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John Daly, Ph.D., teaches the Advocacy and Politics: Success in Washington class for the Archer Fellowship Program, a course he has taught since the program’s inaugural class in spring 2001. He is the Liddell Centennial Professor of Communication, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and TCB Professor of Management at The University of Texas at Austin, as well as a University of Texas System Distinguished Teaching Professor. Dr. Daly's interests focus on practical ways of improving the communication skills of individuals. Thus, he has examined topics such as shyness, personality differences in communication, communication difficulties people experience in their personal and professional relationships, influence and advocacy skills, and interpersonal behavior in organizations. He has authored more than 100 scholarly articles, served as editor of two academic journals, and produced more than a dozen books, including "Advocacy: Championing Ideas and Influencing Others" (Yale University Press), and the "Handbook of Interpersonal Communication" (SAGE). He has also consulted with numerous organizations across the world, both public and private, on communication-related issues. He has worked in numerous political campaigns and with many local, state, and federal agencies, including the White House. During his tenure at UT Austin, Dr. Daly has received every campuswide undergraduate teaching award.
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Neetha Devdas, Ph.D., leads orientation trainings for Archer Fellows. Dr. Devdas is also an assistant professor of instruction in the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College at The University of Texas at Dallas, teaching undergraduate Introduction to Psychology and Abnormal Psychology classes. Dr. Devdas has been licensed in Texas as a psychologist since 2012 and has a private therapy practice, Devdas Psychological Services. Her past research and current clinical interests are in the field of trauma psychology, with a special interest in South Asian American populations. Dr. Devdas holds a B.S. in speech-language pathology and audiology from The University of Texas at Dallas and an M.A. and Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Texas Woman’s University.
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Jennifer Diascro, Ph.D., supervises the undergraduate and graduate internship courses. As a political scientist, she has served as a faculty member at the University of Kentucky and American University, a senior staff member at the American Political Science Association, and, most recently, was the associate academic director and interim executive director at the University of California Washington Program (UCDC). She was also a Supreme Court Fellow at the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Dr. Diascro is the founder of The Confident Undergrad, a coaching and mentoring practice for college undergraduates that supports prospective, current, and graduating college students as they develop the confidence to navigate their lives on their own terms. Dr. Diascro earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in political science (with a focus on judicial politics) from Ohio State University and a B.A. in political science from the University of California, San Diego. 
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Linda Elam, Ph.D., supervises Graduate Archer Fellows in the Independent Study and Research course. She has deep expertise in the financing and delivery of health care to vulnerable populations and health equity with broad experience across academic, philanthropic, federal and state government, and private sectors. She is the president of Elam Strategies Group, a health advisory firm. Previously, Dr. Elam was a managing director at Manatt Health, and prior to that, she was CEO and plan president of Amerigroup, District of Columbia, Inc., a managed care organization serving the Medicaid population in Washington, D.C. Dr. Elam served as the deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation, directing the Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she provided leadership on policies that support the independence, health, and productivity of elderly individuals and people with physical and mental disabilities. At the state level, Dr. Elam was senior deputy director and state Medicaid director at the District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF). Prior to her government service, Dr. Elam was a principal policy analyst with the Kaiser Family Foundation. She is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and Delta Omega, and she serves on several boards and commissions. She holds a B.S. in zoology with honors from Howard University, an M.P.H. in health policy and administration from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. 
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David Gonzalez Rice, Ph.D., supervises Graduate Archer Fellows in the Independent Study and Research course. He is a national policy leader and advocate for affordable housing and family well-being. As senior vice president of public policy at the National Low Income Housing Coalition, he provides strategic leadership to a team that analyzes and mobilizes comments on proposed laws and federal regulations. Dr. Gonzalez Rice's prior experience includes serving in the Biden-Harris administration, first at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he led initiatives to address homelessness, then at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he drove regulatory reforms to improve child welfare systems. His career spans academia, direct provision of social services, and state- and federal-level advocacy. He serves as board president of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, a national organization founded and run by homeschool alumni to promote child safety in homeschool settings. He holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and a Ph.D. in political science from Duke University. Dr. Gonzalez Rice lives in Washington, D.C., with his family, who use American Sign Language at home.
