Alumni News

Alessandro Arbore (Ph.D. '03) has been offered a new contract as Assistant Professor at Bocconi University.

Lynn Bagorazzi (MPA '97) recently joined the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration Bureau of Land and Maritime Operations as a grant administrator.

Christopher Brown (MPA '97) announced his engagement to Katherine Hildner. The couple will be married on 6/5/2004. Chris left the American Florists in May 2003 to become the Manager of Federal Relations for the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.

Thomas Bryer (MPA '02) spoke at the GSPM and Center for Democracy and Technology on a day set aside for recognizing the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. He discussed the state of youth civic engagement today and the nature of government. He also called upon the youth of America to engage in public service.

Marco Cercone (MPA '99) announced his engagement to Kari A. Sette of Williamsville, NY. The couple will be wed in April 2004. He joined Rupp, Baase, Pfalzgraf, Cunningham, and Coppola LLC. as a litigation associate in January 2003.

Carol Ann Cunningham (MAM '93) left the DC Bar after 14 years to form Cunningham Association Consulting. The new firm provides comprehensive event and communications services.

Amy Fredregill (MPP '02) recently became Managing Director of the Minnesota Association of Cooperatives, a trade association comprised of approximately 200 member cooperatives, including agricultural, consumer, credit union, electric, health care, and housing. She will be lobbying, fundraising, and recruiting members.

Lindsay Godwin (MPA '02) joined the Greater Washington Board of Trade as Manager for Small Business Partnerships. As Manager, she runs a training program and provides business development opportunities for small companies to help grow their quality client base by connecting them to larger member firms.

Jessica Jordan (MPP '02) is a policy analyst for the Maryland General Assembly, where she prepares analyses of the higher education budgets and policies for the MD legislature during its session, and performs research and monitoring during the interim.

Timothy Klein (MPA '96), Associate Administrator for Innovation, Research and Education at the U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration, was recently recognized for distinguished service in support of U.S. vital security interests in the aftermath of 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks.

Robert Kramer (MPA '87) is now Director of the AU/OPM and Key Executive Education Programs at American University. In 2002, he received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the AU School of Public Affairs. Bob is a member of the Board of Directors of the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society, a group of 450 professors in management education worldwide. Prior to AU, he served in government for 25 years, including a stint on VP Gore's NPR. In 1999, he was a Fulbright professor in Budapest. Since then, to promote democracy in post-Communist societies, he has conducted leadership development programs in Central and Eastern Europe, most recently to help reconstruct the Balkans. In the U.S., he speaks regularly on leadership and emotional intelligence. His publications have been translated into German, Dutch, Hungarian, Russian, and Spanish, and include A Psychology of Difference (1996).

Jeff Marootian (MPA '03) was sworn in to a one-year term as the youngest member of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams' commission for HIV/AIDS. Composed of community leaders, health service professionals, persons with HIV, and government officials, the twenty-person commission advises the mayor on issues related to prevention, education, and policy regarding HIV/AIDS.

Melissa Merrell (MPP '03) recently joined CBO as an associate analyst for the State and Local Government Cost Unit. She reviews federal legislation for intergovernmental mandates and estimates their potential budgetary impact on state, local, and tribal governments. She specializes in Homeland Security, Community Development and Regional Development, and the Administration of Justice.

Julie (MPA '01) and Gary Middleton (MPA '00) are now proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. Celia Grace Middleton was born on 9/1/2003. She was 21" long and weighed in at 7 lbs, 8 oz.

Demetra Nightingale (Ph.D. '98) was appointed to the faculty of The Johns Hopkins Institute of Policy Studies in August.

Carrie O'Regan (MPP '03) recently became Project Coordinator at the National Association of Mental Health Planning and Advisory Councils. She also will function part time as a policy analyst and researcher for their affiliate, the National Mental Health Association.

Susan Robinson (MPA '83) is the Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Management Services of the Arlington Public Schools. In that capacity, she directs and manages the administrative functions of the schools, including finance, budget, purchasing, warehousing, technology (information systems and network services), before and after school care, and food services. Previously she was the Town Manager in Chevy Chase, MD and the Deputy Director of the Government Finance Research Center.

Andrew Sachs (MPA '93) recently drew acclaim for his work as an Economic Development Director of the city of Brewer, Maine. Since assuming the position in 1999, he has attracted over 3 million dollars of federal, state, and local grants to support waterfront restoration in the city, developed a once sparingly occupied industrial park, and changed the way the city works with and responds to the city's residents. Despite the recent economic downturn, Brewer has continued to attract new business and diversified its manufacturing roots. The demanding task of turning around this stagnant manufacturing city was the challenge Drew was looking for when he and his wife returned to Maine. The City Council's commitment to economic development encouraged Drew to take on this challenge. City Manager Steve Bost praises Drew's industrious work habits and his ability to inspire others. The City Council and Drew's work have not gone unnoticed by Brewer's residents of whom 82% were satisfied or very satisfied with the direction of economic development in a recent survey. Andrew lives in Hampden, Maine with his wife, Melanie and their daughter Deidre (5) and son, Peter (3).

Susan C. Schwab (Ph.D.) was nominated by President Bush to become deputy Treasury secretary on 7/9/2003. The nomination comes after serving as Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs for 8 years. Other accomplishments include: Motorola Inc.'s director of corporate business development, negotiator in the Office of U.S. Trade Representatives, legislative director for Sen. Danforth (R-Mo.), and assistant secretary of commerce under the first President Bush. She also authored "Trade-off: Negotiating the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act" (1994).

Jenn Smith (MPP '03) recently joined the Department of Labor's Office of Youth Services as a PMI/Youth Development Specialist, where she provides technical assistance and grant support for DOL's Youth Opportunity Grant (YOG) program. She also coordinates community service-learning initiatives for the YOG sites, is working on a vision paper focused on better integrating youth development and employment services into adult one-stop employment centers, and oversees various demonstration grants for in- and out-of-school youth education and employment initiatives.

Rachel Sotsky (MPA '82) was named the Legislative Assistant to Senator Joe Lieberman (D-Conn) this summer.

Commander Peter Troedsson (MPA '98) assumed command of Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Savannah in July. The unit's 120 people and five aircraft are responsible for helicopter support of search and rescue, homeland security, and all other Coast Guard missions from the North-South Carolina border to Melbourne, FL. His previously served as Executive Officer at CGAS San Francisco for which he was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal.

Travis Wagner (Ph.D. '03) was reappointed for a second year as visiting assistant professor in the Environmental Science and Policy Program at the University of Southern Maine. He is teaching risk assessment, environmental policy-pollution, environmental communications, environmental science lab, and environmental literacy. His research includes comparative applied environmental policy for waste management.

Leonard O. Walker (MPA '65) recently was asked to form an umbrella Alzheimer Organization for 14 counties in Alabama. They achieved nonprofit corporation status in January 2003 and held the first Alzheimer Disease Professional and Care Givers Conference in June 2003. The organization's mission is to assist Alzheimer support groups, care givers, and professionals.

Carrie Lynn Wilks (MPA '02) was married 10/9/2003 to Michael Thomas McCarthy in Narragansett, RI. She is a telecommunication analyst for the General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C.

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