Thursday Keynote Speaker
Dr. Olyvia Christley
Assistant Professor
School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs
Washington State University
Talk Title
"The Rise of Right-wing Politics in Europe"
Biography
Dr. Olyvia R. Christley received her Ph.D. in politics and methods from the University of Virginia in 2022. She also completed her M.A. and B.A. degrees in politics at UVa, the latter of which received High Distinction honors.
Prior to entering academia, she worked for the United States House of Representatives and Virginia House of Delegates. While in graduate school, she was an editorial assistant for the American Journal of Political Science.
Her teaching and research interests are primarily focused on the role gender attitudes, nationalism, and xenophobia play in shaping public opinion and political behavior, with regional focuses in the United States and Europe. Her research has been published in Politics & Gender, Political Behavior, Politics, Groups, & Identities, and Political Science Quarterly.
Dr. Christley was born and raised in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. After being homeschooled through high school, she was first introduced to higher education by her local community college. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and watching tennis (it is her dream to attend all four majors!).
Education
- Ph.D., Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia
- M.A., Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia
- B.A., Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia
Research Interests
Gender Attitudes, Nativism, Radical Right Politics, European Politics, American Politics, Political Psychology, Public Opinion
Publications
- Klofstad, C., Christley, O., Diekman, A., Enders, A., Funchion, J., Hemm, A., … & Uscinski, J. E. (2024). The New Satanic Panic. Political Science Quarterly.
- Klofstad, C., Christley, O., Diekman, A., Kübler, S., Enders, A., Funchion, J., … & Uscinski, J. (2024). Belief in White Replacement. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 1-25.
- Munis, B. K., Memovic, A., & Christley, O. R. (2024). Of rural resentment and storming capitols: An investigation of the geographic contours of support for political violence in the United States. Political Behavior, 46(3), 1791-1812.
- Christley, O. R. (2022). Traditional gender attitudes, nativism, and support for the radical right. Politics & Gender, 18(4), 1141-1167.
Friday Keynote Speaker
Lana Obradovic
Program Director, BOLD Institute
Associate Professor, Political Science
University of Nebraska Omaha
Talk Title
TBA
Background
Since 2019, Dr. Obradovic has also served as Principal Director of the BOLD Fellowship/Young Balkan Leaders Program, funded by the U.S. Embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia. She has taught international relations and comparative politics for more than two decades at institutions including St. John’s University, Hunter College, Queens College in New York City, and Yonsei University in South Korea. Before joining the University of Nebraska at Omaha, she led Mercy University’s International Relations and Diplomacy Program in New York City.
Publications
She has written extensively on American foreign and national security policy, intelligence analysis, deterrence, gender and security, and regional dynamics in the Balkans and Northeast Asia. Dr. Obradovic’s recent work includes projects and reports for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on intelligence education and training, for NATO on cognitive warfare concept development, and for USSTRATCOM on Human Capital Strategy implementation. Dr. Obradovic is the author of Gender Integration in NATO Military Forces, which received the ERGOMAS 2015 Best Book in Civil-Military Relations Award in Tel Aviv. She is also the recipient of the UNO Global Engagement Award (2022), the Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award (2025), and the College of Arts and Sciences Research and Creative Activity Award (2026).
Her recent publications include “Russian Strategic Culture and Deterrence in the Arctic” in Space & Defense (with B. Valiant, 2025); “Closing the Tech Gap: Updating Cyber and Technology Curriculum for Homeland Security Professionals” in Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism (with D. House and M. Black, 2025); “Standardization of the Intelligence Analyst Workforce and Education: Are We There Yet?” in Journal of Security, Intelligence, and Resilience Education (with M. Black, 2024); “Behind the Curve: Technology Challenges Facing the Homeland Intelligence and Counterterrorism Workforce” in Journal of Cybersecurity (with D. House and M. Black, 2024); “Integrating Gender Perspective in Cognitive Warfare” in NATO OPEN (with J. Neathery-Castro, 2023); “Multi-Actor Deterrence: Defining the Concept” in Æther Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower (with M. Black, 2022); and “Teaching Deterrence: A 21st-Century Update” in Journal of Political Science Education (with M. Black, 2020).
Education
Dr. Obradovic earned her B.A. degrees in Political Science and International Affairs from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, a Master of Arts in Government and Politics and a Graduate Certificate in International Law and Diplomacy from St. John’s University, and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.