People

Qian Cai (pronounced “chien tsai”) is director of the Demographics & Workforce Group at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. She is principal investigator for multiple research grants from the Census Bureau, Virginia Governor’s Office and various state agencies.

A native of China, Qian received a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1991 and a master’s degree in demography in 1994, both from Peking University. She received a Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University in 2000.

Achsah Carrier has worked at the Cooper Center for nearly 20 years studying workforce issues in Virginia and directing career information and resource projects funded by the Virginia Department of Education.

She earned her B.A. from the University of Virginia and her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of London. She taught for many years at the University of Papua New Guinea and as an adjunct faculty member at the Durham University and the University of Newcastle in England before returning home to Charlottesville.

Michele Claibourn conducts research and statistical analysis for the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Demographics & Workforce Group. Michele’s has extensive experience in statistical analysis, including econometrics, multilevel modeling, time series analysis, and causal modeling, as well in the analysis of large data, survey methods, and political analysis.

Sonny Culverhouse Adjunct Faculty, Cooper Center for Public Service, U.Va., and city manager emeritus, Lynchburg, Virginia. Has a 37-year public service career as city manager, deputy city manager, and director of personnel and management services. Recipient of the 1996 ICMA Distinguished Service Award and the 1989 ICMA Clarence E. Ridley Award for In-Service Training. Served as trustee, Ferrum College; president, Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity; charter member, Senior Executive Institute Advisory Committee. Sonny received his education at RPI (now Virginia Commonwealth University) and Old Dominion University. He's also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute and the charter 1985 Senior Executive Institute. Noted for his natural abilities in counseling as well as his keen interest in the development of others, he's an Accredited Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

Apple Certified Something-or-Other

Jim Ellis joined CSR as its Director of Research in 2007 after 20 years at Virginia Commonwealth University's Survey and Evaluation Research Laboratory. He holds Master's degrees in Mass Communications and Survey Methodology and is a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Research and Evaluation at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education.

Ms. Farber earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Virginia, her M.B.A. at the University of Maryland, her M.A. in Human Resource Management at Saint Francis University, and her B.A. in Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh.

NANCY GANSNEDER is the inaugural director of the Cooper Center's newest entity, Academy for Civic Renewal. In this capacity Nancy designs and implements civic leadership programs to promote civic engagement in Virginia's communities. Prior this appointment, she directed the University Internship Programs, one of the nation’s oldest continuous academic internship programs.

Before coming to Sorensen, Bob Gibson was the political writer at the Charlottesville Daily Progress for over 30 years, where he specialized in covering local, state, and national politics. He is the winner of several Virginia Press Association awards, the 1993 Virginia Bar Association Award in the Field of Law and Justice and the 1993 Southern Journalism Award for investigative reporting. He is also familiar to many Virginians as the host of WVTF Public Radio's Evening Edition program.

Meredith Strohm Gunter represents the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia as Outreach Director for the Demographics & Workforce Group. Meredith’s career experience includes senior administrative posts at three institutions of higher education in Virginia, policy and special initiative development for the Governor’s Office, international services and support for a major Virginia law firm, and a number of freelance writing, editing, and planning projects.

Molly Harlow the program coordinator for the SEI Programs. Coordinating VLGMA Conferences and serving as staff to VLGMA are also a large part of her job. Molly has a bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia.

Tierra Howard is a program assistant for Leadership Development. She has been with the Weldon Cooper Center for four years. Tierra graduated from University of Virginia in May 2009 with a major in sociology and a minor in urban planning. She is currently attending graduate school at UVA for urban planning.

Professor and director, Senior Executive Institute (SEI), Cooper Center for Public Service, U.Va. Foundation director, Virginia Institute of Government (1994-95.) Recipient of the International City/County Management Association's (ICMA) Sweeney Award for contributions to the professional development of local government managers. Elected in 1998 as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Has ongoing consulting relationships with local government managers and councils. Co-developer (with John Pickering) of the high performance government model. Formerly president of Ricker College; vice president, Kent State University; and director and senior professor, Federal Executive Institute. Ed.D. degree, Indiana University.

Ms. Modica earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education in 2007 and her master's degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1998.

Since 1994, Jennifer has been the graphic designer for all divisions of the Weldon Cooper Center’s Richmond Office, including the Virginia Institute of Government (VIOG) and the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Inc., (LGA). She also manages several financial databases for these organizations: the VIOG’s membership contributions; subscriptions to the VIOG’s Compensation Survey System; and registrations for the LGA’s one regional and two annual conferences.

Terry Rephann is a regional economist at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Prior to this appointment, he was the Director of Institutional Research at Allegany College of Maryland and Senior Scientist at the Spatial Modelling Centre in Kiruna, Sweden. He also served two terms as a City Councilman in Cumberland, Maryland. Mr. Rephann earned his B.A. in economics and mathematics from Frostburg State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from West Virginia University. He has published papers in a variety of economics, planning, and public policy journals on the subjects of local economic impact analysis, education, and crime.

Colleen Smith joined the Sorensen Institute as Director of Development in September of 2007. She is responsible for developing and implementing the Sorensen Institute's fundraising objectives.

Tyler St. Clair Faculty member, Cooper Center for Public Service, U.Va. Primary focus is on implementing a governance model that will assist councils and boards in providing collective, visionary leadership. Specializes in helping localities align leadership at the elected and staff level. Provides on-site assistance for localities that desire to build a change mechanism in their organizations, including the implementation of visioning, leadership work, strategic planning, team building, and other performance strategies. An Associate of the Commonwealth Center for High Performance Organizations, focusing on facilitative consultation and local government applications of the High Performance Organization (HPO) model. Worked eight years in Lynchburg city government as an internal organization development consultant, working extensively with the elected body and staff at all levels of the organization. Certified in the MBTI and Technology of Participation; B.S. degree, James Madison University.

Tracy Tanner Bond is looking forward to receiving soon her twenty-five year service award from the University of Virginia. Before joining Sorensen in 2006, her background at the University has been diverse, from experience in the Bursar's Office, Construction and Facilities Management and Real Estate Contract Administration.

Policy Economist/ Lecturer - Center for Economic and Policy Studies & Department of Public Health Sciences, focusing on occupational licensure, rural workforce development, childhood obesity, and mental health law.

Zin White recently retired as the Human Resources Development Specialist for the City of Norfolk. During his fifteen years of service, Zin was a member of the organization development team working hands-on with Norfolk’s departments to realize the city’s vision of high performance and a revitalized work culture. His motto continues to be: “We can make a difference, and it begins with me.” Zin has been a key participant of the forum on Creating High Performance Government, which fosters peer networking among lead internal change agents within local governments. He is a graduate of the Management Excellence Program. Zin’s professional career has included public school teaching, 21 years of military service, sales, consulting, public speaking and counseling. He is a graduate of Florida A & M University and the Command and General Staff College.