Dr. Mark D. Bardini is an international development professional and Monitoring, Evaluation, & Learning (MEL) expert. He has successfully started up MEL practice areas and led strategic growth initiatives at four private sector organizations, including three small businesses that have grown exponentially as multimillion-dollar companies. Currently, he is an Associate Director at Guidehouse—the former Public Sector Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers. At Guidehouse, he is leading an evaluation services contract for the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and the development of new business strategies.
As Khulisa Management Service’s Senior Vice President for M&E and U.S. Operations, he oversaw the management of the company’s international development portfolio of U.S. donors and also served as a Senior Advisor for MEL, while securing over $30 million in new business. He has more than 24 years of experience in the field working in over 72 developing countries on various sectors including education, private sector development, banking and finance, agriculture, democracy and governance, health, global security, counterterrorism, and economic growth.
Dr. Bardini is skilled in designing and implementing performance-based and results-based monitoring and measurement systems for government agencies and the private sector and has extensive experience in designing and implementing experimental and quasi-experimental impact evaluations. He has held senior level positions at the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (U.S. Government), in private sector consulting, and was also an external advisor to the Evaluation Department of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Dr. Bardini also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and provides guest lectures for the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Global Studies Program at the University of Virginia, where he received his Ph.D. degree.
Judy stands out for her expert training skills, ability to present complex information clearly, and expertise in technology. As a CPA, MBA, Microsoft Certified Trainer, and President of SCG Training and Consulting Corporation, Judy has presented more than 1,900 technology programs over 25 years with consistently high ratings. Judy is known for providing custom technology training solutions, and consulting and programming services to help organizations attain core competencies in technology skills and achieve financial reporting goals.
Prior to establishing SCG, Judy worked for KPMG with a focus on management information systems and in non-profit CFO positions. She also worked with a national training company under contract with IBM and AT&T, where she developed, managed, and presented technology training programs to Fortune 500 companies. She is a regular conference speaker for the Maryland Association of CPAs, Virginia Society of CPAs and the Greater Washington Society of CPAs. Judy currently serves on the GWSCPA Nonprofit Financial Accountability Task Force which offers information and resources to nonprofit organizations through its nationally recognized website.
Judy’s clients have included Fortune 500 companies in accounting, financial services, government contracting, government, and non-profit/education. Her clients have included auditors and other accounting professionals, engineers, marketing, sales, human resources, training, organization development, information technology, finance, financial research, and scientific research. She has provided contract services in technology training and consulting to public and private organizations.
She is a graduate of Cornell University with both B.A. and M.B.A. degrees. She also obtained the Microsoft Certified Professional and Microsoft Certified Trainer designations as well as certifications from the AICPA including Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) and Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
Margarita (Magui) Cardona has spent the majority of her professional career in research administration, occupying positions at both government and academia. She is the Director of Sponsored Research and Faculty Development at the University of Baltimore. Prior to UB, she worked as Grants Manager and as a Senior Grants and Contracts Manager in the Office of Sponsored Programs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She also held two contractual positions at the National Air and Space Administration (NASA). At NASA Headquarters she worked as a Space Grant Administrative Fellow in the Office of Education, managing 52 grants and 20 cooperative agreements for NASA. She also worked at Goddard Space Flight Center as a Louis Stokes Administrative Fellow in the Minority University Programs Office, providing technical assistance to minority serving institutions in how to obtain NASA funding.
Before NASA, she worked at the University of Puerto Rico as a Program Coordinator for the Puerto Rico Space Grant and EPSCoR programs.
Magui is an active member of the National Council of University Research Administration (NCURA) Region II since 2006. She joined the Program Development Committee for the regional meetings in 2009, where she has often co-presented concurrent sessions and participated as workshop faculty. She is also a graduate of the 2010 class of the NCURA Leadership Development Institute and serves as Region II Secretary (2012-2013).
She holds a BS in Chemistry from the Univ. of Puerto Rico (1994) and two MS degrees in Chemistry (Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1996) and Materials Science (Univ. of Wisconsin at Madison, 1998). She also holds post baccalaureate certificates in Grants Management (Management Concepts, Inc.) and Legislative Studies (Georgetown Univ.), and a Masters certificate in Government Contracting (George Washington Univ.). Magui is a Certified Research Administrator by the National Council of Research Administrators (Cert. No. 200310387, Exp. June 30, 2013), and she is currently pursuing a doctorate in Public Policy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Her research interests include family-friendly policies, faculty professional development, academic freedom and the operation of Institutional Review Boards.
