People

Executive Director

E-Mail: larry.terry@virginia.edu

Larry Terry came to the Cooper Center in 2018 from Texas, where he worked to improve the lives of citizens in the Dallas region and beyond, including launching the Community Leadership Academy. Prior to his position at UNT Dallas, Terry served as an assistant professor of Public Administration at both Long Island University-Brooklyn and Arizona State University.

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Director of Strategy and Public Engagement

E-Mail: meredith.gunter@virginia.edu

Phone: 434-982-5585

Meredith’s current role as Director of Strategy and Public Engagement builds on her prior work as Interim Director of the Cooper Center and as outreach director for the Demographics Research Group. Her prior experience includes policy and special initiative development in state government. Her research focuses on human intellectual and ethical development, gerontology, and racial/gender equity.

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Associate Director

E-Mail: mwp2q@virginia.edu

Phone: 434-982-5549

As Associate Director, Michael is responsible for the overall fiscal integrity of the Center, including providing up-to-date financial information to all units as well as maximizing their efficiency and contributions to the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is married to his wife Jessica, a practicing attorney in Charlottesville, and they have one son, Matthew.

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IT Specialist

E-Mail: felix@virginia.edu

Phone: 434-982-5937

Allen Saunders is an IT Specialist at the Weldon Cooper Center. He is a graduate of both the U.Va. School of Engineering and the Curry School of Education. Before joining the Cooper Center staff, he served as the Director of Minority Programs for the School of Engineering. He has two children, who are now students at the University of Virginia.

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PhD+ Intern for the Cooper Center

E-Mail: gm2hx@virginia.edu

Gopal is a PhD candidate in the Curry School’s Administration and Supervision program. He earned his Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Massachusetts. Outside of his academic career, Gopal does story-telling and improv theatre.

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Student Employee for the Cooper Center

E-Mail: lucia.sweeney@richmond.edu

Lucia Sweeney, a Student Employee for the Cooper Center, is earning her bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Richmond, where she is a Bonner Scholar. She has previously interned in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth and at Habitat of Humanity of Greater Charlottesville.

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PhD+ Intern for the Cooper Center

E-Mail: dt2se@virginia.edu

Dipsikha Thakur is a PhD candidate in English Literature and Language at the University of Virginia. She received her BA in Classics and English Literature from Cambridge University. As a PhD+ Intern, she researches contemporary writings, training models, and approaches to reinforcing civility and civil discourse in public life.

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PhD+ Intern for the Cooper Center

E-Mail: emk9yc@virginia.edu

Emelye Keyser is currently a PhD candidate in English Literature and Language at UVA. She earned her undergraduate degree in English and History from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She also attended the University of Oxford, where she earned her master's degree in Early Modern Literature. At the Cooper Center, Emelye researches models for assessing the impact of of public service work.

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Communications Director

E-Mail: bob.gibson@virginia.edu

Phone: 434-924-7812

Bob Gibson is the communications director and senior researcher at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. From 2008 to 2016, he was executive director of the Center's Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. Before coming to UVA in the spring of 2008, he was a political writer, columnist and editor at the Charlottesville Daily Progress for more than 30 years.

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Fiscal Technician

E-Mail: conley@virginia.edu

Phone: 434-982-5944

Donna Conley is a Fiscal Technician for the Cooper Center.

Business Manager

E-Mail: pbc@virginia.edu

Phone: 434-982-5714

Paula Campbell is the Business Manager for the Weldon Cooper Center. She has been working at UVA for 39 years. She loves baseball and spending her time at the beach.

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