Faculty and Curriculum Committees

M.P.P Faculty
M.P.P. Curriculum Committee Member
Senior Lecturer, SMU Department of Economics

Mea Ahlberg, Ph.D., earned her PhD in Public Policy and Political Economy from the University of Texas at Dallas, specializing in International Conflict and Security. She began her career at SMU as an adjunct faculty member at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business, teaching both graduate and undergraduate students. She later joined the Economics Department at Dedman College, where she was appointed Senior Lecturer and led efforts to revise Economics principles courses as part of a university-wide initiative.

Before joining SMU, Dr. Ahlberg was a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Organizations, Strategy, and International Management at the Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas. Her broad and interdisciplinary interests include cultures and global competitiveness, behavioral development economics, policy interventions, the economics of international negotiations, conflict management, and coalition formation.

Dr. Ahlberg has received several nominations and awards, including HOPE (Honoring Our Professors' Excellence) nominations in 2022 and 2024. She also received the prestigious Barbara and James Mangum Teaching Award in 2024 for her extraordinary student engagement and dedication to teaching.

M.P.P. Faculty Lead and Academic Coordinator

Eva Chiang, Ph.D., serves as the Lead Faculty and Academic Coordinator for the online Master in Public Policy program. In this role she oversees the curriculum design and delivery, and student onboarding and support. She also teaches in the program.

Previously, Dr. Chiang taught pre-k through college level students, trained teachers, developed curriculum, and designed programs. Her evaluation and research interests include finding solutions to attracting, supporting, and retaining great talent in organizations, as well as policy evaluation methods. She does policy evaluation consulting for the George W. Bush Institue, where she worked for a decade before coming to SMU. She also consults on other policy evaluation projects.

Dr. Chiang received her Ph.D. from SMU in Education, and she was named a University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) Clark Scholar. She also holds a J.D. from Texas A&M University School of Law, and M.A.T. from Texas Women’s University, and a B.A. in writing from Baylor University.

M.P.P. Faculty
Director of Strategic Initiatives, SMU Office of Faculty Success

Molly K. Ellis, Ph.D. is a dedicated educator and researcher specializing in higher education, organizational theory and data-driven decision-making. Currently serving as the director of strategic initiatives at SMU’s Office of Faculty Success, she plays a pivotal role in leading strategic initiatives and co-directing the institution’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to enhance its accreditation. With a Ph.D. in Education and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership, she possesses a wealth of knowledge in research methods and analytics.

In addition to her contributions to academia, Molly has over seven years of graduate-level teaching experience. Her courses in research methods, statistics, leadership and survey design have equipped students with the necessary skills for conducting research in complex policy environments.

M.P.P. Faculty

Statistician, Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Novin Ghaffari, Ph.D., is a statistician and data scientist. He has a Master’s and PhD in Statistics from the University of Texas at Austin. His experience teaching statistics spans more than a decade covering undergraduate, graduate, and industry audiences. He has worked for several companies on projects including machine learning, statistical analysis, economic and business research, clinical trial design and evaluation, and database management. He is currently working as a statistician for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics at the Department of Transportation alongside data science consulting and serving on the faculty of Southern Methodist University.

M.P.P. Curriculum Committee Member
Associate Professor of Economics

Thomas Osang, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at SMU. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego. He is a member of the American Economic Association and the Verein fuer Socialpolitik, Germany. He is a recipient of SMU’s M Award and the Altshuler Distinguished Teacher Award.

His research and teaching interests focus on topics in international trade, trade policy and economic development. He is an associate editor of Frontiers of Political Science – Political Economy section. He is the author of two books, several book chapters and numerous articles in publications such as the Southern Economic Journal, the Canadian Journal of Economics, the Journal of International Economics, the Journal of Public Economics, PS: Political Science & Politics and the American Economic Review.

M.P.P. Faculty
Director of Student Affairs Assessment and Analytics, SMU Office of the Senior Vice President

Kim Nelson Pryor, Ph.D., holds a doctorate of philosophy in education from Southern Methodist University; graduate degrees in education and humanities from University of Texas - Austin and University of Chicago, respectively; and a bachelor's degree in English and classical & medieval studies from Bases College.

