Dr. Diego Galego Joins Rutgers SPAA Faculty as Assistant Professor

Dr. Diego Galego has joined the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University–Newark as an assistant professor starting in Spring 2025.

A dedicated public policy, comparative public administration, and social sciences researcher with international experience, Dr. Galego is motivated to develop problem-driven, evidence-based research for solutions and is determined to contribute to a better understanding of how socially and politically excluded communities can better influence policymaking processes to overcome discrimination and inequalities in democratic societies.

Dr. Galego received a joint doctorate for social science from KU Leuven Public Governance Institute (Belgium) and for public policies from the University of Aveiro (Portugal). His doctoral research analyzed Brazil's policymaking process, focusing on the LGBTQ movement’s influence on anti-homophobia policies during the democratic period (1988-2021). The study identified LGBTQ movement strategies and the absence of legislative action, resulting in policy judicialization, and the analysis concluded that ad hoc executive and judicial measures are implemented when the legislative branch fails.

His research has been published in Global Policy, Public Policy and Administration, Journal of Policy Studies, Latin American Policy, Journal of Gender Studies, Politics and Governance, among others. Dr. Galego is an active member of leading academic associations including IPPA, ASPA, and EGPA Group XIX. Currently, he is working on the "Queering Public Policy" book project, which analyzes LGBTQ+ policymaking in five federal countries, providing a novel framework for LGBTQ+ policy development.