Kimalee Dickerson joined the School of Government in October 2021 as a faculty member in the management, administration, and leadership division and Master of Public Administration program. Her work will focus on advising on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She is an established researcher and presenter on on many aspects of equity in public administration, including organizational climate for diversity, antiracism and equity policies in public schools, and equity in water quality. In addition to her expertise in DEI issues, Dickerson specializes in community- engaged and participatory action research and adolescent and adult development.

Prior to joining the School, she served as a postdoctoral researcher with the UVA School of Education and Human Development and Equity Center. Dickerson earned an undergraduate degree in psychology & sociology and Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Virginia. In addition, she holds a Juris Doctor degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Audrea Caesar is the inaugural chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer (CDEIO) for the UNC Healthcare system and the UNC School of Medicine. She is working to embed equity into the culture, policies, and practices to achieve a more inclusive organization while decreasing disparities in health. Audrea is a certified health education specialist (CHES) and a senior certified human resources professional (SHRM-SCP) who specializes in Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Health Equity. With more than 20 years in the public sector, Audrea has served at the state, county, and city levels of government. Prior to UNC Health, she came to UNC Health from the City of Raleigh, where she created and led the city’s first Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. In this role, she developed Raleigh’s first racial equity action plan emphasizing workforce equity, police-community relations, business inclusion and community engagement, and served as an advisor to the Mayor and City Council on issues related to community health, social justice, and equity. Prior to her role in Raleigh, Audrea held several positions helping organizations better understand the social determinants of inequity. As director of community outreach and support for Union County’s Department of Health and Human Services, she founded the Union Health Equity Collaborative, which trained more than 150 providers and staff from Union County Public Health, Atrium Health Union, Novant Health, and members of the community on topics related to social determinants using Union County-specific data. Audrea has also worked in the provider network management arena as a medicaid ombudsman, assisting all medical provider types with billing, coding, and reimbursement.

Leisha DeHart-Davis is a Distinguished Term Coates Professor of Public Administration and Government. She directs the Local Government Workplaces Initiative, which conducts organizational research for improving city and county workplaces. DeHart-Davis is a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow and recipient of the 2019 Gary Cornia Distinguished Lecturer given by the Romney Institute of Brigham Young University. Professor DeHart-Davis is also a UNC Thorp Faculty Engaged Scholar. She has published two books, the award-winning Creating Effective Rules in Public Sector Organizations and Understanding Gender Imbalance in Public Sector Leadership. Her research has also been published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, International Public Management Journal, Administration and Society, and Review of Public Personnel Administration. She is the current president of the Public Management Research Association. DeHart-Davis holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Selected Publications

Pandey, S., DeHart-Davis, L., Pandey, S., & Ahlawat, S. (2022). Fight or flight: How gender influences follower responses to unethical leader behaviour. Public Management Review, 1-21.

Jiang, Z., DeHart‐Davis, L., & Borry, E. L. (2022). Managerial Practice and Diversity Climate: The Roles of Workplace Voice, Centralization, and Teamwork. Public Administration Review.

Kaufmann, W., Borry, E. L., & DeHart-Davis, L. (2022). Can effective organizational rules keep employees from leaving? a study of green tape and turnover intention. Public Management Review, 1-22.

Whetsell, Travis. A., Kroll, A., & DeHart-Davis, L. (2021). “Formal Hierarchies and Informal Networks: How Organizational Structure Shapes Information Search in Local Government”. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory

DeHart-Davis, Leisha, D.M. Hatmaker, K. Nelson, S.K. Pandey, S. Pandey, A.E. Smith. (2020). Understanding Gender Imbalance in Public Sector Leadership. Elements Series, Cambridge University Press.

Smith, Amy E., Hassan, S., Hatmaker, D.M., DeHart-Davis, L. and Humphrey, N., (2020). “Gender, Race, and Experiences of Workplace Incivility in Public Organizations”. Review of Public Personnel Administration, p.0734371X20927760.

Kroll, A., DeHart-Davis, L., & Vogel, D. (2019). “Mechanisms of Social Capital in Organizations: How Team Cognition Influences Employee Commitment and Engagement”. The American Review of Public Administration, 49(7), 777–791. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074019851894

Hassan, Shahidul, Leisha DeHart‐Davis, and Zhongnan Jiang (2018) “How Empowering Leadership Reduces Employee Silence in Public Organizations.” Public Administration.

DeHart-Davis, Leisha. Creating Effective Rules in Public Sector Organizations (2017) Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Kaufmann, Wesley, Erin L. Borry, and Leisha DeHart‐Davis. “More than Pathological Formalization: Understanding Organizational Structure and Red Tape.” Public Administration Review (2018).

