Carah Ong Whaley, Ph.D

Carah Ong Whaley is Associate Director of the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement at James Madison University. She previously was a lecturer in the Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics at the University of Virginia and in the Department of Political Science at JMU. At the heart of her research interests is a desire to understand and illuminate how the interactions of political actors and institutions structure public access and participation in policy- and decision-making processes.

Ong Whaley has developed innovative pedagogy melding scholarship and experiential learning to teach courses on campaigns and elections, state and local politics, and political and civic engagement. Her dissertation explored the politics of cleaning up the environmental contamination that resulted from the testing, development and production of nuclear weapons, with a focus on the role of community-based groups in developing expertise and engaging the public in policy- and decision-making processes.

She has previously worked in the Governing America in a Global Era (GAGE) program at the Miller Center for Public Affairs, and worked for non-governmental organizations on nuclear and security issues from 1999-2012.

Ong Whaley holds a PhD in American Government, and an MA in Foreign Affairs from UVA. Recent research and publications include: American Government: Roots and Reform (co-authored chapters on Political Parties, Campaigns, Elections and Voting, and The Media with Dr. Larry Sabato); and “Grassroots Expertise and the Politics of Nuclear Accountability.” With Dr. Walter Heinecke, she is co-editing a new book series on “Research in Global Civic Engagement” (Forthcoming, Information Age Press).

Follow Carah on Twitter @CarahOng.