Carlye Christianson is an attorney licensed in the District of Columbia and California. As a consultant and advisor through The Christianson Company, she has concentrated her activities in the nonprofit sector, focusing on governance, management, operations, financial management, strategic planning and implementation, business development and program development/management.
Formerly as Senior Counsel and Director of Special Projects for the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, she advised and provided educational opportunities to nonprofit leaders in a wide range of risk management issues. Ms. Christianson served as Interim Executive Director for Life Skills Center and as Vice President of Community Impact for the United Way of the National Capital Area and Director of Operations for the United Way of San Diego County.
Prior to moving to the National Capital Area, her experience centered on her career as a civil trial lawyer, specializing in civil litigation and dispute resolution. Now, in addition to consulting work, she is on the faculty of the University of Baltimore’s Certified Public Manager program, teaching courses including Understanding Leadership Styles, Building and Leading Effective Teams, Conflict Management and Effective Negotiation, Project Management, Administrative Law, Nonprofit Governance and Management and Effective and Appropriate Use of Social Media. She also is an instructor of data-based decision making for managers and analysts of the Social Security Administration. She also facilitates retreats for the Housing Authority of the City of Baltimore. In addition to being counsel, Ms. Christianson has served as board, officer, committee member and volunteer for a wide range of nonprofits including associations and service providers.
Ann Cotten is the Director of the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore and an adjunct faculty member in the College of Public Affairs. She has been working with government and nonprofit organizations for the past 25+ years in the areas of program evaluation, survey research, strategic planning, performance measurement, and public sector management.
Dr. Cotten has extensive experience in survey research, program evaluation, need assessments, and management studies for a wide variety of government and nonprofit organizations in Maryland. Dr. Cotten has conducted surveys of diverse populations including patients, doctors, parents, business leaders, as well as the general public. She has conducted research on a host of issues relevant to distressed communities including homelessness, welfare reform, teenage pregnancy, the creation of neighborhood districts, and satisfaction with government services.
She conducted the original research that supported the creation of the Midtown Special Benefit District in Baltimore. She recently led a comprehensive assessment of Baltimore City Community College that included outreach to over 13,000 stakeholders through a combination of in-person interviews, mail, and web surveys.
Dr. Cotten has led research teams conducting qualitative in-person and telephone interviews over the past 25+ years. Designing and implementing qualitative interviews in a regular part of Dr. Cotten’s evaluation and research portfolio. She is experienced with conducting interviews for agencies with locations in Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions. For example, she and her research teams have conducted interviews with welfare case managers across Maryland to examine the implementation of welfare reform; interviews with parole and probation officers across Maryland to examine staff workload; and semi-structured interviews to assess organizational structure and workload for the Maryland Department of Human Services.
Dr. Cotten founded and directs the Maryland Certified Public Manager® (CPM) program housed in the Schaefer Center. The Maryland CPM Program builds management capacity in Maryland’s public sector by teaching applied public management skills to supervisors and managers in government and nonprofit organizations located in the state.
She was recently elected to serve on the executive council of the National Certified Public Manager® Consortium where she also serves as treasurer. She recently served as a member of the finance committee of the American Society for Public Administration. She is the Chair of the University of Baltimore’s Institutional Review Board and Council on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. Previously she has served as President of the Southern Consortium of University Public Service Organizations, Member of the American Society for Public Administration’s National Council, and President of the Maryland Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.
Dr. Cotten teaches Strategic Management for Government and Nonprofit Organizations and Survey Research in the University of Baltimore’s School of Public and International Affairs and is an experienced trainer of mid and upper level managers. Dr. Cotten is a professionally trained focus group moderator and is an experienced trainer of mid and upper level managers. She holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Dr. Larry Covin is an ethicist and a systematic theologian by training. He has taught ethics, philosophy, theology and religious studies at the undergraduate and graduate level for over twenty years.
