Temple University
Joseph P. McLaughlin, Jr., (PhD) is the principal investigator and director of the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project. He is also director of Temple's Institute for Public Affairs and an assistant dean of Temple University's College of Liberal Arts. McLaughlin teaches American politics and public policy in the department of political science. He joined Temple in March 2004 after a long career as government official and lobbyist working on major public policy issues in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Washington D. C. He served as a deputy to Philadelphia Mayor William J. Green III (1982-83) and senior advisor to Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell (2003-04). He was spokesman for the National Governors Association in Washington DC during the federalism and urban policy debates of the Carter and Reagan administrations (1978-82). From 1974-77, he was director of the Legislative Information Office of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. As a reporter for the Chicago Tribune (1968-71), he covered state and local politics and government in Illinois. McLaughlin obtained his master's (1992) and doctoral (1999) degrees in political science from Temple.
Megan Mullin (PhD) is a faculty advisor for the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project and assistant professor of political science at Temple University. She teaches and has published in the fields of state and local politics, federalism, public policy, and voting.
Paul Wolfgang is a faculty advisor for the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project and an Instructor in the department of computer and information sciences at Temple University. He is the principal constructor of the project's website tools.
Jay Jennings is the project coordinator for the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project. He is working on his PhD in political science at Temple University and received his MA in political science from American University in 2004. His interests lie in political parties, electorial behavior and public policy. Jennings received his BA in Political Science from Houghton College. He is a resident of Lancaster, Pennsylvania but grew up in Central, South Carolina.
Michelle Atherton is assistant director of the Institute for Public Affairs and assistant project coordinator for the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project. Atherton received a dual BA in philosophy of science and English literature from the University of Pittsburgh. She studied American politics and public policy at Temple University where she was awarded her MA in political science, and also taught American politics, the politics of race and political philosophy as an adjunct instructor at Temple University. Originally from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she has been a resident of Philadelphia since 1999.
Ping Zhang is a graduate research assistant for the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project. He is from China. He obtained his Bachelor's (2004) and Master's (2007) degrees in Computer Science from Huazhong University of Science & Technology. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in Computer and Information Science at Temple University . His interests lie in data mining, machine learning and their applications in various fields.
Justin Gollob is the former project coordinator for the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project. Justin completed his PhD in political science at Temple University in the fall of 2007 and is currently a professor at Mesa State College. His research interests include legislative politics, state and local government, representation, and public policy. He recieved his MA in political science from Temple University in 2002 and his bachelors degree from Idaho State University in 1999. Gollob was previously the internship coordinator for the department of political science and an adjunct professor. He grew up in Pocatello, Idaho.
Dan Lehman is the former graduate research manager for the Pennsylvania Policy Database project. He began graduate school in the fall of 2003 in the department of political science. Currently, he is working on his PhD in American politics with a focus on political party organizations, interest groups, and Latino voters. He graduated with BA degrees in political science and American studies from Temple University in May 2002, and an MA from Temple in 2006. He grew up in Lebanon, PA.
J. Wesley Leckrone (PhD) is Assistant Professor of Government and Politics at Widener University. He is the former project coordinator of the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project and is currently on the project’s University Advisory Committee. Wes earned his PhD in the spring of 2006 from Temple University in the department of political science. He received an MA in history from Temple in 1995 and a BA in political science from American University in 1991. Wes previously served as the program director at the Center for the Study of Federalism at Temple University. His publications include articles in Publius: The Journal of Federalism, State Politics and Policy Quarterly and the Journal of Urban Affairs. Wes grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Jason Bossie is the former assistant project coordinator of the Pennsylvania Policy Database project and is currently an advisor to the project. In the spring of 2007 he earned an MA from Temple University in the department of political science. He earned a master's degree in policy from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009 and currently works for the EPA in Washington, D.C.
Current Researchers:
Dave Ferreira is a recent graduate of Temple University with a major in political science and minor in geography & urban studies. He comes to us from Cranford, NJ. He currently resides in Philadelphia's Queen Village section.
Ryan Martin earned his BA in Political Science from Temple University in May of 2011. Ryan is currently working for Pennsylvania State Senator John Rafferty Jr. as a legislative assistant. He is also attending Villanova beginning in the fall of 2011 for his graduate studies in Public Administration. He grew up in Morgantown, PA.
Michelle Montalvo is a Junior Communications major from Pembroke Pines, Florida. She is an active member in student organizations at Temple and has done work for various political campaigns in Philadelphia. She hopes to pursue a career in campaign communications.
Dominick Lebo is a Senior Political Science major, and is also interested in philosophy, economics and German. He hopes to pursue a career in tax law. His hometown is Springtown, PA.