Center for Politics Staff

Director of Global Initiatives / Deputy Director of Instruction

Daman Irby has served as the University of Virginia Center for Politics Director of Global Initiatives since spring of 2009. In this role Daman writes grant proposals on behalf of the Center to host international exchanges most of which are funded by the U.S. Department of State. Once the grants have been awarded, Daman coordinates the planning for the exchanges and implements the final programs. Since the establishment of the Center’s Global Perspectives on Democracy program in 2009, hundreds of delegates of all ages from around the world have participated in a variety of programs all anchored in increasing civic engagement in their home countries.

As Director of Global Initiatives, Mr. Irby also leads the UVA Center for Politics’ Ambassador Series. The Ambassador Series was established in the fall of 2014 with the intent to provide university students, faculty, staff, and the public with the opportunity to learn from and engage with international leaders. Ambassadors from across the world have participated in this series.

Daman is the Deputy Director of Instruction for the Center for Politics’ Youth Leadership Initiative that provides kindergarten through twelfth grade educators with civics and government resources to be used in their classrooms. These resources and activities promote civic engagement and involvement in government and the political process. Daman arrived at the UVA Center for Politics in the summer of 2002. He served as a researcher at the H. John Heinz III Center in Washington, D.C. from 1998 until 2002.

Mr. Irby earned a B.A. in International Affairs with a concentration in Economics and minor in German at The George Washington University in 1997 and completed an M.A. in Global Studies from Liberty University in 2017. He also studied a year at the University of Vienna and was a high school exchange student for one year in Kirchdorf an der Krems, Austria.

Daman Irby is married and has two children. He serves his community as Cubmaster for the Cub Scout Pack in Gordonsville and as a deacon and music leader at Blue Run Baptist Church in Somerset, Virginia. As a youth, Daman achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.