Dr. Covin is a published author in the discipline of social justice ethics and criminal justice ethics. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Albany State University in Criminal Justice, the Master of Divinity in parochial education from ITC of Atlanta University, a doctoral degree in criminal justice ethics from the Lancaster Theological Seminary, and a postdoctoral ThM research degree in philosophy and theology from Princeton (PTS).
Since 2008, Jeff has served as the Executive Director of the Maryland World Class Consortia (MWCC), a non-profit organization that helps public and private sector organizations build cultures of continuous improvement. He delivers training on lean improvement methods, facilitates improvement activities, coaches leaders, and develops strategic improvement plans. He has served a variety of roles with the MWCC, including a term on the Consortia’s founding member Advisory Board in 1996.
In 2000, Jeff founded Neovista Consulting to focus on operational excellence, Lean Thinking, leadership development, change management, and culture change. Jeff’s passion for Lean Thinking began in 1993, as the plant manager of a small aerospace firm where lean manufacturing provided the cornerstone of a dramatic multi-year business turnaround. He has served in other industries including automotive, machining, defense, and solar power, in roles including quality manager, engineering director, and lean champion.
Jeff was deeply involved in the creation and expansion of a nationally-recognized system of Lean Certification that is today jointly supported by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, and the Shingo Institute. He holds Lean Bronze and Silver Certifications, and is working toward Lean Gold. He has served on the Lean Certification Oversight Committee and is Past Chair.
Jeff has a deep interest in Lean for the public sector. He is an instructor for the University of Baltimore’s Certified Public Manager Program. He has designed training curricula for Virginia Tech’s Lean Academy and Harrisburg University’s Agile Lean Academy. He has designed lean training and coaching programs that have together graduated over 1,500 lean leaders across a range of government agencies and private sector companies. Jeff’s current specializations include lean leadership, lean for personal and administrative processes, and lean government. Jeff’s clients have included Raytheon, GlaxoSmithKline, OrbitalATK, Halliburton, U.S. Air Force, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the City of Baltimore, and the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Jeff received his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from West Point. He is a lifelong student of team leadership, a combat veteran of the first Gulf War, and was awarded multiple Bronze Star Medals. He is an examiner for both the Shingo Institute’s Shingo Prize and the AME Excellence Award. He is the past Chairman of the Maryland Advisory Commission for Manufacturing Competitiveness and serves on the Board of Directors of Open Works, a Baltimore community maker space and small business incubator.
Being a latecomer to teaching heightens my appreciation for the exchange of ideas in the classroom. I spent the early part of my career as a programmer, supervisor and manager within the information technology industry, working for a company called EDS, better known for its famous founder, Ross Perot, who ran for president in 1992 and 1996.
Getting my M.B.A. from the University of Maryland enabled me to swap the language of bits and bytes for that of dollars and cents by joining a government contractor, Performance Engineering Corp., where I consulted with federal agencies, chiefly the federal courts, for more than a dozen years. Practicing the arcane art of cost-benefit analysis and related programmatic and financial techniques introduced me to bureaucratic decision-making processes. I gained a deep respect for the capabilities of public managers, who often labored under tremendous deficits of resources and excesses of guidance, yet managed to conduct the public’s business. In particular, visiting federal courts, which fairly hummed with the steady disposition of cases and dispensing of justice, and interviewing judges and court executives impressed upon me the reality of high-performance public organizations.
Daily involvement with federal agencies forced me to confront a new set of issues stemming from missions undertaken in the public interest, in sharp contrast to the for-profit orientation of the IT industry, where I’d spent 15 years. Accordingly, I set about gaining a theoretical grasp of public administration by getting a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech—a 10-year endeavor! Joining the faculty of the University of Baltimore represents a fresh opportunity to tackle the challenges of public service, without the need to stoke the “bottom line” as a member of the “shadow government,” with its attendant consequences of downsizing and contracting out. I feel most fortunate to be part of the UB community. Aside from a business degree from the University of North Carolina, all of my education has been obtained while working. The challenges of the part-time student are second nature to me. While pleased to take my position in front of the class, I remember what it feels like from the other side and do my best to keep the learning experience mutual, engaging and light.