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Josh Howard, Ph.D., leads discussion sections in the Politics of National Memory class. Dr. Howard is currently the assistant historian of the U.S. Senate Historical Office. Prior to working in the Senate, he managed Passel LLC, an applied history consulting company. Dr. Howard holds a Ph.D. in public history from Middle Tennessee State University and specializes in applied history, Appalachia, sport history, and public memory. Previous courses taught include undergraduate and graduate courses in public history, U.S. history, and the history of both U.S. and U.K. sport. His debut book, “Hell's Not Far Off: Bruce Crawford and the Appalachian Left,” was published by West Virginia University Press in 2024, and his other research has been featured in The Journal of Sport History, The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, and The American Journal of Legal History.
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Phillip E. Jordan, DrPH, supervises Graduate Archer Fellows in the Independent Study and Research course. Dr. Jordan is a public health leader and implementation scientist with more than 15 years of federal experience across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He most recently served in a senior advisory role in the Bureau of Primary Health Care at the Health Resources and Services Administration, where he helped lead strategic and operational work supporting federally qualified health centers nationwide. He previously held leadership roles at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, with responsibilities spanning policy implementation, quality improvement, and health systems transformation. His recent doctoral research examined how firearm injury prevention policies move from legislative adoption into routine practice across states and the District of Columbia. Dr. Jordan received his Doctor of Public Health from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.
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Virginia Huth, MPP, supervises undergraduate Archer Fellows in the Policymaking Process class. She is the president and founder of Vanalytix Advisory, a boutique consulting firm that advises technology companies on the federal marketplace. Virginia previously served for 28 years in the federal government, including 18 years in the Senior Executive Service across five different roles. She began her career at the White House Office of Management and Budget, in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, then moved to the Department of Homeland Security, and later served for six years at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in several leadership roles. Virginia later spent 13 years in executive roles at the General Services Administration, including overseeing GSA’s acquisition rulemaking and leading the transition and modernization of the government-wide eRulemaking system from EPA to GSA. She concluded her federal career as general deputy assistant secretary for administration in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She is a 2025 National Academy of Public Administration Fellow and a 2024 American Council for Technology – Industry Advisory Council Fellow. She also serves on the Board of Advisors for Guardrails Technology. Virginia is the treasurer for the Alumnae-i Network of Harvard Women, a 14,000-member global organization. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the National Contract Management Association and the Senior Executives Association. She received her master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and her undergraduate degree in international relations and business from the University of Southern California. 
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​​​Shema Mbyirukira, J.D., leads discussion sections in the Politics of National Memory class. As vice president and deputy general counsel of information technology and artificial intelligence at Verizon, Professor Mbyirukira (m BEER ru keera) leads the legal team supporting the Global Technology Services and Artificial Intelligence organizations within Verizon Global Services. Prior to joining Verizon, Professor Mbyirukira held various positions in Deloitte’s Federal Cybersecurity Practice and Ernst & Young’s Technology Risk Services Group. Professor Mbyirukira also practiced as a corporate attorney, specializing in insurance litigation and international trade compliance. Throughout his career, Professor Mbyirukira has been active in criminal justice reform. While in law school, he worked with the Center for Death Penalty Litigation and helped launch Verizon’s Criminal Justice Reform Pro Bono Program, where he is currently working on re-sentencing cases for children sentenced to life in prison without parole. 
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Katherine McElroy, Ph.D., supervises Graduate Archer Fellows in the Independent Study and Research course. She is a senior economist on the Education, Workforce, and Income Security team at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). At GAO, she designs quantitative analyses in response to congressional requests on topics ranging from discipline disparities in schools to cryptocurrency in retirement plans. Dr. McElroy has published peer-reviewed research in the Economics of Education Review and Contemporary Economic Policy. She also serves as a program director for Minds Matter DC, a volunteer-based organization supporting college readiness for students from low-income families. Dr. McElroy holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a B.S. from Florida State University.
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Irene Newman, Ph.D., leads discussion sections in the Politics of National Memory class. She works as a records researcher for the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board. Newman previously worked for the Southern Oral History Program and the journal Southern Cultures. Her research focuses on white power organizing in the United States during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Newman has a Ph.D. in American studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Mary Nugent, Ph.D., leads discussion sections in the Politics of National Memory class. Dr. Nugent was most recently an advisor at Save the Children, where she managed the organization's early childhood education government relations work. Prior to working with Save the Children, Dr. Nugent served as a policy advisor to former U.S. Representative Deb Haaland (NM-1) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Dr. Nugent has a Ph.D. in political science from Rutgers University, with expertise in legislative politics, women in politics, and theories of representation. She has taught undergraduate classes in political theory, UK politics, and women in U.S. politics. Dr. Nugent also served as an international debate coach and lecturer at the University of Vermont. Her research has been published in "The Journal of Politics," "The European Journal of Political Research," and "Party Politics."
