Meet Our Faculty and Staff

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Kenneth Chilton, Ph.D. | cv
Professor 
Department of Public Administration
kchilton@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 | phone 615.963.7017

Ruth Kessa, Ph.D. | cv
Assistant Professor 
Department of Public Administration
rkessa@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F401 | phone 615.963.7145

Cheong Kim, Ph.D. | cv
Assistant Professor 
Department of Public Administration
ckim1 @tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F402 | phone 615.963.7305

Cliff Lippard, Ph.D.  |  cv
Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of Public Administration
Executive Director, Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR)
professorlippard@gmail.com

Kenyatta Lovett, Ph.D.  | detail | cv
Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of Public Administration
Principal, Education Strategy Group
kenyatta.lovett@gmail.com

Robert Marioni, Ph.D. | cv
Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of Public Administration
LTSS Assistant Deputy of Data Governance and Reporting, Long-term Services & Supports, Division of TennCare
State of Tennessee
robmarioni@hotmail.com 

Angela M. Paez, Ph.D. | detail | cv
Associate Professor and Graduate Programs Coordinator
Department of Public Administration
anicho10@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F413  |  phone 615.9637251

Janice Snow Rodriguez, Ph.D. | cv
Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of Public Administration
Executive Director, Tennessee Language Center
jsnowrod16@gmail.com

Regina Russell, Ph.D. | cv
Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of Public Administration
Director for Assessment and Evaluation, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and Associate Professor in the Health Promotion, Populations and Health Systems faculty community, VU School of Nursing

Alex Sekwat, Ph.D. | cv
Professor of Public Administration
asekwat@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 | phone 615.963.7371

Rodney Stanley, Ph.D. | detail  | cv
Interim Dean, College of Public Service and Professor
Department of Public Administration
rstanley1@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400  |  phone 615.963.7249

Andy Spears, Ph.D. | cv
Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of Public Administration
President, Spears Strategy (public affairs)
ASPEARS35@GMAIL.COM

Meg Streams, Ph.D. | detail | cv
Department Chair and Associate Professor
Department of Public Administration
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400
mstreams@tnstate.edu
phone 615.963.7112

Steve Thompson, Ph.D. | cv
Adjunct Faculty Member
Department of Public Administration
sthomp48@tnstate.edu

SOCIAL WORK

Public Administration | Social Work | Urban Studies | Administrative staff | top of page

Donna Dopwell, PhD, MSSW
Director and Assistant Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
ddopwell@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite C400| phone 615.963.7641

Delores Butler, MSW, LAPSW 
Assistant Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
dbutler@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 | phone 615.963.7666

Cynthia George, Ph.D., MSSW
Associate Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
cgeorge9@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 | phone 615.963.1850

Shone Hughes, DPA, MSW
Assistant Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
shughe10@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 | phone 615.963.7641

Gary Jones, MSW, Ph.D. | cv
Interim MSW Coordinator and Assistant Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
gjonesjr@tnstate.edu
phone 615.963.7665                                                                                                                                          office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite C400 

Janet Otachi, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
jotachi@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 |phone 615.963.7267

Wonjen Bagley, DSW, LMSW
Assistant Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
wbagley@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 |phone 615.963.7302

Paigean Jones, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
pjones54@tnstate.edu
office  Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite E400

Zadonna Slay, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Social Work Program
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
zslay@tnstate.edu
office  Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 | phone 615.963.7246

URBAN STUDIES

Public Administration | Social Work | Urban Studies | Administrative staff | top of page

Kimberly Triplett, Ph.D.  | detail  | cv
Associate Professor, Urban Studies
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
ktriplet@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite E | phone 615.963.7025

Rafael Harun, Ph.D.  | cv
Assistant Professor, Urban Studies
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
sharun@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, F414 | phone 615.963.7255

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Public Administration | Social Work | Urban Studies | Administrative staff |top of page

Latonia Jackson
Administrative Assistant
Department of Public Administration
ljacks77@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite F400 | phone 615.963.7241

Linda Robare
Administrative Assistant
Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
lrobare@tnstate.edu
office Avon Williams Instructional Site, Suite C400 | phone 615.963.7667