About the Authors

Martin Saiz (Ph.D. University of Colorado at Boulder, 1992) is Professor of Political Science and the former Chair of the Political Science Department at California State University, Northridge. Professor Saiz joined the CSUN faculty in 1999 after teaching for seven years with the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to teaching, Professor Saiz directed small town and neighborhood community service centers for the Center for Community Development and Design at the University of Colorado at Denver. There he helped local organizations develop problem-solving capacities doing neighborhood revitalization projects together with graduate design and planning students. He was appointed to the Denver Planning Commission and served two four-year terms during which he developed insights into the political process gained only from the inside.

Martin has taught American government and politics for 27 years. He writes extensively on issues of urban politics, political parties, economic development, and education policy. His articles have been published in the Journal of Politics, Urban Affairs Review, Political Research Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, Economic Development Quarterly, The Journal of Urban Affairs, California Policy Issues Annual, Thought & Action, and the Higher Education Journal of the National Education Association, as well as in other books and journals.

Jennifer De Maio (Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, 2005) is Professor of Political Science at California State University, Northridge. She holds a MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a BA in English and History from Georgetown University. Professor De Maio’s research focuses on African Politics, specifically on ethnic civil wars and conflict management. She has also published and presented papers on elections and the use of social media, transnationalized violence, the relationship between urban space and conflict management, women and conflict, and sustainable development in Africa, including the 2019 co-edited volume Sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: Problems, Perspectives, and Prospects. Professor De Maio’s first book, Confronting Ethnic Conflict: The Role of Third Parties in Managing Africa's Civil Wars, was published in 2009. Professor De Maio is also working on a NIH funded project on the ethical considerations of prevention and treatment efforts for HIV/AIDS among members of the African diaspora in the United States. Before beginning a career in academia, she worked as a journalist for ABC News and NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation.

Jennifer has taught Introduction to American Politics for over thirteen years and brings a unique perspective to the subject that allows her to incorporate research from the comparative politics and international relations fields. She regularly participates in teaching conferences and workshops focused on pedagogy. She uses the classroom as a stage, on which the students are "spect-actors" actively involved in the learn