Susan Appe

Susan Appe's research focuses on government-nonprofit relations and the dimensions and evolution of the nonprofit sector. She examines how government policy influences and shapes civil society and nonprofit organizations/nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); how and why nonprofit organizations form networks and their implications; and the relationship between organized civil society, foreign aid and development. She is currently working on research projects related to diaspora philanthropy centered on the transnational nexus of migration, development and philanthropy. She is also studying the roles of public administration and nonprofit organizations/NGOs in mass atrocity prevention. She has extensive experience in qualitative and interpretive research methods, comparative analysis and in-depth fieldwork across North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia.  

She has published articles related to government-nonprofit relations, philanthropy and foreign aid provision across public administration, public policy, nonprofit/NGOs studies and development studies journals including Public Administration Review, Administration & Society, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Nonprofit Policy Forum, Public Administration and Development, Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, Development in Practice, and the Journal of International Development, among others. She presents her work at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) and the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR), and is active in the of Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).   

Since 2020, Dr. Appe has served as co-editor-in-chief of VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, an interdisciplinary journal and leading academic outlet for research on topics related to civil society, nonprofit organizations, social enterprise, volunteering and philanthropy. For her research and teaching, Dr. Appe has been awarded five Fulbright Scholar Awards in Ecuador, Colombia, India, Mexico and Egypt.  

Dr. Appe has taught courses in nonprofit management, philanthropy, public administration, and public policy. Before joining the faculty at Rockefeller, Dr. Appe was a faculty member at Binghamton University, SUNY. She is regularly invited to guest lecture and has held Visiting Professor appointments at universities in Latin America and Africa. In 2018, Dr. Appe was recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in the State University of New York system. She is also Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Macedonia 2001 and Bolivia 2002-2004) and is active in UAlbany’s Peace Corps Prep program. In the Capital Region, she serves on the Board of Directors of two local nonprofits, RISSE (Refugee & Immigrant Support Services of Emmaus, Inc.) which supports and welcomes immigrants and other newcomers in the region and the Albany Barn, a creative incubator and community arts center in Arbor Hill, Albany.  

Dr. Appe has a BA from Saint Michael’s College and a MA in Arts Management from the University of Oregon. She is a Rockefeller alum, having received her MPA and PhD in Public Administration and Policy from the College.