The Republican National Convention kicks off this coming Monday, July 15-18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, featuring over 50,000 attendees, including approximately 2,500 delegates. The convention is crucial for party delegates to formalize their presidential ticket and rally support for the upcoming election.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to provide context, commentary and analysis on this matter. If you would like to speak to an expert, please contact the GW Media Relations Team at [email protected].
Generalists
Peter Loge is the director of GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs. He has nearly 30 years of experience in politics and communications, having served as a deputy to the chief of staff for Sen. Edward Kennedy during the 1995 shutdown, a VP at the US Institute of Peace in 2013, and held senior positions for three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Loge currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at the School of Media and Public Affairs and continues to advise advocates and organizations.
Reverend Professor Quardricos Bernard Driskell an adjunct professor of religion and politics at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, as well as a policy influencer and federal lobbyist. With nearly ten years of government relations experience, he has worked for two patient voluntary health associations where he advanced the patient voice into policy and research deliberations through services to Congress, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Congress
Casey Burgat is the director of the Legislative Affairs program at the Graduate School of Political Management and host of its Mastering the Room podcast. Prior to joining GSPM, Burgat was a Senior Governance Fellow at the R Street Institute where his research focused on issues of congressional capacity and reform. Burgat co-authored Congress Explained: Representation and Lawmaking in the First Branch, a textbook on all things Congress.
Historical Context
Matt Dallek, a professor at GW’s Graduate School of Political Management, is a political historian with expertise in the intersection of social crises and political transformation, the evolution of the modern conservative movement, and liberalism and its critics. Along with four co-authored books, Dallek is the author of Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right, which explores the history and influence of America’s right-wing activism.
Immigration Policy
Elizabeth Vaquera is the inaugural Director of the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute and an Associate Professor of Sociology and Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University. Vaquera's research focuses on vulnerable and diverse groups, particularly Latinos/as and immigrants. Her work has analyzed the character and importance of immigrant status, race, and ethnic identity in outcomes such as education, health, and emotional and social well-being. In addition to an extensive body of work published in leading peer-reviewed journals, Vaquera is the co-author of several books, the most recent of which, Education and Immigration, examines the educational experiences of immigrants and their children living in the U.S.
Cori Alonso-Yoder is an Associate Professor of Fundamentals of Lawyering at the GW Law School. Alonso-Yoder is nationally recognized scholar on immigration legislation and the impacts of state, local and federal laws on immigrant communities. She specializes on the health policy of immigration.
Economy
Tara Sinclair is the director of the GW Center for Economic Research, which focuses on economic forecasting. Her research models, explains, and forecasts macroeconomic fluctuations and trends. She also evaluates forecasts, particularly with respect to their role in policy and decision-making. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in macroeconomics and econometrics. In 2022-2024 she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Macroeconomics in the Office of Economic Policy at the Department of Treasury.
Media Coverage
Frank Sesno serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Professor at the GW School of Media and Public Affairs as well as as the Executive Director of the George Washington University Alliance for a Sustainable Future. An Emmy-award winning journalist, Sesno’s diverse journalism career spanning four decades includes more than two decades at CNN as a White House correspondent, anchor, Sunday talk show host, Washington Bureau Chief, and Special Correspondent. While serving in those roles, he covered presidential campaigns and political conventions, superpower summits, arms negotiations, conflicts in the Middle East and Latin America, and major historical events such as the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the 9/11 terror attacks, and Barack Obama’s historic inauguration as America’s first Black president in 2009.
Healthcare
Jeffrey Levi, a professor of health policy and management at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. His work focuses on the intersection of public health, the health care system and the multi-sector collaborations required to improve health.
Anne Reid, is a lecturer in the Health Policy and Management Department at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She can talk about the state of medicare and the impact this could have on the election. Watch here as she talks about the future of these programs.
Leighton Ku, a professor of health policy and management and Director of the Center for Health Policy Research at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, is a health policy researcher and public policy analyst. He is an expert in national and state health reforms, and how to improve access to affordable health care for vulnerable populations. Watch here as he talks about healthcare reform and the implications of the election.
Trump Trials
Stephen A Saltzburg, Wallace and Beverley Woodbury University Professor of Law; Co-director of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program at the George Washington University Law School. Professor Saltzburg is an expert on evidence, procedure and litigation. Professor Saltzburg has held numerous governmental positions and continues to serve as a mediator for the U.S. Court of Appeals for DC. Additionally, Saltzburg is one of the leading voices on Trump’s criminal trials and manner.
Catherine Ross is the Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School. She specializes in constitutional law (with particular emphasis on the First Amendment) and family law. Professor Ross' book A Right to Lie? Presidents, Other Liars, and the First Amendment (University of Pennsylvania Press) was published in November 2021.
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