SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor, PhD

I am an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Politics at the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, faculty affiliate at the Center for Effective Lawmaking, and faculty fellow at UVA’s Miller Center. This year, I am the chief organizer for JAWS–an online workshop for junior Americanist scholars. Join us!

I research and teach courses on the U.S. Congress, American politics, and political methodology. My work has been published or is forthcoming in Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Electoral Studies and more. I am an author for the textbook Congress Explained, and my book, Echo Chambers: How Partisan Communication Took Over Congress is forthcoming with University of Chicago Press.

I received my PhD in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland. In 2019-2021, I served as an APSA Public Service Fellow for the U.S. House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. Prior to my PhD, I worked in the U. S. House and Senate as a press secretary and speechwriter. I received my bachelor’s degree in History and Journalism from the University of Alabama, with honors.

Email me! sorellewg at virginia dot edu.