Borry, Erin L., Leisha DeHart‐Davis, Wesley Kaufmann, Cullen C. Merritt, Zachary Mohr, and Lars Tummers. “Formalization and consistency heighten organizational rule following: Experimental and survey evidence.” Public Administration 96, no. 2 (2018): 368-385.

“Green Tape and Job Satisfaction: Can Organizational Rules Make Employees Happy?,” Leisha DeHart-Davis, Randall S. Davis, and Zachary Mohr, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (2014): muu038.

“Written Versus Unwritten Rules: The Role of Rule Formalization in Green Tape,” Leisha DeHart-Davis, Jie Chen, and Todd D. Little. International Public Management Journal 16, no. 3 (2013): 331-356.

“Green Tape: A Theory of Effective Organizational Rules.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 19 2: 361-384. JPART 2010 Virtual Reader inclusion of Leisha DeHart-Davis, 2009.

“Bureaucracy and Public Employee Behavior: A Case of Local Government,” Review of Public Personnel Administration 29 4. 311-326. Mary K. Feeney and Leisha DeHart-Davis, 2009.

“Can Bureaucracy Benefit Organizational Women? An Exploratory Study,” Administration and Society 41 3.:340-363. Leisha DeHart-Davis, 2009.

“Gender and Organizational Rule Abidance,” Public Administration Review 692.:339-347. Shannon Portillo and Leisha DeHart-Davis, 2009.

Additional Publications

Nesbit, Rebecca, Stephanie Moulton, Scott Robinson, Craig Smith, Leisha DeHart-Davis, Mary K. Feeney, Beth Gazley, and Yilin Hou. “Wrestling with Intellectual Diversity in Public Administration: Avoiding Disconnectedness and Fragmentation While Seeking Rigor, Depth, and Relevance.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 21, no. suppl 1 (2011): i13-i28.

Feeney, Mary K., and Leisha DeHart-Davis. 2009. Bureaucracy and Public Employee Behavior: A Case of Local Government.Review of Public Personnel Administration 29 4. 311-326.

DeHart-Davis, Leisha 2009 Green Tape and Public Employee Rule Abidance: Why Organizational Rule Attributes Matter Public Administration Review 69 5.: 901-910.

Shannon Portillo, Leisha DeHart-Davis. 2009. Gender and Organizational Rule Abidance. Public Administration Review 69 2.:339-347.

DeHart-Davis, Leisha. 2007. The Unbureaucratic Personality Public Administration Review Vol. 67, No. 5, pp. 892-903.

DeHart-Davis, Leisha, Marlowe, Justin & Pandey, Sanjay K. 2006. Gender Dimensions of Public Service Motivation Public Administration Review Vol. 66, No. 6, pp. 873-887. (Also in 2012 PAR Virtual Issue: Public Service Motivation).

Zia, A., B. G.Norton, D. S. Noonan, M. O. Rodgers, and L. DeHart-Davis. 2006. A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of High-Emitter Non-Compliance and Its Impact on Vehicular Tailpipe Emissions in Atlanta,1997-2001. Transportation Research Part D 11 1.: 77-96.

DeHart-Davis, Leisha; G. Kingsley 2005. Managerial Perceptions of Privatization: Evidence from a State Department of Transportation State and Local Government Review Vol. 37, No. 3, pp 228-241.

DeHart-Davis, Leisha and R. Guensler 2005. Employers as Mediating Institutions in Public Policy: The Case of Commute Option Programs Policy Studies Journal Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 675-697 .

DeHart-Davis, Leisha and S. Pandey. 2005. Red Tape and Public Employees: Does Perceived Rule Dysfunction Alienate Managers? Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 133-148.

Corley, Elizabeth. L.DeHart-Davis, M. Rodgers 2003. Inspection/Maintenance Program Evaluation: Replication of the Denver Step Method for an Atlanta Fleet Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 37, No. 12, pp. 2801-2806.

DeHart-Davis, Leisha, E.Corley, M. Rodgers. 2002. Evaluating Vehicle Inspection/Maintenance Programs Using Onroad Emissions Data: The Atlanta Reference Method, Evaluation Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 111-146.

DeHart-Davis, Leisha and B. Bozeman 2001. Regulatory Compliance and Air Quality Permitting: Why Do Firms ‘Overcomply?’, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 471-508.

Bozeman, Barry and L. DeHart-Davis 1999. Red Tape and Clean Air: Title V Air Pollution Permitting Implementation as a Test Bed for Theory Development Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 141-177.