Biography: Susan T. Gooden, Ph.D., is a professor and former dean of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an internationally recognized expert on social equity. Gooden is an elected fellow of the congressionally chartered National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and is past president of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and she is past president of the Network of Associated Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). Her books include Teaching Social Equity in Public Administration (2024); Racial Equity, COVID-19, and Public Policy: The Triple Pandemic (2023); Global Equity in Administration (2020); Why Research Methods Matter (2018); Race and Social Equity: A Nervous Area of Government (2014); and Cultural Competency for Public Administrators (2012). She has authored or co-authored over 100 academic journal articles and professional reports. She is also a founder of the Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration, the field's first journal dedicated to social equity research. Gooden has received several awards and honors including the Dwight Waldo Award from the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), which recognizes 25+ years of preeminent contributions to public administration research.