CPS Welcomes New Program Directors & Staff

Title: Program Director, Legislative Affairs program and Assistant Professor, The Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM)
Office: GSPM/MPA Building, 4th floor, Washington, D.C.
Start Date: Feb. 2020
E-mail | Bio | LinkedIn

Dr. Casey Burgat joins GW from the R Street Institute where he worked as a senior governance fellow, focusing his research on congressional capacity and reform. He is a congressional scholar and 2012 graduate of GSPM’s political management program.

He went on to obtain a doctorate in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Burgat takes over leadership of the Legislative Affairs program from longtime program director, Dr. Steven Billet, who will remain an associate professor at GSPM. Press release

Title: Interim Program Director, Information Technology Program
Office: GW’s Arlington Education Center, Arlington, VA
Start Date: January 2020
Email | LinkedIn

Joe Garrett currently serves as the Interim Director of the Information Technology Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program, designed for students interested in finishing their degree with an interdisciplinary focus on technology, business and information systems.

He has extensive experience in teaching that spans a period of over 40 years, including teaching evenings at GW beginning in 1988. He retired from his full-time career as a senior management executive and statistical expert in 2015. During his career, he worked in both the public sector (12 years) and private sector (25 years) for the following: U.S. Census Bureau, The Nielson Company, Mathematical Policy Research, Market Strategies International, and Knowledge Networks.

He said he is motivated to continue teaching during retirement to help students become more “numerate” by gaining a better understanding of foundational techniques in probability and statistics. He holds both an M.S. and B.S. in Statistics from Miami University.

Title: Director of Communications, Marketing and Recruitment
Office: VSTC, Enterprise Hall/B56, Ashburn, VA
Start Date: January 2020
Email | LinkedIn

Amanda comes to CPS with more than twenty years of marketing experience in the business world, the association community and the higher education sector. Her most recent position that she is leaving to join us is Vice President of Marketing and Member Management at the National Contract Management Association, a 20,000-member trade association. Before that, Amanda was Director of Marketing and Communications for the Northern Virginia Community College System (NVCC) where she was responsible for developing and implementing their marketing communications annual plan, which included all six campuses of NOVA. Prior to her work at NVCC, Amanda spent five years at Apollo Education Services where she was Senior Director of Brand Marketing and Strategy for University of Phoenix.

Title: Instructional Designer
Office: VSTC, Enterprise Hall/B56, Ashburn, VA
Start Date: January 2020
Email | LinkedIn

Michelle has a master of education degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She joins us from Fairfax County Public Schools where she taught high school English for five years.

Michelle is also a research assistant, adjunct professor and doctoral student in Literacy and Education at George Mason University.

Title: Program Associate, AT&T Center for Indigenous Politics and Policy (AT&T CIPP) and the Semester in Washington Politics Program
Office: MPA Building, 3rd Floor (304)
Start Date: January 2020
Email | LinkedIn

Mackenzie Neal, an enrolled member of the Quapaw Nation and alumna of AT&T CIPP’s Native American Political Leadership Program (Spring 2016), joins GW from Grant Thornton, where she worked as a management consultant supporting projects for the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She has worked on several global indigenous rights issues and tribal policies. She has a B.A. in Government and Global Studies from the College of William & Mary and has completed additional coursework in tribal self-determination at the University of Arizona's Native Nations Institute and American University's School of Professional and Extended Studies.