Editors

Melody C. Barnes

Co-Director for Policy and Public Affairs, Democracy Initiative, Dorothy Danforth Compton Professor of Practice, Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia

A presidential advisor and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council during President Barack Obama’s administration, Melody C. Barnes serves as co-director for policy and public affairs for the Democracy Initiative. Barnes brings more than 25 years of experience working at the highest levels of government crafting public policy on a wide range of domestic issues. Barnes also holds appointments as the Dorothy Danforth Compton professor of practice at the Miller Center of Public Affairs and as a distinguished fellow at the School of Law.

Corey D. B. Walker

Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities, Wake Forest University 

Corey D. B. Walker is an engaged scholar who critically examines the complexities of religion, culture, politics and public life. He is the author of A Noble Fight: African American Freemasonry and the Struggle for Democracy in America, editor of the “Theology and Democratic Futures” special issue of the journal Political Theology, and associate editor of the award-winning SAGE Encyclopedia of Identity. He co-directed and co-produced the documentary film Fifeville with acclaimed artist and filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson. He has held faculty and academic leadership positions at Brown University, University of Virginia, Virginia Union University, and Winston-Salem State University and visiting faculty appointments at Friedrich-Schiller Universität Jena, Union Presbyterian Seminary, and University of Richmond.

Thad Williamson

Associate Professor of Leadership Studies and Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law, University of Richmond

Thad Williamson is a sought-after professor and civic activist. His research focuses on the intersection of theories of social justice and public policy, particularly as applied to urban politics and economic policy. A recognized community leader on poverty reduction efforts in Richmond, Williamson has served as lead author of the Mayor’s Anti-Poverty Commission Report, the first director of the City of Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building, and as a senior policy advisor in the Mayor’s Office. He is the author of Sprawl, Justice and Citizenship: The Civic Costs of the American Way of Life; co-author of Making a Place for Community: Local Democracy in a Global Era; and co-editor of Property-Owning Democracy: Rawls and Beyond.

List of Contributors

Lawrie Balfour is Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and author of several books on race and American democracy, including Democracy’s Reconstruction: Thinking Politically with W.E.B. DuBois.

Melody C. Barnes is Co-Director of the Democracy Initiative at the University of Virginia, as well as a professor of practice at the university’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. Her extensive career in public service includes serving as Assistant to the President and director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first term of President Barack Obama.

Risha R. Berry is Assistant Professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education. She previously served as Project Management Analyst for the Office of Community Wealth Building and Acting Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Human Services for the City of Richmond.

Richard Dagger is E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Chair in the Liberal Arts and Professor and Chair of Political Science, University of Richmond. He is author of Civic Virtues: Rights, Citizenship and Republican Liberalism and Playing Fair: Political Obligations and the Problem of Punishment.

Meghan Gough is Associate Professor and Chair of the Urban and Regional Studies and Planning Program at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University. She is author of Public Gardens and Community Revitalization: Partnerships for Positive Social Change.

Julian M. Hayter is Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. He is author of The Dream is Lost: Voting Rights and the Politics of Race in Richmond, Virginia.

Margaret Kohn is Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. She is author of Brave New Neighborhoods: The Privatization of Public Space and The Death and Life of the Urban Commonwealth.

Jason S. Maloy is Professor and Kaliste Saloom Endowed Chair in Political Science at University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He is author of The Colonial Origins of Modern Democratic Thought and Smarter Ballots: Electoral Realism and Reform.

Ravi K. Perry is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science, Howard University. He is the author of The Little Rock Crisis: What Desegregation Politics Says About Us and Black Mayors, White Majorities: The Balancing Act of Racial Politics.

Kenneth P. Ruscio is Senior Distinguished Lecturer in Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond, and former President of Washington & Lee University. He is author of The Leadership Dilemma in Modern Democracy.

Isabel Sawhill is Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. She is the author of, most recently, The Forgotten Americans: An Economic Agenda for a Divided Nation. She served as an Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton.

Corey D.B. Walker is Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities at Wake Forest University. He is the author of The Noble Fight: African-American Freemasonry and the Struggle for Democracy in America.

Thad Williamson is Associate Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. He is author of Sprawl, Justice and Citizenship: The Civic Costs of the American Way of Life and co-author of Making a Place for Community: Local Democracy in a Global Era. He served as the first Director of the Office of Community Wealth Building for the City of Richmond.

Nicholas J.G. Winter is Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia. He is author of Dangerous Frames: How Ideas About Race and Gender Shape Public Opinion.

Barbara Brown Wilson is Assistant Professor of Urban & Environmental Planning at the University of Virginia.  She is the author of Resilience for All: Striving for Equity through Community-Driven Design.