GAI Faculty

A Note From the Director

The Institute's staff, which represents more than one hundred years experience with GAI, remains committed to carrying on the tradition of conducting the high quality programs that earned the Institute its reputation.

Director

Kenneth A. Gold, Ph.D., joined the Government Affairs Institute at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in 1989 and became Director of the Institute in 1992. Before joining GAI, Dr. Gold taught at the American University in Washington, D.C., and was Assistant Professor with the University's School of International Service and with the School of Government and Public Affairs. He has also been a member of the Senior Staff at the Brookings Institution.

Dr. Gold received his B.A. degree from the City College of New York, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of United States Foreign Economic Policy Making: An Analysis of the Use of Food Resources.

Senior Fellows

Marian Currinder, Ph.D., joined GAI as a Senior Fellow in 2006. Previously she was an assistant professor of American Politics at the College of Charleston. Dr. Currinder was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in 2003-04. Prior to receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Currinder worked in DC as a legislative analyst and research associate. She has published several journal articles and book chapters on congressional politics and campaign
finance.

Dr. Currinder received her B.A. from the Pennsylvania State University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Florida.

John Haskell, Ph.D., joined GAI as a Senior Fellow in 2000. Previously he was visiting lecturer in American Politics at Davidson College and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was Associate Professor of Political Science at Drake University. Dr. Haskell was American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in 1997-98. He has had pieces on presidential and congressional politics published in several journals and books, and is the author of Fundamentally Flawed, a critique of the presidential nomination process, and Direct Democracy or Representative Government?

Dr. Haskell received his B.A. from Davidson College, and his M.A. and his Ph.D. from The University of North Carolina.

James H. Hershman, Ph.D., joined GAI in 1983 as a Senior Faculty Member. Prior to that, Dr. Hershman taught History at the University of Virginia, Wake Forest University, and at Georgetown University. His articles and reviews have appeared in numerous journals. Jim is a highly regarded analyst of the American political scene, and has lectured on Congress and politics before hundreds of groups. He also has extensive experience working in U.S. House and Senate campaigns.

Dr. Hershman holds a B.A. from Lynchburg College, an M.A. from Wake Forest University, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia.

Worth H. Hester, M.P.A., joined the faculty of GAI in 1988 as a Presidential Management Intern. He is currently the Assistant Director and a Senior Fellow at GAI, and directs the Capitol Hill Fellowship Program. He has served as a Program Analyst with EPA and as a Legislative Analyst for Congressman H. Martin Lancaster (NC).

Mr. Hester received his B.A. degree magna cum laude in Government from Campbell University, and an M.P.A. from the University of West Florida.

Susan Sullivan Lagon, Ph.D., joined GAI as a Senior Fellow in 1997. Before that, she taught American Politics and Constitutional Law at Georgetown University for five years.  Her prior experience includes teaching AP Politics in high school and a stint as Assistant Political Science Editor at Congressional Quarterly Press. She has spoken for numerous groups, including CQ Seminars, the American Political Science Association, the Fulbright Scholars Program, the World Bank, and more than 500 international visitors groups.

Dr. Lagon earned both her B.A. and M.A. in Government and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, and her Ph.D. from Georgetown University.

Howard B. Stevens, M.B.A., became a Senior Faculty Member at GAI in 1983. Prior to joining the Institute, he was an employee development specialist in the Policy and Analysis Division of the Office of Executive and Management Development at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Also at OPM, he served as a program analyst in the Office of Productivity Programs, a public information specialist in the Office of Public Affairs, and a research psychologist in the Organizational Psychology Section.

Mr. Stevens received a B.A. in psychology from the Johns Hopkins University and an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from George Washington University.