The Foley Institute is proud to have a distinguished group of associated faculty members, both at WSU and further afield.
Foley Fellows Program
The Foley Institute’s Fellows program engages scholars and practitioners from across disciplines and professional fields who share a commitment to public service, bipartisan collaboration and civility. Fellows take an active role in shaping their engagement, proposing activities such as co-authoring briefs or commentary, presenting at Institute-branded events, contributing to research projects, or mentoring students, in partnership with the Institute. The scope and terms of each Fellow’s engagement are determined individually in discussion with the institute upon selection. Drawing Fellows from fields spanning political science, economics, technology, law, and beyond reflects the Institute’s belief that sound public policy depends on interdisciplinary perspective and nonpartisan rigor.
2026-27 Foley Fellows
Carah Ong Whaley, Executive Director at Better Choices for Democracy
Dr. Carah Ong Whaley is a nationally recognized expert on democracy, elections, and civic engagement. At Better Choices for Democracy, she leads research and public education on election systems designed to give voters more meaningful choices and to improve political representation and accountability. She is also a lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. Carah’s research examines how political actors and institutions shape public access to and participation in policymaking and democratic decision-making. Her recent work explores election reform, public confidence in elections, civic learning, and the governance of artificial intelligence. She has designed and taught courses on making elections better, artificial intelligence, campaigns and elections, state and local politics, and political and civic engagement. Her teaching combines rigorous scholarship with experiential learning to foster the development of civic knowledge, skills and agency.
Kim Wyman, VP of Government Affairs, Liberty Vote, Former WA Secretary of State
Kim Wyman is a nationally recognized leader in election administration. She served as Washington Secretary of State and is only the second Republican woman in state history to be elected to statewide office. Notably, five of the nine years she served in the role, Wyman was the only Republican elected to statewide executive office on the West Coast.
The respect she earned as a collaborator willing to work across party lines to serve her state resulted in Secretary Wyman’s Presidential appointment in 2021 to serve as the Senior Election Security Advisor at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She later served as a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center.
She began her 30-year career in elections as the Thurston County Elections Director and served as the elected Thurston County Auditor. A graduate of California State University Long Beach, Wyman earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Troy State University. She currently works as the Vice President of Government Affairs for Liberty Vote.
Senior Foley Fellows
Todd Donovan Western Washington University
Todd Donovan professor of political science, and has carried out extensive research on elections and representation, mass political behavior, and direct democracy.
He is co-author of the books Why Iowa? How Caucuses and Sequential Elections Improve the Presidential Nominating Process and State and Local Politics: Institutions and Reform and is widely published in his areas of interest.
James R. Simpson Emeritus, University of Florida
James R. Simpson is an international economist specializing in world agriculture and food issues. He is Affiliate Professor, Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, Washington State University, as well as Professor Emeritus, University of Florida, and Professor Emeritus at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan where he spent 10 years. In addition to six years of long-term assignments in Chile, Costa Rica and Paraguay (he is fluent in Spanish), he has also worked short-term and had professional visits in over 35 other countries, including more than 25 trips to China (PRC) spanning a period of over a year. Dr. Simpson is author of nine books including four on Japan as well as one on China, more than 400 articles, monographs and chapters in books, and has presented papers at numerous national and international conferences. He has done extensive consulting with organizations such as The World Bank, The Latin American Development Bank, The Asian Development Bank, and the CG System of International Research Centers as well as many private companies. Email: jamesrsimpson@gmail.com