NCPSA EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, 2023-24

NCPSA President: Dr. Aaron S. King (kinga@uncw.edu) is an Associate Professor of political science in the Department of Public & International Affairs at UNC Wilmington, where he also serves as the Interim Associate Director of the Honors College. He teaches classes on American political institutions and research methods. His current research focuses on public-facing political science and strives to understand how academics can more effectively use their knowledge to benefit the public. He first joined the NCPSA Board as an At-Large member in 2012 and has subsequently served in several officer positions. In the spring of 2023, he co-hosted a joint meeting of the NCPSA and the NCPAA (North Carolina Political Science Association) at UNCW.
President Elect: Dr. Christopher A. Cooper (ccooper@email.wcu.edu) is Madison Distinguished Professor and Director of the Public Policy Institute in the Department of Political Science at Western Carolina University. He teaches and researches about American politics with a particular focus on state and local politics, southern politics, North Carolina politics, and elections. In addition to his academic work, Cooper is a frequent source for journalists seeking insight about his areas of interest. He first joined the NCPSA board as an at-large member and previously served as the Vice President. He will be hosting the joint meeting of the NPSAA and NCPAA (North Carolina Public Administration Alliance) in Spring, 2024.
Vice President: Dr. David McLennan (dbmclennan@meredith.edu) is a Professor of political science at Meredith College. He teaches course in American institutions, campaigns and elections, public opinion, and women in politics. At Meredith, he directs the Meredith Poll and authors the Status of Women in North Carolina Politics. His current research focuses on two areas: 1. comparing affective and ideological political polarization and 2. examining pathways to women in appointed offices. A member of NCPSA since 2014, he has served as an at-large member of the Executive Committee since 2019 and is looking forward to hosting the annual conference in Raleigh in 2025.
Secretary: Dr. Giovanny D. Pleites-Hernandez (gpleites@unca.edu) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of North Carolina Asheville. His teaching and research explore minority group political behavior and public opinion, legislative behavior and communication in Congress, and political representation in American politics. He joined the NCPSA and the board as secretary in 2022 at the NCPSA-SCPSA joint meeting.
Treasurer: Dr. Whitney Ross Manzo (wrmanzo@meredith.edu) is an Associate Professor of political science at Meredith College, where she also serves as the Pre-Law Adviser and Assistant Director of the Meredith Poll. She teaches classes in American politics, law, and research methods. Her research interests include gender and politics, North Carolina politics, and higher education pedagogy. Since joining the NCPSA board as Vice President in 2015, she has served in several officer positions, including hosting the 2018 annual meeting at Meredith College.
(Immediate) Past President: Dr. John Holder (holderj@winthrop.edu) retired in May 2023 after more than 20 years on the faculty of Winthrop University in his hometown of Rock Hill, S.C. He has served two non-consecutive terms on the NCPSA board, and has also served on the board of the South Carolina Political Science Association. In 2017 and 2022, he served as organizer and host of the first two joint meetings of the associations. He has a Ph.D. in Public Policy from UNC Charlotte, where he wrote his dissertation on the effects of a series of election reforms in North Carolina which were repealed three days after his defense.
At-large Member: Dr. Nadine Gibson (gibsonn@uncw.edu) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at UNC Wilmington. She teaches courses in American political behavior and research methods. Her research interests include election administration, political participation, public opinion, and North Carolina politics.
At-large Member: Dr. Tess Wise (wiset@wfu.edu) is an Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She teaches classes on American government and politics, including Introduction to American Government, Race in America, and Politics of Consumer Finance. Her research is in the field of American political economy, in particular, consumer bankruptcy and the racial political economy of business and finance. She also loves working with student research assistants on a variety of topics and is excited to be serving in her first year as an At-Large member of the NCPSA Board.
At-large Member: Dr. Rob Shrode (rshrode@unca.edu) is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at UNC Asheville. Rob has served multiple years on the NCPSA Board, and he currently chairs the committee for NCPSA's "Fidelity Investments Best Graduate Student Paper" award.