Faculty and Staff

Department Contact:

Department Chair:

Kathryn Perkins_ Kathryn.Perkins@csulb.edu

Department Coordinator:

Janine Rodriguez_ Janine.Rodriguez@csulb.edu

Dept Admin Assistant:

Sherie Muro_ Sherie.Muro@csulb.edu

Department Phone: (562) 985-4704

Tenure/Tenured-Track Faculty

	Name	Office	Contact
Image	Anand Commissiong Ph.D, Rutgers University Political Theory	Office: SS/PA: 231	Email: Anand.Commissiong@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4961
Image	Darin DeWitt Ph.D, University of California, Los Angeles American Institutions, Political Parties, State Politics	Office: SS/PA: 227	Email: Darin.Dewitt@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4711
Image	Matthew Mendez Garcia Ph.D, University of Southern California American Politics, with a Focus on Representation, Legislative Behavior, Race and Ethnicity, Political Behavior, Intersectionality, and Immigration	Office: SS/PA: 237	Email: Matthew.Garcia@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4702
Image	Cora Goldstein Ph.D, University of Chicago Graduate Coordinator Comparative Politics, Military Occupations, Democratization by Force, Politics and Culture	Office: SS/PA: 247	Email: Cora.Goldstein@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4852
Image	Liesl Haas Ph.D, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Latin American Politics, Gender and Politics, Religion and Politics	Office: SS/PA: 233	Email: Liesl.Haas@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-5860
Image	Richard Haesly Ph.D, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Comparative Politics, Nationalism, National Identities, Human Rights, Religion	Office: SS/PA: 245	Email: Rich.Haesly@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4700
Image	Matt Lesenyie Ph.D, University of California, Davis American Politics, Political Psychology, Interest Groups, Race Politics, and California Politics	Office: SS/PA: 235	Email: Matt.Lesenyie@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4713
Image	Charles Mahoney(On Leave) Ph.D, University of California, Los Angeles Internship Director International Security, Terrorism, Insurgency, Private Military and Security Corporations	Office: SS/PA: 229	Email: Charles.Mahoney@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-8203
Image	Angela Maione Ph.D, Northwestern University Political Theory, History of Political Thought		Email: Angela.Maione@csulb.edu
Image	Kathryn J. Perkins Ph.D, University of North Texas Department Chair Constitutional Law, LGBTQ Politics, Feminist Legal Theory, and Religion and Politics	Office: SS/PA: 257	Email: Kathryn.Perkins@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4708
Image	Amy Cabrera Rasmussen Ph.D, Yale University American Politics and Public Policy, Health Care, Reproductive and Sexual Health, Intersectionality, and Interpretive Methods	Office: SS/PA: 257	Email: Amy.Rasmussen@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4705
Image	Kevin Wallsten Ph.D, University of California Berkeley American Politics, Political Behavior, Mass Media and Internet	Office: SS/PA: 225	Email: Kevin.Wallsten@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4709
Image	Jason Whitehead Ph.D, University of Southern California, J.D., Willamette University Director of Legal Studies Program Law and Courts, Judicial Politics, Judicial Decision Making, Constitutional Law, Legal Theory, Religion and Law	Office: SS/PA: 251	Email: Jason.Whitehead@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4712
Image	Teresa Wright Ph.D, University of California, Berkeley PSGSA Advisor Comparative Politics, China/Taiwan, Social Movements, Capitalism and Democracy	Office: SS/PA: 241	Email: Teresa.Wright@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4897

Full-Time Lecturers

	Name	Office	Contact
Image	Christopher Metaxas Ph.D (ABD), University of California, Riverside Comparative Politics and International Relations	Office: SS/PA: 354	Email: Christopher.Metaxas@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-2720
Image	Lewis Ringel Ph.D, University of Maryland Moot Court Director Judicial Internship, Media and Politics, and Constitutional Law	Office: SS/PA: 336	Email: Lewis.Ringel@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-5682

Part-Time Lecturers

	Name		Office	Contact
Image	Aarón Agramón J.D., University of Idaho College of Law; M.P.A., California Baptist University Constitutional Law, Critical Race Theory, LatCrit Theory, UndocuCrit Theory	Office: SS/PA 344		Email: Aaron.Agramon@csulb.edu
Image	Debito Beamer Ph.D, Meiji Gajuin University, Tokyo, Japan International Relations, Racial Discrimination, Japan			Email: Debito.Beamer@csulb.edu
Image	Som Chounlamountry M.A., University of Southern California American Government, California Government, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Movements, Terrorism and Genocide		Office: SS/PA: 346	Email: Som.Chounlamountry@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4746
Image	Nathen Cruz M.A., California State University, Long Beach United States Government and the Interaction between Ideology and Media Consumption			Email: Nathen.Cruz@csulb.edu
Image	Marshall Goodman M.P.A., California State University, Long Beach Public Administration, Public Policy, Urban Affairs			Email: Marshall.Goodman@csulb.edu
	Grant Harting PhD Expected 2026 from University of California, Riverside, B.A., California State University, Long Beach LGBTQ Politics, Trans politicians, Law and Legal Institutions
Image	Alexandra Lohman J.D., Northwestern Law (2014); B.A., CSULB (2011) Constitutional Law (Civil Rights and Government Powers), Children's Law, Criminal Law			Email: Alex.Lohman@csulb.edu
Image	Melissa (Missy) Maceyko Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Virginia; M.A., Anthropology, University of Virginia; M.A., General Linguistics, University of Virginia; B.A., Political Science and English Literature, Allegheny College Anthropology of Democracy; Language, Culture, and the Practice of Politics; Impacts of Systemic Gender & Language Biases; Critical (Legal) Studies; Langauge Discrimination; Discourses of Corruption; Political Polarization; Communicating Across Difference; Semiotics of Advertising and Media; Metalinguistic Awareness in DEIB training; DEIB research and metrics; Building Inclusive Organizational Cultures; Allyship Practice; The United States; Papua New Guinea; Mixed-Methods Research			Email: Melissa.Maceyko@csulb.edu
Image	Grace Malinao M.A., California State University, Long Beach American Politics, Political Theory, Post-Colonial Theory, Environmental Political Theory			Email: Grace.Malinao@csulb.edu
Image	Matthew McGarvey Ph.D., University of California, San Diego Body, Space, Perception, and Power. Marxism, Anarchism, and Post-Structuralism. Ideology and Media Systems. Revolutionary Movements.			Email: Matt.McGarvey@csulb.edu
Image	Vahid Niayesh Ph.D., University of California, Irvine Comparative Politics and International Relations			Email: Vahid.Niayesh@csulb.edu
Image	Mona Shadia Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University The development of the Women’s Legal Rights Index: A New Approach to Measuring Women’s Autonomy			Email: Mona.Shadia@csulb.edu
Image	Robert Shurtz		Office: SS/PA: 340	Email: Robert.Shurtz@csulb.edu Phone: (562) 985-4716
Image	JoAnn Victor			Email: Joann.Victor@csulb.edu