Trump’s administration has begun dismantling federal diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, placing DEI staff on leave and rescinding Biden-era initiatives aimed at combating systemic bias.
A new executive order eliminates affirmative action in federal contracting, revokes protections for marginalized groups, and mandates a government-wide review of grants and programs that prioritize diversity.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, analysis and commentary on the impact of disbanding DEI programs. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact the GW Media Relations team at [email protected].
DEI Experts
Dr. Domonic A. Bearfield is a professor at the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University. A well-known scholar of race, gender, and public sector personnel, his work has appeared in many of the field's leading journals. He is currently an editor at Public Administration Review and previously served as the forum editor at Administrative Theory and Praxis. He received his Ph.D. in Public Administration from Rutgers University-Newark. He also holds an M.P.A. from the University of Delaware and a B.A. in English from Norfolk State University.
Jasmine McGinnis Johnson is an Associate Professor in Public Administration and Public Policy at George Washington University. Jasmine's research interests broadly relate to the areas of the democratization of philanthropy, the diversity of philanthropy and nonprofits, and human resource issues in public and nonprofit organizations. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., Jasmine worked in the nonprofit sector for several years as a development and evaluation senior manager.
Dr. Wendy Ellis is an Assistant Professor in Global Health and the Founding Director of the Center for Community Resilience at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. In 2024, she was appointed the Inaugural Director of the Institute for Racial, Ethnic and Socioeconomic Equity here at GW. The Equity Institute leverages the resources of a premier research university and invests in transformative community partnerships with the goal of eradicating racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequity worldwide.
Regulatory Policy
Roger Nober is the Director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center and a Professor of Practice at the GW Trachtenberg School. His career includes service as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at BNSF Railway, Chairman of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and Chief Counsel of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives. Nober retired from BNSF Railway Co. in December 2022, after 16 years as an Executive Vice President responsible for overseeing legal and regulatory matters, environmental claims, compliance, communications as well as state government and community affairs.
Susan Dudley is a distinguished professor of practice in the GW Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration and former director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center. Dudley served as the Presidentially-appointed Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, directed the Regulatory Studies Program at the Mercatus Center, served as a staff economist at OIRA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and as a consultant to government and private clients at Economists Incorporated. Her expertise includes regulatory policy, federal regulatory procedure, benefit-cost analysis, risk assessment, environmental policy, health & safety regulation, and financial market regulation.
Dudley published the piece, “What To Expect On The Regulatory Front In A Second Trump Term,” in Forbes today about the regulatory actions she expects Trump and his administration to make in his second term as president.
Christopher Carrigan is an associate professor and co-director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center. His research focuses on regulatory and bureaucratic policymaking, exploring the effects of organizational design on agency rulemaking and enforcement practices, political responses to disasters in regulated industries, factors that influence rule timing and durability, and the role supporting analysis plays in regulatory outcomes. Carrigan’s expertise includes regulation, bureaucratic politics, public administration and policy, and political economy.
Steven Balla, associate professor and co-director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center, studies government transparency and public participation in policymaking in China and the United States. Balla is currently working on projects on congressional oversight of regulatory policymaking, polarization in public commenting on proposed rules, transparency and participation in state rulemaking, commenting on midnight regulations, policymaking innovation in China, transparency and participation in policymaking in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the responsiveness of Chinese government officials to public feedback on draft laws and regulations.
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