American Democracy Now

About the Author

Brigid Harrison

BRIGID CALLAHAN HARRISON specializes in the civic engagement and political participation of Americans, especially the Millennial generation and Generation Z, the U.S. Congress, and the presidency. Brigid has taught American government for 25 years at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She takes particular pride in creating a learning experience in the classroom that shapes students’ lifelong understanding of American politics, sharpens their critical thinking about American government, and encourages their participation in civic life. She enjoys supervising student internships in political campaigns and government and is a frequent commentator in print and electronic media on national and New Jersey politics. She is past president of the New Jersey Political Science Association and of the National Women’s Caucus for Political Science. She received her B.A. from Stockton University; her M.A. from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; and her Ph.D. from Temple University. Harrison lives in Longport, New Jersey, with her husband, Paul Meilak, a retired New York City police detective. She has three children: Caroline (26), Alexandra (20), and John (18). Born and raised in New Jersey, Harrison is a fan of Bruce Springsteen and in her spare time, she enjoys reading on the beach, traveling, cycling, and binge-watching political thrillers on Netflix. Like her on Facebook at Brigid Callahan Harrison, and follow her on Twitter @BriCalHar.

Jean Harris

JEAN WAHL HARRIS’S research interests include political socialization and engagement, federalism and intergovernmental relations, and the gendered nature and effects of U.S. politics. Jean has taught introductory courses in local, state, and national government and upper-level courses in public administration, public policy, and judicial politics for the Political Science Department at the University of Scranton for 33 years. She is also a founding mother and former director of the Women’s & Gender Studies Program at the university. Since 2012, Jean has coordinated the university’s Ready to Run Northeastern Pennsylvania program, which educates women about why it’s important to have more women in government and how to run for office. In her academic career and her community service, Jean seeks to cultivate a high sense of political efficacy in everyone she encounters, empowering and inspiring them to engage in community, state, national, and/or international politics. Jean earned her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Binghamton. In 1994, the University of Scranton named her its CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) professor of the year. She was an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow during the 2007–2008 academic year. Jean lives in Nicholson, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Michael. She enjoys reading on her deck overlooking the Endless Mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania and the benefits of Michael’s gardens.

Michelle Deardorff

MICHELLE D. DEARDORFF’S teaching and research focus on the constitutional and statutory protections surrounding gender, race, and religion. She particularly enjoys developing classes that allow students to apply their understandings of law, politics, and political theory to current events; she seeks to foster critical citizens prepared to participate in governing our communities and nation. Deardorff is currently head of Political Science and Public Service at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Before coming to UTC, she spent 10 years teaching at Jackson State, a historically Black university in Mississippi, and another decade at Millikin University, a small private college in Illinois. She recently served on the Council of the American Political Science Association and is a founding faculty member of the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy, a coalition of academics who promote civic engagement and popular sovereignty through the study of the struggle for civil rights in the United States.  She lives in Chattanooga with her husband, David, where they enjoy kayaking, hiking, live music, and reading in beautiful places.