Dr. Hughes is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Baltimore. Prior to coming to the University of Baltimore, Patrick Hughes served as department chair and assistant professor of organizational studies at St. Louis University. He also served as lead graduate faculty/associate professor in organizational leadership at Central Penn College. He is a former police officer and remains a police academy instructor. Hughes is the 2013 winner of Alvernia University’s Dr. Nan Hamberger Founding Dean’s Award. In addition, he was named as one of the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal’s 2012 “40 Under Forty” and he is the 2008 recipient of Central Penn College’s Todd A. Milano Faculty Excellence Award.
Hughes teaches courses in leadership theory, organizational behavior and leading organizational change. His research focuses on organizational development, leadership, organizational change, and ethics as applied to the public sector.
David Kelly, Jr. is a recent graduate of the Negotiations and Conflict Management master’s program at the University of Baltimore (UB). David started out as a volunteer in the Writing Center at UB in the fall of 2017. He discovered intersectionalities between conflict management theories and scholarship, and writing center studies. Focusing on writing as a conflict in systems and institutions of higher education, David works to transform students’ relationships with writing through: advocating writer autonomy; collaboration and; development of rhetorical awareness, genre expectation, and audience identification.
In fall 2018, he began working in the writing center as Lead Consultant and Writing Fellow. In these capacities respectively, David has consulted with faculty on sequencing, scaffolding, and clarifying assignments; and provided one-on-one consultations at any stage of the writing process, offering individually tailored tutoring strategies to address students’ needs.
Inspired by his work with students, David presented original research at the Mid-Atlantic Writing Center Association (MAWCA) conference in spring 2019. He is the Writing Services Coordinator and Director of the Writing Center.
Lin Kroeger has been a management consultant for over thirty years with a focus on leadership, change management, communication, collaboration, and team dynamics. She consults, coaches, designs and facilitates custom meetings, and conducts workshops on topics such as time management, the challenges of leading in multi-generational work environments, attracting and retaining talent, reciprocal mentoring, strategic writing, emotional intelligence, and change management – with an emphasis on effective personal and/or leadership skills that increase employee engagement and productivity.
Prior to founding PWD Consulting, Inc., Lin was with Accenture as an in-house expert on change navigation. She supported projects worldwide when they encountered the complex challenges of resistance, anger, and confusion. She also trained consultants on communication and engagement principles and techniques. That process is the foundation of her change management process, Fast Forward to the Future.
Having taught Management Writing at the Business School at Cornell University and then acting as the in-house writing expert at Arthur Andersen at the beginning of her corporate career, Lin has guided the strategic re-design of audit and financial reports and related processes. She has also provided writing skills training and coaching to finance executives, financial analysts, internal auditors, market researchers, product managers, government agency professionals, and information technology experts, among others. She authored a chapter on the design and implementation of strategic writing training to the HRD Resource Book.
Lin’s clients have included Fortune 500 companies in financial services, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, government, and non-profit/education. Her clients have included engineers, auditors, and other professionals in market research, marketing, sales, human resources, training, organization development, information technology, finance, financial research, and scientific research. She has provided contract services in change management and communication to public and private organizations.
Recent assignments have Lin focusing on managing change in complex IT environments, developing personal communication/writing skills in complex financial services organizations, and writing reports and analyses on custom topics.
Lin holds degrees from The College of William and Mary, Villanova University, and Cornell University.
Carol Molinari is a Professor of Health Systems Management in the College of Public Affairs. Her passion for teaching and students has been at the core of her many years in academia. Professor Molinari has taught undergraduate and graduate students in universities across the country; the most recent was at Jefferson College of Health Sciences and Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School in Roanoke, VA. She has also developed and taught a physician leadership certificate program in Lexington, KY. Her research has focused on ways that leadership and governance can make a difference in the performance of healthcare organizations. Her current research focuses on studying culturally competent ways for healthcare organizations to lead and manage diverse clients and workers.
