Progam Directors
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CPM Faculty Director: Dr. Melinda Tarsi
Email: melinda.tarsi@bridgew.edu
Phone: 508-531-2404
B.A., Western Connecticut State University
M.A., University of Massachusetts Amherst
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Amherst
Melinda R. Tarsi specializes in the field of American politics, with research interests in veterans’ benefits policies and politics; American political development; race and ethnicity in political behavior and representation; public opinion; and public administration. Dr. Tarsi is also a Research Fellow with the Center for Democratic Governance and Leadership, a Faculty Fellow with the Institute for Policy Analysis and Regional Engagement, and a Fellow with the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. Her work has appeared in the journals Journalism Practice; Armed Forces and Society; Politics, Groups, and Identities; Social Science Quarterly; and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Her research has also been featured in the media on Salon.com, Bloomberg.com, and the Washington Post’s blog, “The Monkey Cage.” Her book project, which focuses on the politics of veterans' benefit policies in the twentieth century, has been supported by the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation's Harry Middleton Fellowship in Presidential Studies, the Roosevelt Institute, the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, and the Harry S. Truman Library Institute. Dr. Tarsi teaches courses on American politics, public policy, and public administration. In addition to her academic work, she is also a board member for a local nonprofit animal shelter, as well as an appointed member of her town’s finance committee.​
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CPM Program Director: Prof. Jodie Drapal Koretski
CPM Email: macpm@bridgew.edu
B.S., University of Nebraska Lincoln/Omaha
M.P.A., University of Nebraska at Omaha
Doctoral Studies A.B.D., University of Nebraska at Omaha
Ph.D. Candidate, Walden University
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Jodie Drapal Koretski has served over 25 years within the nonprofit sector in a variety of roles and with a myriad of organizations. Within her academic career, she has served as a core faculty member teaching courses in public and nonprofit management and is currently serving as the director of the Massachusetts Certified Public Managers program at Bridgewater State University. Her research has centered on the public and nonprofit sector, citizen engagement and voluntary action, informal associations, and organizational behavior. She has presented her work at both national and international public and nonprofit sector conferences, and has published research articles in Public Administration Review, Administrative Theory & Practice, Public Manager, and PA Times. Over the past several years she has been actively involved with service learning communities on campus, served on the National Service Learning Conference planning committee, and incorporates service learning/experiential learning within her classroom design. She is also actively involved in the greater community as an educational consultant with a number of nonprofit and governmental organizations, as an instructor/presenter for nonprofit education programs, and as a director of development for a local arts and culture organization.
