Fall 2006 MPP Alumni Notes
MPP ’05
Ruhi Gandhi married Amit Shah on May 20 in Cerritos, Calif. Ruhi works with IBM Consulting in Washington, DC.
Xing Hu has a new position as senior intrapreneur at Ashoka Youth Innovations Initiative in Washington, D.C.
Kim Williams has a new position at Louisiana Family Recovery Corps in Baton Rough, La., rebuilding child and family policy and programs after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
MPP ’04
Lori Allen is engaged to Ryan Karaian, planning a June 2007 wedding in Louisville, Ky. Lori works for Public Consulting Group in Charlotte, N.C.
Creecy Chandler Johnson is now assistant attorney general in the Consumer Protection Division of the N.C. Office of the Attorney General.
Elaine Lai completed a 4-month detail in Alaska with the Yukon River Intertribal Watershed Council. She recently returned to her permanent placement at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 8 office in Colorado where she works in water permits and watershed programs.
MPP ’03
Trina Hedrick was promoted to native aquatics project leader for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources’ Northeastern Regional Office in Vernal, Utah, where she oversees conservation and recovery activities for all native aquatic species in the region.
Kevin Hutchinson has a new position with Public Consulting Group in Raleigh, N.C., working with N.C. state and local governments.
Mike McBrierty and his wife, Julie, and big sister, Callie (2), are pleased to announce the arrival of Samuel James McBrierty, born May 2.
Meaghan Muldoon Mann left the Office of Management and Budget for a new position in the Education, Workforce, and Income Security Team at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Jennifer Nevin and Chuck Anderson were married on June 10 at Old Town Hall in Fairfax, Va. Joining them to celebrate were classmates Meaghan Muldoon Mann, Amy Murphy, Katie Tedrow Astrich, Kevin Hutchinson, Nick Cornelisse, Jason DeRousie, Heather Lee, Gustavo Flores-Macias, Seth Messner, Katie McClurg Anderson(’04), David Anderson(’04), Chloe Metz(’04), Lauren Hierl (’04), Tim Greeff (’04), and Megan Fotheringham (’04).
MPP ’02
Melanie Kadlic accepted a position as senior associate with Collaborative Communications Group, a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., that specializes in K-12 public education. Melanie recently got engaged and is planning a 2007 wedding.
Roberto Obando Prestol and Meg Hendrickson (PPS ’99) were married on Feb. 4 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where Roberto is director of the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP) and Meg is the senior contracts and grants associate for Family Health International.
Tim Saintsing has a new position as director of operations at Excellence Charter School of Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Kristen Wunschel Ward relocated to Raleigh, NC, where she is advertising program manager for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
MPP ’01
Lisa Frack and her husband, Doug Chamblin, welcomed their second child, Georgia, on March 20. Lisa and her family live in Portland, Ore., where she works at the HUD Regional Office on community development and affordable housing block grants.
Lisa Jaworski Murphy joined Avalere Health, a consulting firm that specializes in healthcare policy in Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Tolle Robbins and her husband, James, announced the birth of Rachel Janna Robbins on April 2. Beth left her position as an Army spokesperson at the Pentagon and is now the current operations officer for the Soldiers Media Center in Crystal City, Va.
MPP ’00
Gregg Behr will leave The Forbes Funds in November to become the new executive director of the Grable Foundation, which provides educational opportunities for young people in southwestern Pennsylvania. Gregg lives in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Wendy Brown and her husband, Greg Kang, welcomed a daughter, Sarah Hae-Wong Kang, on July 13. Wendy and her family live in Richmond, Va., where she is director of workforce development services research for the Virginia Community College System.
Elizabeth Field Singer and her husband, Chris, welcomed a son, Henry Gage Singer, on May 19. Elizabeth is a senior analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C., where she just completed a review of HIV/AIDS prevention funded under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
Brad Keller married Alexandra Bradley on June 3 in Richmond, Va. Classmates Ellen Weiss (’00), Josh Fowkes, and Carolyn Forno (’00) joined the celebration. The Kellers live in Washington, D.C., where Brad works at Westat.
Kristen Petrocine Pennington was promoted to manager of sustainable solutions for the Northwest Region for CH3M Hill in Seattle, Wash.
MPP ’99
Kevin Carroll left his position as staff director of the Energy Subcommittee of the House Science Committee to become chief of the Energy Branch at the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C.
Sekou Kaalund was honored as a top “40 Under Forty” achiever by The Network Journal, a magazine that focuses on African-American professionals and small business owners, on June 22 in New York, N.Y. Sekou is director of securities and fund services at Citigroup Corporate Investments in New York, N.Y.
Shannon Szymczak and her husband, Brian, welcomed a daughter, Jillian May Szymczak on May 18. Shannon and her family live in Austin, Texas, where she is Corporate Budget Manager for the City of Austin.
MPP ’98
Yi-Ju (Eva) Chiang is an analyst for the Transportation Department in the City of Sacramento, Calif.
MPP ’97
Danny Werfel was promoted to deputy controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C.
MPP ’93
Leonardo Alvarez left the Federal Commission of Telecommunications for a new position as director of training, evaluation and career development for the Federal Electoral Institute in Mexico.
Paul Brathwaite received the inaugural Brenda Pillors Award in March from the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding in recognition of his work to foster better relations among the various ethnic caucuses and organizations on Capitol Hill. Paul is executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus and was featured in the Washington Post in June as part of a summer series “Being a Black Man.”
MPP ’92
Olga Corrales, manager of the Model Forest Network for Latin America and the Caribbean, was featured in western Newfoundland newspaper, The Western Star, when she presented a talk on the challenges of the model forest program for the Western Newfoundland Model Forest Partnership. Olga and her husband, David Feingold (’92), live in Costa Rica.
Sheila White Chavis, her husband, Kevin, and son, Kyle (9), are adopting a 2-year-old son, Mekhi, who they have been fostering since 2004. Sheila is an attorney at Brent Adams & Associates in Raleigh, N.C.
MPP ’91
Eric Christopherson now directs the assessment center for i-SAFE, Inc., a nonprofit that helps youth to act safely and responsibly on the Internet.
MPP ’90
Michael Sorrell is a part of the founding team for The C School, which uses advanced political, corporate and communication strategies to prepare coaches for professional success. Mike is president of Victor Credo, LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in representing professional athletes and coaches and public affairs problem solving in Dallas, Texas.
MPP ’88
Jess Hale published an article on the Commerce Clause and solid waste management in the Tulane Environmental Law Journal and was appointed as an associate commissioner to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws for Tennessee. Jess lives in Nashville, Tenn., where she is an attorney for the Tennessee General Assembly.
MPP ’87
Tim Baden was a student at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (National Defense University) for the 2005-06 year, and has returned to FEMA as special assistant to the FEMA deputy director.
Mark Messura was promoted to executive vice president at Cotton Inc., in Cary, N.C., where he is responsible for management of corporate research programs and global supply chain operations.
