Her research interests include state and local politics, direct democracy and women’s representation in local government. Filla also spearheads programming for the University’s annual Ready to Run™ nonpartisan campaign training for women. Prior to coming to Mount Saint Mary's, she was an assistant professor and faculty affiliate at the Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Penn. She has been awarded grants from the John Randolph and Dora Haynes Foundation and the Women and Girls Foundation and has been published in Urban Affairs Review and State and Local Government Review. Sheila James Kuehl