In her role as Director for Student Affairs Assessment and Analytics, she leads the Division in assessing, communicating and strengthening the impact of its collective work on student experiences and outcomes. Dr. Pryor is also an adjunct instructor in the SMU Simmons School of Education and Human Development and a scholar of higher education issues including faculty and academic work, academic structure and interdisciplinarity.

She has presented 15+ conference proceedings at meetings of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), the American Education Research Association (AERA), the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA), the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Texas Higher Education Symposium.

Additionally, she has published eight articles in peer-reviewed journals including Review of Higher Education, Innovative Higher Education and Journal for Diversity in Higher Education.

M.P.P. Curriculum Committee Member
Associate Professor of Education Policy

Meredith Richards, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Education Policy in the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at SMU. Her research examines the effect of education policies—such as school choice, school closures, school names, and school boundaries—on equity and stratification in schools. She is particularly concerned with the ways in which education policies structure segregation by race and income. In answering these questions, Dr. Richards uses diverse geospatial and quantitative methods.

Dr. Richards serves on the steering and curriculum committees for the MPP and teaches coursework in educational research methods and statistics. She is active in numerous policy organizations, including the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) and the Association for Education Finance & Policy (AEFP). Before joining SMU, Dr. Richards worked as a health policy researcher for Lockheed Martin. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the University of Texas at Austin and was a Post-doctoral Fellow in Education Policy and Methods at the University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a B.A. in Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia, a M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from George Mason University.

M.P.P. Faculty
Master Teaching Chair, St. Mark’s School of Texas

Martin Stegemoeller, Ph.D., is a teacher, consultant, and tutor. He currently holds the Malcolm and Melinda Brachman Master Teaching Chair at the St. Mark’s School of Texas, where he has taught for twenty-one years, helps lead the effort in character and leadership and co-chairs the Committee on Artificial Intelligence. He is also a course designer and adjunct faculty in public policy in the Moody School at SMU, a consultant for the Thanksgiving Square Foundation in Dallas, and tutors extensively in many subjects.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Northwestern University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in philosophy with specialties in literature and ethics from Vanderbilt University.

He is married, is the father of twin four-year-old girls, and lives in Dallas.

M.P.P. Curriculum Committee Member
The Don Evans Family Managing Director, Opportunity and Democracy at George W. Bush Institute

Anne Wicks is the Don Evans Family Managing Director, Opportunity and Democracy at the Bush Institute. In this role, she develops and oversees the policy, research, and engagement work of GWBI's Opportunity and Democracy team, which focuses on strengthening our democracy, pathways to opportunity, immigration, economic growth, accountability, and literacy.

Before joining the Bush Institute, Wicks served as an associate dean at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education. Her portfolio includes communications, advancement and a variety of special projects, including the launch of Ednovate Charter Schools. Over her career she has held roles in Teach for America, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health and Stanford University.

Wicks holds a B.A. in American Studies and an M.A. in Education from Stanford University (during which she taught 8th grade social studies), as well as a MBA from the University of Southern California. A former captain of Stanford’s women’s volleyball team, she was part of three national championship teams, two as a player and one as an assistant coach. She is the parent of a public school student.

M.P.P. Curriculum Committee Member
Kairo Endowed Director of the Center for Faith and Learning
Associate Professor of Political Science

Matthew Wilson, Ph.D., is the Kairo Endowed Director of the Center for Faith and Learning and Associate Professor of political science at SMU. He is also a senior fellow of the John Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs and of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Louisiana State University in political science and history and holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University.

His research focuses on public opinion, elections, representation and the role of race and religion in politics, both in the United States and abroad. He is the author, co-author or editor of three books, including Understanding American Politics and Politics and Religion in the United States and dozens of articles and essays. His teaching has been honored with awards from the SMU Department of Residence Life and the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility, and in 2017 he received SMU’s President’s Associates Outstanding Faculty Award. He routinely serves as a commentator on political affairs for local, national and international media outlets.