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Derek O’Leary, Ph.D., serves as the academic director at the Archer Center, where he collaborates with staff and faculty to ensure Archer Fellows have a transformative educational experience. He is committed to helping Fellows deepen their knowledge, sharpen their skills, and feel empowered to engage with the public policy issues that matter most to them. Prior to joining the Archer Center, Dr. O'Leary served in both the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he was a Presidential Management Fellow. An experienced educator, he has taught history, government, and civics at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of South Carolina, and Bard High School Early College in Washington, D.C. His recent book, “Archival Communities: Constructing the Past in the Early United States,” draws on research conducted at the Library of Congress and the National Archives. Dr. O'Leary holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. in international relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and a B.A. from Amherst College. He welcomes conversations with Archer Fellows and Archer Fellow alumni as they explore graduate or academic pathways. Outside of work, he practices jiu-jitsu and volunteers with several local organizations, including Minds Matter. He loves living in our nation’s capital and looks forward to helping Archer Fellows experience Washington and explore volunteer opportunities in the city.​
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Steven Park, Ph.D., supervises Graduate Archer Fellows in the Independent Study and Research course. He is currently a faculty member with the National Intelligence College, a government graduate school that educates intelligence and national security professionals. He teaches courses on international relations, geostrategic issues of North Korea, intelligence and national security policy, and research methods. He also leads a research seminar, advising graduate students with a research interest in China’s future. Dr. Park is a national security professional, having worked in various policy offices in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy), the Department of State, and the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy (Policy), as well as two separate tours of duty at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. He also served as the national security and foreign policy fellow for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a retired U.S. Army foreign area officer (FAO) for northeast Asia. Dr. Park received his Ph.D. in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also earned an M.A. in Asian studies from UC Berkeley, an M.A. in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College, and an MPA from the University of Alaska at Anchorage.
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​​​John Piazza, J.D., supervises undergraduate Archer Fellows in the Policymaking Process class. He has served as chief counsel on the Democratic staff of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology since 2009, where he has been working since 2006. During his time working on the Hill, Professor Piazza has been involved in all aspects of the legislative process, from the initial formulation of a bill to shepherding legislation through the conference process for final passage. Professor Piazza has also been extensively involved in the investigation and oversight work of the Committee and the use of that work to effectuate policy change. During his time on the Committee, Professor Piazza has served under Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) and former Chairman Bart Gordon (TN-6). Prior to his work in Congress, Professor Piazza was a criminal prosecutor in Tucson, Arizona. Mr. Piazza holds a B.A. in environmental science from Columbia College and a J.D. from Washington and Lee University. 
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William (Bill) Shute, J.D., supervises undergraduate Archer Fellows in the Policymaking Process class and teaches the Inside Washington: Policymaking from the Ground Up class for the Graduate Archer Fellowship Program. Professor Shute is a government relations expert, executive management professional, high-tech start-up advisor, and podcast creator/host with thirty-two years of experience working in and around the federal government. He is currently chair of the Scholars Advisory Board for Dome Compass, Inc., a nonpartisan mobile platform for federal policymakers, and the creator and host of the podcast 80-Proof Politics – Distilling the Art of Advocacy (80ProofPolitics.com). Shute was previously an executive officer with The University of Texas System, serving as the vice chancellor for federal relations for eighteen years, during which he led the System’s Office of Federal Relations. Before joining the UT System in September 2001, Shute spent eleven years as the executive director of federal relations for SBC Telecommunications, Inc. He also worked as the senior vice president in the government relations firm R. Duffy Wall & Associates and was a legal fellow for the National Association of Broadcasters. Prior to working for SBC, he was a legislative assistant to former U.S. Representative Bob Whittaker (KS-5), and was responsible for several Commerce Committee and Judiciary Committee issues. Shute is a member of the State Bar of Texas, having attained his J.D. from the University of Houston and a B.A. with honors from The University of Texas at Austin.