Administrators, Editors & Contributors

Dr. Howard R. Balanoff currently holds the Texas State University William P. Hobby Endowed Professorship for Public Service and currently serves as the Director of Texas State University’s William P. Hobby Center for Public Service.

He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the recipient of the 2019 International/County Management Association (ICMA) Academic Award for Excellence in Education.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science and history from Hunter College of the City University of New York, and a Master’s, and Doctorate Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University.

He served 20 years in the United States Air Force: 7 years on active duty and 13 years in the Reserves. He retired as a Major in the United States Air Force. He is a Veteran of the Vietnam Era.

Previous to teaching at Texas State University he worked for 3 years as a planning coordinator for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

He is a Public Administration generalist and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public policy, international & comparative public administration and personnel and human resources administration.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Balanoff currently serves as the:
1. Faculty advisor for graduate (MPA) Internships and teaches PA 5389 the MPA Internship course
2. Faculty advisor for Pi Alpha Alpha, the Public Administration National Honor Society
3. Editor in Chief of Good Governance Worldwide which is the official journal of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Section for Public Management Practice
4. Director of the Visiting International Scholars in Texas (VISIT) Program which helps sponsor international faculty and student scholars for visits to Texas State University.
5. Co-Director of the Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program located in Arlington, Texas.

Dr. Sheriff F. Folarin is a Professor of International Relations. He teaches as a visiting professor at Texas State University, and University of Rwanda. He is also a Senior Research Associate of the Institute for the Future of Knowledge, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His areas of specialization and research interest include foreign policies and the soft power of African states, governance and politics of Africa, international and comparative public administration, foreign policies of the great powers, and Middle East politics. Folarin is a 2024 Texas International Education Consortium COIL grantee, a 2015 Carnegie ADFP Fellow, and a 2007 SUSI Fellow. In addition, he is a member of the Citizen Diplomacy International, Midwest Political Science Association, Nigerian Political Science Association, and American Society for Public Administration.

With over 100 academic publications, Dr. Folarin is a research-active scholar and a seasoned academic with 26 years of teaching and research experience in Africa and North America, with numerous local and international academic honors and awards in the course of the journey. He has published seven books, including African Politics: From the Age of Empires to Contemporary Times (2025, Kendall Hunt), Homeland Security and Terrorism in Nigeria (2024, Bloomsbury-Lexington Books), and Rwanda’s Radical Transformation (2023, Palgrave Macmillan). A mentor and facilitator per excellence, he has graduated dozens of Master’s sets and 26 generations of undergraduate students. He’s also supervised and graduated 13 PhD students and examined/produced 55 doctoral degree holders in total.

In 2017, Dr. Folarin became the first professor of international relations at Covenant University, his former university in Nigeria, and is one of the leading lights in the African political science space

in National Role Conceptions, which is a relatively new theoretical perspective and fresh lens of studying foreign policies of African nations. He has served as head of his academic department on two occasions and pioneered internationalization in his Nigerian university, where he served as the director of the international office at its inception in 2007, and later in the same position in 2012. In 2013, he started the Covenant University Journal of Politics and International Affairs (CUJPIA), which he edited for eight years. He’s also on the board of several global journals and has reviewed books and journal articles for Taylor and Francis, Springer Nature, Bloomsbury, among other leading publications. He also served as the Chairman of the Management Board of the African Leadership Development Center in Ogun State, Nigeria.

Dr. Folarin is a public intellectual, who serves on the editorial board of some African newspapers, including Nigerian Tribune, and has appeared as guest analyst on current affairs and news programs of major media houses across the globe.

Lloyd Harrington

Webmaster

Lloyd is currently semi-retired and living just outside Atlanta, Ga. Originally from Illinois where he worked in the printing trades, assisted in product development with the Rochester Institute of Technology for Kodak, and ran one of the first ion-argon laser color scanners in the state. After moving to Georgia he continued working in printing, transitioning to electronic prepress, and doing work for NASA, the Social Security Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He also attended Georgia Northwestern Technical College for Internet Web Site Development & Design.

Lloyd has been the webmaster for the Texas State University Certified Public Manager (CPM) program since 2011, the Good Governance Worldwide (GGW) website since it’s inception in 2012, and the CENTEX Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) beginning in 2023. Lloyd also designed and is webmaster for the William P. Hobby Center for Public Service at Texas State University website and the Texas CPM Program website.

Mohamed Makkaoui

Professor at National School of Management of Tangier-Moroccoy

Born in February 5, 1975 in Marrakech, Morocco, Mohamed Makkaoui holds a PhD in Management science from HEC Management School of Liège University and two Masters respectively of Management and Science of Education in Belgium. He is a full professor in the National School of Management of Tangier-Morocco, where he is in charge of the research team: “Equipe de recherche sur la Gouvernance, organisations et sociétés (ERGOS)”. He is also an International trainer and consultant for several firms and training institutions.

Mohamed Makkaoui focuses his research on Strategic Human Resource Management, Public Management and Governance, Social entrepreneurship, Social Audit, Spiritual Leadership and Organizational social responsibility. He is also interested in Business Ethics, social work and Social Psychology of groups and organizations.

At the international level, Mohamed is a Junior Chamber International (JCI) Global Networker and International Training Fellow (ITF). He was honored with the titles of JCI Senator No. 69718 and ITF#156. He speaks French and English, Arabic and Dutch.

Mst. Thahsina Aktar Asha

Graduate Instructional Assistant, Department of Political Science, Texas State University

Mst. Thahsina Aktar Asha is a public administration professional pursuing her Master of Public Administration program in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University, where she also serves as a Graduate Instructional Assistant. She has a first degree in public administration from the University of Barishal, Bangladesh. She served as a research assistant at the Institute for Government Innovation, which inspired her interest in pushing the grounds of research in, and practice of good governance. Currently, she is a Research Assistant at the Meadows Center for Water and Environment, conducting critical research on rainwater harvesting requirements and compliance in Texas state buildings.

Asha’s diverse experience through academic, community, student leadership, and policy-focused roles has given her an advantage in understanding complex policy challenges. Her professional experience spans multiple sectors, including her CMO internship with the City of San Marcos where she supported community planning initiatives and policy development, and her editorial role with the Good Governance Worldwide publication. Her research interests encompass environmental policy, sustainable urban policy and planning, and community development, positioning her as an emerging leader committed to evidence-based solutions for sustainable governance.

Mostafa Jalal

Economic Development Division, City of San Marcos, Texas

Mostafa Jalal is a graduate research assistant and student in the Texas State University Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program. He is currently serving an internship with the Economic Development Division with the City of San Marcos, Texas.

Ishrat Jahan Ritu

Graduate Instructional Assistant, Department of Political Science, Texas State University

Ishrat Jahan Ritu is a public administration professional pursuing her Master of Public Administration degree in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University. She earned her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from Daffodil International University, Bangladesh.

Her current research at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment focuses on rainwater harvesting policy and sustainable water governance in Texas. With a background in law and a growing portfolio in environmental policy, Ishrat is passionate about public service, regulatory research, and advancing equitable, evidence-based policy solutions.

Syeda Zareen Jahan

Ms. Syeda Zareen Jahan is a public administration professional currently pursuing her Master of Public Administration degree in the Department of Political Science at Texas State University, where she also serves as a Graduate Instructional Assistant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Barishal, Bangladesh.

Zareen brings a strong academic foundation and a deep commitment to public service, shaped by her cross-cultural experiences and passion for community-focused governance. Her research interests include emergency management, human resource development, and equity in public service delivery. She is particularly inspired by initiatives that promote inclusive policy solutions and resilient institutional frameworks in both local and global contexts.