for all APPAM conferences and meetings. She helps ensure that all events achieve APPAM’s goals and objectives. She also oversees APPAM's Equity and Inclusion Fellowship Program. Previously, she as part of APPAM’s partnership with the American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon), she was responsible for coordinating ASHEcon’s Annual Conference, managing the awards submissions process, coordinating membership and marketing efforts. She also served as the Managing Editor of the American Journal of Health Economics.

Prior to APPAM, Leslie worked as the Development Assistant at Jobs With Justice, where she provided administrative support to the Development office and participated in all institutional advancement activities including donor and public relations, direct mail appeals, and special events coordination. Leslie moved to the District of Columbia after graduating from Loyola University in Maryland with a degree in communications. Prior to Jobs With Justice, she worked as a contractor with the Corporation for National and Community Service, the nation’s largest grantmaker, supporting grant application processing. She has also worked on campaigns to raise awareness about the impact of oil drilling in the Amazon, help immigrants navigate the judicial system and address the high school dropout crisis. 

Communications Manager

 

Program and Conference Manager

April Davis joined APPAM in Spring 2019 as the Program and Conference Manager for APPAM’s recent partnership with the National Tax Association (NTA). She is responsible for coordinating NTA’s membership and managing the conference submissions for the NTA’s Spring Symposium and Annual Conference.

April previously worked as the Preconception Peer Educator (PPE) Coordinator for the Office of Minority Health Resource Center where she was responsible for overseeing the organization’s peer educator program for college students. Prior to that role, April was employed with TM FOURM, a non-profit member organization, as the Speaker Manager where she managed the speakers for the organization’s domestic and international conferences.

April holds a Bachelor’s degree in U.S. History from the College of Charleston, a Master of Arts degree in Education from The Citadel, and a Master of Public Health from The George Washington University.

Program and Conference Manager

Michelle Avaroma joined APPAM in October 2022 as the Program and Conference Manager for the American Society of Health Economist (ASHEcon). She supports the ASHEcon membership and is responsible for coordinating the ASHEcon Annual Conference.

Michelle previously worked as the Director of PeaceJam Mid-Atlantic, a regional affiliate of PeaceJam, an international education program that connects youth with Nobel Peace Prize winners. In her role she was responsible for coordinating the annual conference featuring a Nobel Laureate. Prior to her role with PeaceJam, she served as the Communications Coordinator for the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, a statewide non-profit member organization supporting youth and families in crisis. Michelle earned her Bachelor’s in History & International Affairs and received a Master in Public Administration, specializing in non profit management, from Florida State University.

Program Services Manager

Beth Weems joined APPAM in July 2023 as the Program Services Manager where she primarily oversees the membership database, registration for APPAM conferences and customer support. She also handles all administrative, financial, and general support tasks for both APPAM and the National Tax Association.

Before her time at APPAM, Beth worked in a Program Director role at PetMedia, Inc. for 16 years where she was responsible for developing, managing and leading a Breeder Liaison team connecting healthy puppies to loving homes. Before her tenure at PetMedia, Beth worked as a Legal Assistant at a Labor & Employment law firm. At the firm, Beth supported partners by assisting with various legal tasks including research and documentation. Beth’s diverse experience in both the corporate and legal sectors have equipped her with valuable skills in team management, program development, and customer relations.

APPAM Leadership Blog Series

In this series, our Executive Director, President, President-Elect and other officers provide APPAM members with a behind-the-scenes look at how APPAM operates and how you can be more involved. Here our authors introduce new initiatives, discuss current policy topics and share resources they value. 

Want to have a conversation? Follow @APPAM_DC and #APPAMLeaders on Twitter!

Latest Blog post: 

October 2019
Tips for Becoming a Leader in the Field of Program and Policy Evaluation
By Stephen Bell, APPAM Policy Council Member

May 2019
Techniques for Conducting Research More Efficiently
By Sanya Carley, APPAM Treasurer

July 2019
How (Many) Journals Work: A Far From Incomplete Guide for Public Policy/Economic Scholars
By: Christopher (Kitt) Carpenter, APPAM Vice-President

March 2019
Demystifying the Fall Research Conference Selection Process
By Tristanne Staudt, APPAM Deputy Executive Director

April 2019
Nothing About Us Without Us: Bringing Diverse Perspectives to Public Policy Research
By John Martinez, APPAM Vice-President 

January 2019
What We've Learned from the AEA Controversy
By Tara Sheehan, APPAM Executive Director

February 2019
The Next Generation of APPAM
By Matt Stagner, APPAM President

September 2018
What is the Role Advocacy Should Play in APPAM’s Activities?
By Tara Sheehan, APPAM Executive Director
October 2018
Our Conference Theme Emphasizes the Need to Use Research and Evidence at Every Stage of the Policy Process
By Matt Stagner, APPAM President-Elect
July 2018
Greetings from JPAM's New Editor
By Erdal Tekin, JPAM Editor-in-Chief
August 2018
APPAM is the Natural Place to Encourage New Scholars in our Field
By Michael Shires, APPAM Secretary

May 2018
Leaning On and Learning From Our Sister Associations
By Christopher (Kitt) Carpenter, APPAM Vice President

June 2018
Government Data is a National Treasure
By David Johnson, APPAM President

March 2018
There is No Place Like Home... and Dorothy's Ruby Slippers
By Matt Stagner, APPAM President-Elect

April 2018

We cover a lot of important policy topics at APPAM—this one on the opioid crisis is particularly meaningful
By Tara Sheehan, APPAM Executive Director

January 2018
Inclusion is Hard and We Must Do Better
By Tara Sheehan, APPAM Executive Director

February 2018
Welcome to the Exchange of Ideas 
By David Johnson, APPAM President

 

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