Staff
Full-Time Staff
Dr. Nichole Fifer is an experienced analyst, program evaluator, and project manager. She has a diverse background in higher education, agency, and the non-profit sector. Her work at CRD focuses on issues surrounding community health and wellbeing; public/social service delivery, access, impacts, and equity; and quality of life focused economic development. She seeks to aid in regional development through fostering collaborative and strategic community level planning, facilitating collaborative and inclusive community level decision making, and providing programmatic evaluation and assessment services. Her recent projects at CRD include an assessment of the social and quality of life impacts of transportation access in Northwest Ohio, a health focused community level strategic plan for Williams County, and an assessment of the Pathways HUB program to prevent infant mortality.
Prior to joining the CRD, Nichole was the Director of the Public Policy Program and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Washington and Jefferson College (W&J), where she also served as the Advisory Board President for the Pennsylvania Center for Energy Policy and Management (CEPM). In addition to her position at W&J, Dr. Fifer has also taught in accredited graduate programs including the MPA program at BGSU, the MPPA program at Northwestern University. Prior to her academic career Nichole served as a Political Affairs and Public Relations officer for the US National Park Service. During her service she was the recipient of four public service awards including the National Partnership Award. She is a member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA), The Ohio Program Evaluation Group (OPEG), Indiana Evaluation Association (IEA), and the US Association for Energy Economics (USAEE).
Dr. Fifer holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Wayne State University, as well as an MPA in Environmental Management from BGSU.
Lisa worked in the non-profit sector for more than 20 years prior to coming to Bowling Green State University. In that time, she worked on important issues such as teen pregnancy prevention, equal housing opportunity, access to healthcare, the social determinants of health, and many other community development concerns. She is an adept grant writer and trainer/presenter having conducted hundreds of presentations over the years.
Vanessa Oz is the Graphic Designer at the Center for Regional Development where she visually communicates our work with our clients. She does everything to do with our visual identity and product delivery, from designing reports, web design & upkeep, data visualization, marketing & outreach, and social media. With 4 years and counting of experience in the graphic design industry, Vanessa understands the importance of a “great” visual communicator and how it makes our work stand out.
In her free time, Vanessa likes to handcraft, go camping, and spend quality time with her family, immediate and extended.
Vijaya comes with several years of budgetary and office administration experience and serves as the Assistant to the Senior Director, Budgets and Operations at the Center for Regional Development. She monitors and manages the Center’s budgetary and day-to-day operations. She has worked at the Office of Residence Life at BGSU before joining the CRD team. She worked at Georgia State University prior to her move to Bowling Green, Ohio.
Maddi Georgoff is the Community Placemaking Program Coordinator at the BGSU Center for Regional Development. Her role bridges the work of CRD and Center for Public Impact by providing support for the students engaged in the Reimagining Rural Regions (R3) Initiative. She is also passionate about program evaluation and served as a Graduate Assistant on the Stronger Pathways and TPS Community HUB evaluation projects before joining the CRD team full-time in her current role.
Maddi has experience in program development and implementation, with a proven track record in non-profit and higher education sectors. Prior to her work at BGSU, she created a Title I Parent Engagement program for Toledo Public Schools and later became a Community Engagement Manager for the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio.
Maddi received both her Master's Degree in Public Administration (2021) and Bachelor's Degree in Sociology (2015) from BGSU. BGSU has provided Maddi with leadership opportunities since 2011 when she first became a Civic Action Leader (CAL) in the former Office of Service-Learning (now the Center for Public Impact). During her time as a CAL, Maddi developed the university's alternative breaks program (BG Alternative Breaks) and later served as an Orientation Leader. She is a 2015 Newman Civic Fellow and recently received the MPA Community Service Award for her work in graduate school.
Ben Hooper is a Project Manager with the Center for Regional Development, leading or supporting a wide range of project types such as regional strategic planning initiatives, applied research studies, and the implementation of BGSU's nascent workforce training/continuing education programming. With over a decade of experience in local and regional economic development organizations, Ben has expertise in industrial and commercial real estate development, business attraction and retention, workforce development, and data analyses. Ben has a passion for public service and is fulfilled by professional opportunities that have a demonstrated positive impact on the region. Ben holds a Master's in Urban Planning from Eastern Michigan University and a Bachelor's in Political Science from the University of Toledo.
In his free time, Ben enjoys spending time with his daughter.
Faculty Research Fellows
Justin Rex is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science at Bowling Green State University. He teaches courses in the Master of Public Administration Program as well as undergraduate courses in Public Administration and Public Policy. He is also a Researcher Fellow at the BGSU Center for Regional Development.
He received a Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from Wayne State University. He received a B.A. in Political Science, a B.A. in Sociology, and a minor in Economics from Bowling Green State University. Previously, he worked as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Shawnee State University, a Senior Lecturer in the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne Sate University, and as a researcher in the Center for Urban Studies at Wayne State University.
His research and teaching interests are in Public Policy and Administration, American Government, and Law. His current research examines federal regulatory policy, specifically the role of agency capture at the federal banking regulators before the 2008 financial crisis as well as the regulation of white collar financial crime. His law-focused research examines Supreme Court first amendment cases as well as regulation in the areas of food, consumer transactions, and advertising. He has also published articles on the US Presidency about the president’s ability to control the public policy agenda and the implications of this control for the balance of power between the president and Congress.
Research Interests
- Regulatory Policy
- Financial Regulation
- The Presidency
- Law
- Program Evaluation
Education
- Ph.D in Political Science, Wayne State University (2013)
- M.A. in Political Science, Wayne State University (2010)
- B.A. in Political Science, Bowling Green State University (2008)
- B.A. in Sociology, Bowling Green State University (2008)
Graduate Assistants & Student Staff
Updated: 08/20/2025 03:30PM