Naomi Aoki (PhD, Public Administration) is an academic specializing in public administration and management. She is currently an associate professor in the Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP) at the University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Japan (since April 2020), and was formerly an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) (August 2011- March 2020). Aoki has been awarded as one of the 2021 University of Tokyo Excellent Young Researchers. She is a recipient of teaching awards from both the NUS, Singapore, and the GraSPP at the UTokyo.
As a researcher, Aoki addresses emerging issues in public administration and management through an interdisciplinary fusion of approaches. In particular, her research integrates psychological theories to investigate the nexus between public administration and society. An example of this approach is seen in her recently published works inspired by theories of psycho-ergonomics, which investigate how the use of artificial intelligence in public services affects public trust. Her publications have appeared in leading journals in a range of fields, including Cities, Computers in Human Behavior, Government Information Quarterly, Habitat International, Public Management Review, and Risk Analysis, among others.
She is currently a member of the editorial boards for the peer-reviewed journals Public Administration (since January 2021), Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration (since March 2022), Public Administration Review (since January 2023), and Public Administration and Development (since February 2023).
As an educator, Aoki teaches public management from a globally comparative perspective, which reflects her career path over the past decade. Her full-time teaching career began in 2011 at NUS, where she spent two years in the Department of Political Science, mainly teaching undergraduate Singaporean students, and she later moved to the university’s graduate school, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Aoki also taught in the school’s executive education programs for professionals in Singapore and abroad. She joined the GraSPP in April 2020, where she delivers courses in both English and Japanese. She continues to offer consultancy internationally. To date, she has taught students and professionals from over 85 countries/economies.
Naomi Aoki received her PhD in public administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2010. Prior to pursuing a doctorate, she worked for the World Bank (2003-2006) as a consultant and earned diplomas from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (MA, 2003) and American University’s School of International Service (BA, 2001, Hons).
Interview Article: “Promoting Administrative Intelligence in Pursuit of Better public Administration and Management.”