Dr. Jennifer Shea (pronouns: she/her/hers)
Faculty Co-Director
Dr. Shea is professor of Public Administration and Director of the School of the Public Affairs & Civic Engagement at San Francisco State University. She has served as co-director of the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Fellowship Program since fall 2017.
Dr. Shea has a passion for democracy and considers herself a community-engaged scholar, teacher, and student of democracy. Her passion is rooted in the inherent contradictions between the promises democracies and the systems that uphold them make and the realities that they deliver. She often brings this into her teaching by encouraging students to interrogate those contradictions in theory and practice and in the context of their lived realities through applied and reflective work. Through her teaching, she aims to support students as they develop the knowledge and skills they need to be effective and reflective public service professionals.
Her teaching portfolio includes the Fellowship professional development seminar as well as a broad range of courses in public administration (e.g., foundations of governance & management, nonprofit management, organizational behavior, leadership, research methods and public policy).
Dr. Tony Sparks (pronouns: he/him/his & they/them/theirs)
Faculty Director
Dr. Sparks is an associate professor in Urban Studies and Planning in the School Public Affairs & Civic Engagement, where he teaches courses in Urban policy and law. He has served as Co-Director of the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Fellowship Program since Fall 2018.
Dr. Sparks approaches teaching as a collaborative activity that foregrounds student voices and experience in learning process. As a facilitator of the learning experience, he draws upon student experiences critical reflection, active learning, and engaged scholarship to enable students to comfortably but critically engage with the urban issues of their time. Through his teaching he seeks to engender an understanding of the uneven social processes through which political subjects and spaces are constituted and contested. Ultimately, he strives to engage students as intellectuals capable of addressing the issues of their time as both students and citizens.
Monica Barboza (pronouns: she/her/hers)
Program Director
As a former Willie Brown Fellow in 2019 and a current San Francisco State University MPA candidate, Ms. Barboza has first-hand experience with how impactful programs like the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Fellowship can be for students facing barriers in entering the public sector. She credits her time in the fellowship to the important relationships she was able to build with leaders in the public sector. These mentors deeply inspired her, post-undergrad, to work with nonprofits like Mission Language and Vocational School, in partnership with Latino Task Force to distribute Covid relief, as well as the incubator kitchen non-profit, La Cocina, as a Community Program Coordinator. Her new role as the Willie L. Brown, Jr. Fellowship Program Manager is an exciting full circle opportunity to connect with incoming fellows and guide them towards success. This is Ms. Barboza's first year as the Willie Brown Fellowship Program Manager.