Abigail Hassett is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina, and a Bilinski Dissertation Fellow for 2024-25. Her research broadly examines judicial decision-making, including the role of extrajudicial activities, the intersectionality of gender, race, and class, and the influence of the legislative and executive branches. While at the University of South Carolina, she was the instructor of record for The Judicial Process, and has also worked as a research assistant on two National Science Foundation grants. Abigail’s dissertation develops a theory of ambition for the U.S. federal judiciary and quantifies this theory in a novel measure. In her dissertation, she traces how ambition may help or hinder an individual’s path to the U.S. federal courts by examining their nominations by presidents, their Senate confirmation votes, and the unique experiences of judges elevated from the district to the circuit courts.

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Sun Gue (Susan) Yang is a Ph.D. Candidate (ABD) in public administration and public policy within the Department of Political Science. Her research agenda focuses on the intersection of public administration and policy implementation with social equity in diverse cultural settings. Her work investigates the distribution and implementation of public policies and services among underrepresented groups, including racial minorities, women, low-income individuals, and children. Central to her research is her dissertation, which is rooted in representative bureaucracy theory. This dissertation employs a mixed-methods approach to explore socioeconomic status (SES) representation among social workers in the United States. Her research has recently been accepted to the Public Administration Review. Susan was also a Fellow at the 2024 American University Diversity Academy.

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Kelsey M. Martin-Morales is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina. Her research interests include the intersection of democratic backsliding and foreign policy. In addition to her dissertation project, she has worked on research that explores autocratic policy preferences, development aid, and international organizations. Kelsey received a Master of Public Administration from Kennesaw State University in 2016 and a Bachelor of Science in History, Technology, and Society from the Georgia Institution of Technology in 2012. In 2022, she received the Russel J. and Dorothy S. Bilinski Dissertation Fellowship.