Docking Institute Staff
To facilitate effective public policy decision-making, the Docking Institute has distinguished policy fellows from industry, academia, and government. The Docking Institute assembles the right team of experts to find real-world solutions to real-world challenges.
The Docking Institute's staff and fellows have a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. The Docking Institute draws upon university and field-based experts. The vast levels of expertise allow each person to contribute to the overall success of the Institute. This collection of individuals offers a complete and rounded organization.
The staff and fellows bring specialized knowledge and experience in the areas of program evaluation, research, grants facilitation, economic development, government, natural resource issues, healthcare, business, telecommunications, and education. Each person involved in the success of the Docking Institute is highly qualified to achieve excellence in the field of policy research.
Brett Zollinger, Ph.D.
Director
e-mail: bazollinger@fhsu.edu
Office: (785) 628-5881
Dr. Brett Zollinger rejoined the Docking Institute as director in August 2019. He also serves as chair of Sociology Programs at FHSU. He previously served in a joint-appointment between the Docking Institute and Sociology as research scientist at the Institute from 1998 to 2008 and director of the Institute from 2002 to 2008. His work has been nationally recognized. He received the Rural Sociological Society's Dissertation Award in 1997. He has been published in several academic journals including Great Plain Research, Rural Sociology, Journal of the Community Development Society, Research in Community Sociology, Economic Development Quarterly, Complimentary Health Practice Review, the Online Journal of Rural Research and Policy, and e-journal of Public Affairs. He also has a book chapter in the edited book, Mad about Wildlife. He has designed and conducted survey research projects at local, state and regional levels on a wide variety of topics including the following: public health/wellness awareness, attitudes toward wildlife management approaches and recreational hunting practices, labor availability, health care needs assessment, housing and city services satisfaction, quality of life, crime and domestic violence victims issues, and use of conservation tree plantings. He also conducted dozens of program evaluation studies and organizational and community development strategic planning sessions. One of most notable research and strategic planning projects was the statewide 2005 Kansas Prosperity Summit research and planning process on behalf of the Kansas Department of Commerce and five partner state agencies, which culminated in an economic development plan for Kansas issued by Governor Kathleen Sebelius. He has over $2.9 million of applied research and planning funded. Dr. Zollinger's primary research interests are in the areas of community and economic development, public health/wellness, human dimensions of wildlife and natural resources management, and applied sociology. Prior to joining the Docking Institute in 1998, Dr. Zollinger earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Utah State University and worked in USU's Institute for Social Science Research on Natural Resources. In his spare time he enjoys golfing and spending time with his family.
Jian Sun, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
e-mail: jsun@fhsu.edu
Office: (785) 628-4509
Dr. Jian Sun joined the Docking Institute in July 2007 as a research scientist and was promoted to assistant director in 2017. His responsibilities include survey design, survey administration, data analysis, and report writing. He has been the lead researcher for a variety of projects involving feasibility studies, health needs assessments, program evaluation, public opinion surveys, and housing studies. His personal research interests include housing prices, urban developmental policies, and public administration. Before joining the Docking Institute, he was involved in several planning projects in the United States and China, including land use planning, transportation analysis, and community economic development. He has published in the academic journals Environmental and Planning A, Journal of Real Estate Literature, Journal of Housing Economics, Journal of Urban Affairs, Journal of Public Affairs Education, Real Estate Economics, and Journal of Current Chinese Affairs. Jian is also a professor in FHSU's Political Science Program, teaching research methods and public administration courses. Jian received his doctorate from the University of Louisville in 2007.
Michael Walker, M.S.
Research Scholar
e-mail: mwalker@fhsu.edu
Office: (785) 628-5563
Michael Walker holds a research scholar appointment with the Docking Institute and Sociology Programs at Fort Hays State University. He joined the Institute in 2000 as a research scientist, and was promoted to assistant director in 2006 and director in 2017. In the fall of 2019 he transitioned to a research scholar position. His academic specialties include urban and rural sociology, community theory and development, and population change. His applied research specialties include research design, survey and focus group research, strategic planning, and program assessment. He has been the lead researcher for more than 100 of labor and employment studies in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Mike is a member of the Rural Sociological Society, the Community Development Society, WKREDA, Hays Area Chamber of Commerce, American Association of Public Opinion Research, and the Population Association of America. Prior to coming to Fort Hays State University, he performed ethnographic and survey research in California, Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Nebraska. Mike also participated in archeological digs in southern Utah, completed a political internship in Washington, DC, and served in the U.S. Army. Mike received his Master of Science degree in sociology from Utah State University.
LESLIE WATSON-DIVITTORE, M.S.
Research Coordinator Administrative Specialist
e-mail: lawatson2@fhsu.edu
Office: (785) 628-5571
Leslie Watson-Divittore joined the Docking Institute in mid-spring 2020 as a student research assistant. Leslie earned her Master's in Experimental Psychology in 2022 and was then promoted to the Institute staff as a Research Coordinator Administrative Specialist. Leslie programs and administers surveys using state-of-the-art Qualtrics and IdSurvey softwares. She manages the Institute’s quality assurance protocols for best practices in online and phone surveying. She is experienced at piloting surveys, importing samples, monitoring for data quality control, troubleshooting respondent technical questions/issues, and exporting and cleaning data for analysis. Leslie provides status updates on all survey progress to staff and policy fellows on projects. Additionally, she contributes to the Institute’s team by submitting projects for IRB-approval, managing large data sets from secondary sources such as U.S. Census and the Kansas Departments of Commerce and Labor, and mentor's student research assistants on the Institute’s staff. She also assists other staff and policy fellows with analysis and reporting authoring and is increasingly assuming the lead role on some technical reports.
Marisa M. Johnson, M.B.A
Administrative Specialist
e-mail: mmjohnson4@fhsu.edu
Office: (785) 628-5949
Marisa M. Johnson joined the Docking Institute in March 2021 as the administrative specialist. Responsibilities include budget records, billing contracts, management of accounts, monitoring of fund balances, assigning expenses, payroll, and maintaining the website. She oversees student employment through Workday and supervises and coordinates the student activities. She is also responsible for design and publication of the Institute's annual report. She received her Master of Business Administration [MBA] from Fort Hays State University in 2000.