In particular, Professor Molinari is studying ways for diverse older adults and their families to age in place safely and healthfully and has recently (2016) co-edited a new textbook on long-term care management. Another current strand of her scholarship involves examining effective pedagogy for online and hybrid/blended courses. She has presented and continues to present and publish in various academic healthcare management journals. Professor Molinari received her doctorate from Johns Hopkins School of Health and Mental Hygiene coupled with a MBA from the University of Baltimore and a MPH from the University of North Carolina. Professor Molinari is a governing board member of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration and has served on governing board of an integrated health system in Washington State and has also provided board service on several not-for-profit community boards. She has been a program director for several Healthcare Management programs and has been an executive director of a technology council in Spokane, WA. She lives with her husband, Ira Stancil, and rescue dog, Ruby, in Ellicott City.
Dr. Naylor is an associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and the program director for the undergraduate degree in Politics, Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) program. She trains public servants to make a difference in their communities, cities, and country.
Dr. Naylor is on the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Specialist roster and is an international scholar. She has traveled to six continents and over 20 countries. She is a social equity researcher and utilizes a multi-disciplinary framework in her research and teaching. Her research focuses on ensuring democratic values equality, justice, and representation are reflected in public policy outcomes. She has written on the following subjects: affirmative action, diversity, education, health, LGBT, and pedagogy.
Dr. Naylor has distinguished herself as one of the top ten scholars in public administration pedagogy. She has over 30 publications and delivered over 65 presentations. Her work has been published in Public Integrity, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Journal of Health and Human Services, Journal of Maternal Child Health, Clinical Therapeutics, Journal on Leadership and Development, and the Journal on Comparative Asian Development.
She earned her PhD in public administration from American University, Washington, DC, Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Kansas Medical School, Kansas City, KS, and Master of Public Administration from Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Dr. Debra L. Stanley is a Professor and Executive Director of the School of Criminal Justice, University of Baltimore, and Director of the Roper Victim Assistance Academy of Maryland. She received her Ph.D. in Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland at College Park, her M.S. in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University, and B.A. in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Rhode Island College.
Dr. Stanley has dedicated more than twenty-five years to applied research that promotes policy and system change in the areas of crime victimization, child homicide, substance abuse prevention and treatment, re-entry and diversion, drugs and crime, strategic management, and program development and evaluation. She works closely with both public and non-profit agencies in the areas of program development, strategic planning, organization diagnostics, assessment, and improvement, client tracking and monitoring, client success, data reporting systems, and program evaluation. She has served as principal investigator on dozens of federal, state, and local funded research projects. Her research has been widely disseminated in a number of publications, seminars, trainings, and professional presentations.
Dr. Stanley has a wide range of applied research experience in the areas of crime victimization, child homicide, drugs and crime, policy and practice in criminal justice systems, and program development and evaluation. She works closely with both public and non-profit criminal justice and victim service related agencies in the areas of program development, strategic planning, systems improvement, and program evaluation. She has served as principal investigator on dozens of federal, state, and local funded research projects. Her applied research promotes policy and system changes to better integrate crime victims into the criminal justice process and to enhance crime victim services. She has developed a wide range of treatment and prevention programs in criminal justice agencies for crime victims, inmates returning to the community, high risk youth and their families, substance abuse and mental clients, and the elderly. She currently serves as the President of the American Society of Victimology, and advisor to the U.S. Congressional Victim’s Rights Caucus.
Prof. Frank van Vliet serves as the executive-in-residence for the department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, and is the recipient of the Maxwell G. Armor Chair in recognition of outstanding performance of a non-tenure faculty member. van Vliet holds an MBA from the University of Baltimore, a BSc degree from the University of Phoenix and a diploma in electronic engineering technology from Humber College. He has over 32 years of experience as a top performing sales and marketing executive with a comprehensive background in marketing, strategic planning, business development and talent management. At UB Prof. “v”, as his students refer to him, teaches a variety of marketing, entrepreneurship and business ethics courses for the Merrick School of Business, and he is the faculty adviser for the UB Marketing Club, and also for the Mu Kappa Tau Marketing and Sigma Nu Tau Entrepreneurship Honor Societies. He is also active with the UB Alumni Association. Prof. van Vliet also serves on the board of directors for CUPs Coffeehouse, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and on the advisory board for I am OKah!, Inc. Professionally, Frank is a member of the Baltimore chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and is a 30-plus year member of the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists as a “CET”. van Vliet is also an entrepreneur, and currently runs SalesBrewers, LLC, a sales and marketing consulting firm.