Teaching Interest
In accordance with my research, my teaching interests are rooted in the areas of public finance and public management. I am prepared to teach and interested in teaching the following courses:
Public Budgeting
Public Finance
Public Financial Management
State and Local Taxation
Nonprofit Financial Management
Public Management
Microeconomics for Public Administration
Introduction to Statistics
Research Methods
Teaching Experience
I have served as an instructor or teaching assistant for graduate Master of Public Administration courses at various academic institutions.
Public Management (The University of Georgia, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021)
This course is a graduate level survey course designed to introduce you to the foundational theories, general themes, major topics, and contemporary managerial challenges facing public and non-profit organizations. The course addresses the four main areas: (1) an introduction to public organizations by emphasizing the history, environment, politics, and public policy; (2) an examination of the key dimensions of organizing and managing; (3) bringing theory into practice by way of case-based learning exercises; and (4) the application of strategies for managing and improving public and non-profit organizations.
Public Financial Administration (The University of Georgia, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Fall 2022)
This course is a graduate level survey course designed to introduce you to the politics of the budgetary process in national and sub-national governments around the world. We will survey government fiscal affairs at all levels (federal, state, and municipal), with a closer focus on state and local governments in Georgia and the surrounding region. Public finance is a broad term that describes what government institutions do with taxpayers’ money and with economic resources of any given community. It is impossible to comprehensively evaluate the fiscal affairs of any government without having a multidisciplinary “toolbox” of knowledge and skills. This course will build your “toolbox” by exposing you to budgeting, revenue structures and tax administration, and financial risk management and debt valuation.
State and Local Taxation (The University of Georgia, Fall 2021)
This course is a graduate level overview of the structure, political context, and policy implementation of the most common taxes levied at the state and local levels of government. Discussion in the course will focus on the property tax, sales tax, income tax, excise tax, interjurisdictional issues with taxation, researching taxation, and limitations to taxation.
Independent Study in Public Administration (The University of Georgia, Fall 2019)
This course is a Ph.D. level survey course designed to introduce you to major topics in public financial affairs at the federal, state, and local levels of government. The course will consist of both proposals based on directed readings and directed scholarly research.
Understanding Organizations (Seattle University, Autumn 2017 and Spring 2018)
This course is a survey course designed to introduce you to the foundational theories, general themes, major topics, and contemporary managerial challenges facing public and non-profit organizations. The course addresses the four main areas: (1) an introduction to public organizations by emphasizing the history, environment, politics, and public policy; (2) an examination of the key dimensions of organizing and managing; (3) bringing theory into practice by way of case-based learning exercises; and (4) the application of strategies for managing and improving public and non-profit organizations.
Economic Analysis (Seattle University, Summer 2017)
This course provides an introduction to the principles of public policy decision-making through economic analysis. The focus is on applied economics to promote understanding of how economic decisions are made and the economic tools used to advance social justice and prudent public policy. Since public policy relies heavily on basic principles of microeconomics, this course focuses on developing the fundamentals of microeconomic theory as they apply to public policy problems and their analysis. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to understand the basic economic analysis of public policy and be able to apply and utilize the principles of economics to these policies.
Stata Mini-Course (Syracuse University, Co-Instructor, Spring 2016)
Familiarity with programming languages such as Stata have increasingly become a requirement to many entry-level analyst positions. As Stata slowly replaces SPSS as one of the primary tools of MPAs entering the labor force, a basic understanding of Stata programming can greatly increase marketability and initial usefulness to prospective employers. The primary objective of this training is twofold: (1) to expose students to a variety of basic tasks which constitute the foundations of Stata Programming and (2) to help the students create a portfolio of code which they can use to show potential employers their current proficiency levels. Moreover, as more organizations require “Stata tests” during the application period, this course should help increase their comfort with materials tested which, hopefully, will increase their competitiveness on the job market.
Microsoft Excel Mini-Course (Syracuse University, Co-Instructor, Fall 2015)
Entry-level public administration and policy analyst positions require familiarity and use of Microsoft Excel. As a result, a basic knowledge and understanding of presenting information through the use of Excel is imperative to be competitive and marketable to prospective employers. The primary purpose of this mini-course is to build foundational Excel skills and for the students to develop their own projects detailing their Excel proficiency. This 90 minute course will have a brief lecture and then be a hands-on introduction for students to basic Excel functions and working with data. Specifically, students will learn about excel basics, formulas and functions, working with data, and presenting data through readable flexible tables and charts. By the end of the course, students will have the knowledge to conduct their own analysis in Excel and present their findings.
Public Budgeting (Syracuse University, Teaching Assistant, 2014 - 2016)
This course provides an overview of budgeting and financial management in the public and nonprofit sectors. Fundamental concepts and practices of budgeting, financial management and public finance are introduced, with special emphasis on state and local government budgeting and financial management in the United States. The objective should be to learn the basic concepts and nomenclature of public finance, to develop an understanding of budget processes as well as the sources and uses of public revenues, and to make relatively simple, but useful computations in an intelligent way. Students are expected to develop basic competence in using spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel by doing the Excel tutorial and developing the day care budget exercise described below.