University Network of Collaborative Governance Appoints Davenport Institute’s Pooja Bachani Di Giovanna as Vice Chair of Steering Committee

Davenport Institute assistant director Pooja Bachani Di Giovanna has been appointed as vice chair of the University Network of Collaborative Governance (UNCG) Steering Committee. Di Giovanna has served on the UNCG Steering Committee since Fall 2021 and was appointed vice chair at the 2023 Annual Conference hosted at the University of Virginia.  

UNCG is a national network of college and university centers, institutes and programs that engage in service, scholarship, and teaching to build the capacity for collaborative governance. The network provides support through various programming and serves as a resource for faculty members and professionals in the collaborative governance space. Some of the programming includes, but is not limited to: an annual conference hosted by one of the member institutions, teaching, training, and research retreats, and regular webinar offerings for network members. Beyond programming, one of the key features of UNCG is the support system and network; members have the opportunity to build strong professional relationships and establish ways to collaborate on research, practice, training, and teaching.

Di Giovanna has been a member of the teaching and training committee since Spring 2021 and served as co-chair since Fall 2022. In her role as co-chair, she has worked on revitalizing the mission and vision of the committee, and initiating work on a collaborative research paper on lessons learned in teaching and training since the pandemic and navigating levels of vulnerability in the learning environment.

This year, she also served on the Teaching, Training, and Research Retreat committee helping plan the retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

“UNCG has been very fortunate to benefit from Pooja's insights and talents on the UNCG steering committee since her appointment in October 2021,” said Manuel Padilla, co-chair of the UNCG Steering Committee. “She's not only one of the most hardworking and dedicated members we have, but she is an extremely dynamic and creative thinker, helping UNCG raise its profile and address areas of growth and opportunity for advancing the field of collaborative governance at a national level. When we identified our need to add a vice chair position to our steering committee, Pooja was immediately the first person we thought of. We are extremely excited and grateful for her agreeing to this new leadership role as she is certainly part of the core, and the future success, of UNCG.”