Carah Ong Whaley

About Carah Ong Whaley

A nationally renown expert on democracy and elections, Dr. Carah Ong Whaley is Vice President for Election Protection at Issue One. Previously, Carah worked at the Center for Politics at UVa and she currently is Co-Chair of the Civic Engagement Section of the American Political Science Association. Her work has been featured on BBC, in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Governing, 19th, Forbes, Teen Vogue, NPR, Inside Higher Education, Education Dive, among others.At the heart of her research interests is a desire to understand and illuminate how the interactions of political actors and institutions structure public access and participation in policy- and decision-making processes. Carah has developed innovative pedagogy melding scholarship and experiential learning to teach courses on artificial intelligence, campaigns and elections, state and local politics, and political and civic engagement.Carah was Associate Director of the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement at JMU from 20••••22, and worked for non-governmental organizations on nuclear weapons and security issues from She was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to the Complete Count Commission for the 2020 Census. Carah holds a PhD in American Government, and an MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. Recent publications include: Civic Pedagogies: Teaching Civic Engagement in an Era of Divisive Politics (Palgrave, 2024); Leaning into Politics: Higher Education and Democracy (Information Age Press, 2024); The Red Ripple: The 2022 Elections and What They Mean for 20••••23); American Government: Roots and Reform (chapters on Political Parties, Campaigns, Elections and Voting, and The Media); Civic Engagement in an Era of Divisive Politics and Civil Unrest (Journal of Public Affairs, 2022);\"Jan. 6 Hearings Show a Democracy in Crisis. Civic Education Can Help;\"\"We the People, We the Process: Engaging Young People in Election Administration.\" What students are saying:\"This class is such a breath of fresh air. It is so great to both work collaboratively on projects that are important to us, while also getting so engaged in our local community.\" “Every course reading, discussion, experience had meaning in this class. I learned so much outside of the \'common core\' things we need to know. I think this class has more meaning than my math courses.”

Experience

1. Director of Election Protection

   Issue One

   Mar 2024 — Present

Education

• University of Virginia

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), American Government and Politics (United States)

  2010 — 2015

• UC Santa Barbara

  Bachelor of Arts - BA, Spanish, Global Peace and Security

• University of Virginia

  Master of Arts (M.A.), Political Science and Government

  2008 — 2010

• UC Santa Barbara

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Spanish Language and Literature, Global Peace and Security

  1996 — 1999