Aimee Williamson, PhD

Biography

Professor Williamson specializes in public management and the intersection of public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She teaches courses on the foundations of public administration, organizational change, and leadership. While her primary teaching responsibility lies in the MPA program, she also teaches Social Change to undergraduate students and leads the EMBA program’s Washington Policy Seminar. She has Trained Facilitator and Trained LPI Coach credentials from The Leadership Challenge, an approach to leadership grounded in the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.

Her publications have appeared in prestigious public affairs journals, including Public Administration Review, Public Performance and Management Review, the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, and Public Administration Quarterly. Publications also include case writing and pedagogical research, including editing a recent book of teaching cases with colleague Marc Holzer: Public and Nonprofit Management in Practice: A Case Study Collection.

Professor Williamson’s practical experience and service activities include work in child advocacy, criminal justice, and healthcare organizations.

Professional Activities

• Editorial Board Member, American Review of Public Administration (ARPA)

Publications

Recent Intellectual Contributions

Journal Articles

Douglas, M., Holtzen, S., Ruane, S., Sherman, K., & Williamson, A. (Forthcoming). Abrupt policy reversal amid Black Lives Matter: Starbucks’ grande employee dress code problem. The CASE Journal.

Williamson, A. L. & Wang, I.G. (2023). Redesigning a course evaluation instrument: Experience, practical guidance, and lessons learned. Journal of Management Education, 47(4), 388-416.

Wang, G. & Williamson, A. (2022). Course evaluation scores: Valid measures for teaching effectiveness or rewards for lenient grading? Teaching in Higher Education, 27(3), 297-318.

Williamson, A. (2019). From ideology to evidence: Publicness, organizational functioning, and school teaching climates. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 29 (2): 364-367.

Dumas, C., Foley, S., Hunt, P., Weisman, M. & Williamson, A. (2015). Accelerating collaboration to find a cure: A nonprofit’s evolving business model. The CASE Journal, 11(1): 58-95.

Snow, D. & Williamson, A. (2015). Accountability and micromanagement: Decentralized budgeting in Massachusetts school districts. Public Administration Quarterly, 39(2):220-258.

Williamson, A. & Bond, B. (2014). Making Boston strong: Social capital, collaboration, and accountability lessons for public administrators in the twenty-first century. Public Administration Review, 74(6): 693-695.

Williamson, A. & Snow, D. (2014). From accountability to decision-making? Budgeting with mandated performance measures. International Journal of Public Administration, 37(4): 202-214.

Williamson, A. & Snow, D. (2013). Bridging theory and practice: The landscape of public management reforms in local school district budgeting. Public Performance and Management Review, 37(1): 154-187.

Williamson, A. (2011). Assessing the Core and Dimensional Approaches: Human Resource Management in Public, Private, and Charter Schools. Public Performance and Management Review, 35(2): 251-280.

Book

Williamson, A.L. & Holzer, M. (Eds.). (2026). Public Administration and Nonprofit Management in Practice: A Case Study Collection. London: Routledge.

Published Cases

Holtzen, S., Ruane, S., Williamson, A., Sherman, K., and Douglas, M. (2025). “One Day Longer, One Day Stronger”: The Nanny Leads a Labor Strike. The CASE Journal, 21(6): 1367-1378.

Holtzen, S., Williamson A., Sherman, K., Douglas, M. Ruane, S. (2023). Corporate policy or CEO activism? Citigroup’s stance on reproductive healthcare in the United States. The CASE Journal, 20(6): 1398-1422.

Douglas, M., Holtzen, S., Ruane, S., Sherman, K., & Williamson, A. (2021). Abrupt policy reversal amid Black Lives Matter: Starbucks’ grande employee dress code problem. The CASE Journal, 17(5): 673-690.

Dumas, C., Foley, S., Hunt, P., Weisman, M. & Williamson, A. (2015). Accelerating collaboration to find a cure: A nonprofit’s evolving business model. The CASE Journal, 11(1): 58-95.