Martin Saiz (PhD University of Colorado at Boulder) is Professor of Political Science and the former Chair of the Political Science Department at California State University, Northridge. Martin formerly taught with the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Prior to joining academia, Martin directed small town and neighborhood community service centers for the Center for Community Development and Design at the University of Colorado at Denver. In that capacity, he helped local organizations develop problem-solving capacities to assist neighborhood revitalization projects. Martin was subsequently appointed to the Denver Planning Commission and served two four-year terms during which he developed insights into the political process gained only from the inside.

Martin writes extensively on issues of urban politics, political parties, economic development, and education policy. His articles have been published in the Journal of Politics, Urban Affairs Review, Political Research Quarterly, Policy Studies Journal, Economic Development Quarterly, The Journal of Urban Affairs, California Policy Issues Annual, Thought & Action, and  The Higher Education Journal of the National Education Association, as well as many other books and journals.

Jennifer L. De Maio (PhD UCLA) is Professor of Political Science at California State University, Northridge. Jennifer’s research focuses on African politics, specifically on ethnic civil wars and conflict management. She is the author of Confronting Ethnic Conflict: The Role of Third Parties in Managing Africa's Civil Wars. Jennifer has also published and presented papers on elections and the use of social media, transnationalized violence, the relationship between urban space and conflict management, women and conflict, and sustainable development in Africa, including the 2019 co-edited volume Sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: Problems, Perspectives, and Prospects. She is currently working on a project about the politics of decolonizing language in African Studies. Before beginning a career in academia, Jennifer worked as a journalist for ABC News and NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation.

Jennifer brings a unique perspective to the Introduction to American Government and Politics course that incorporates research from comparative politics and international relations. She uses the classroom as a stage, on which the students are "spect-actors" who are actively involved in the learning process.