Nancy Billica is a political scientist who has been part of the teaching faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder since 1998. Her work focuses on public policy and US politics. In addition to her teaching, she has an extensive record working as a researcher, writer, and consultant with a number of public policy and nonprofit organizations related to environmental, human rights, and social policy issues. She developed some of her hands-on knowledge of politics through several years of work as a research assistant in the US Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Nancy and her husband, Brian Vickers, have two grown daughters, one currently in Oregon, the other in New Zealand. When not working, Nancy enjoys being outdoors hiking, biking, and gardening, taking part in community volunteer opportunities, and dabbling in a wide variety of life-enriching experiences (including tracking down her daughters along with other family and friends across the globe — when pandemic conditions don’t interfere).
Nancy completed her PhD at Harvard University in 1997. Before that she earned a Master’s degree at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and a BA at the University of California Berkeley. She considers herself a student of the world still learning and trying to figure things out.