Catch up with your classmates with "Class Notes" from the fall 2017 edition of State & Hill

December 27, 2017

Frank R. Spence (MPA '60) was recently elected president of the Astoria, OR Port Commission. Frank received the 2004 Neil Staebler Award for Distinguished Public Service and has served on the U-M and Ford School Alumni Boards.

Alan Miller (MPP '74) co-authored "Climate Change and the Financial Sector: A Time of Risk and Opportunity," published in the Georgetown Environmental Law Review. Since retiring from the World Bank in 2013, Alan continues to consult on climate change finance and policy for the UN, World Bank, USAID, and other development institutions.

Sue Poppink (MPP '83) received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Education and Human Development at Western Michigan University, where she has served as a member of the educational leadership faculty for 16 years.

Frank Yu-Hsieh Sung (MPP '83) met with Kazuhito Yamashita (MPA/MA '82) in Taipei, Taiwan. As early alumni from Taiwan and Japan, respectively, both went on to serve their governments--reaching high ranks--following graduation.

Bart W. Édes (MPP '87) has been named the Asian Development Bank's (ADB's) representative to North America, and will be based in Washington, DC. Bart has spent the past 16 years at ADB's Manila headquarters, most recently leading the transformation of the bank's knowledge management systems. Joining Bart in North America will be his wife, Joanne, and two children, Luc and Scarlett.

Bart Édes (MPP '87) Bart Édes

Eric Norenberg (MPP '87), city manager of Milford, DE, was recognized for the second year in a row on the Chris Traeger top 100 list of local government influencers by Engaging Local Government Leaders. The list is named for the manager (played by Rob Lowe) of the fictional city of Pawnee in "Parks and Recreation." This fall, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) recognized Eric for 30 years of local government service, which began right here at IPPS with city internships in Ann Arbor and Southfield, MI.

Nicholas Greifer (MPP '89) and his wife Judith, who received her bachelor's degree from U-M in 1987, are the proud parents of two U-M undergrads: freshman Jacob and senior Natalie.

David Norquist (MPP '89) is under secretary of defense comptroller/chief financial officer for the U.S. Department of Defense. This July, he was honored to attend the Naval commissioning ceremony for the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford--the first in a new class of aircraft carriers. While there, he ran into fellow U-M graduate Jim Harbaugh (AB '86) and posed for a photo on deck.

Thomas Thornburg (MPP/JD '89) is in his 27th year at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Government, where he's served as senior associate dean since 2004. He reports that he enjoys life in Chapel Hill, and welcomes communication with old friends.

Kevin Lewis (MPP '95) reports that the health insurance co-op he started in 2011 is "back in the black for the first time since 2014 after a couple of bruising years." In other news, he says he pulled into the finish line of the famed Beach to Beacon 10K in a time of 38:08, but is still looking to break the 38-minute mark.

In Memoriam: Patrick Flaherty (MPP '96) passed away in his sleep on May 12 in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was deputy director of the CDC's HIV/STD Research Program. He will be deeply missed by family, friends, and colleagues. Memorial donations may be made to Amigos de las Americas or Positive Impact Health Centers.

Katie Decker (MPA '11) and
Sharif Sokkary (MPP '13) Katie Decker and Sharif Sokkary

Aidoo Osei (MPP '97) just moved from San Diego to Atlanta for a new job as vice president of product and innovation at Global Payments, Inc. He enjoys participating on the board of the nonprofit, Caring for Others, Inc.

Dana R. H. Doan (MPP '99) started a PhD program at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI this August. She has spent the past 15 years working in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Meanwhile, her husband, Kham M. Doan (MPP/MBA '98) recently celebrated the 11-year anniversary of his business, Horizon Capital Group. They have a six-year-old son named Kai.

Brian Pappas (MPP '03) writes, "New job! Moved to Boise!" He is now assistant professor of public policy and administration and director of the Conflict Management Program at Boise State University.

Gloria Cadavid (MPP '05) is spending the year in Germany as a Bosch Fellow. She says she'd "love to connect with Ford alumni in Deutschland!"

Sarah Perrine (MPP '06), founder of the Trust for Social Achievement in Bulgaria, reports that the foundation has recently been recognized by the World Bank. The foundation participated in a large-scale, multi-arm randomized control trial, which aimed to demonstrate how best to improve kindergarten participation rates among poor children in Bulgaria, with a focus on the Roma.

Andrew Schroeder's (MPP '07) organization, WeRobotics, received funding from the Inter-American Development Bank to create Panama Flying Labs, a regional robotics-focused social innovation hub for Central America. Schroeder also completed work with the World Food Programme this year-building coordination mechanisms for humanitarian applications of UAV/drone technology. In June, he helped lead the first WeRobotics global conference at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York.

Adam Mesirow (BA '09) and Nicole Ruhlman Adam Mesirow and Nicole Ruhlman

Adam Mesirow (BA '09) married Nicole Ruhlman (who earned her bachelor's in nursing at U-M in 2009) at the Michigan League this May.

Gareth Collins (BA '10) recently started his second tour in the Foreign Service in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is serving as political attaché during a two-year diplomatic assignment for the U.S. Department of State.

Trés Fuller (BA '10) was hired as a career development specialist at Hope Network's Ready for Work program, which seeks to reduce recidivism by providing employability training and job placement and retention services for inmates of the Kent County jail.

Lesley Plimpton (BA '10) married Majid Younis on July 29 in Whatley, MA. They live in New York City, where Lesley is a public school teacher.

Nathan Cole (BA '11) was hired as the high school ministry director of the Metro Detroit Chinese Alliance Church in Madison Heights, MI.

Katie Decker (MPA '11) and Sharif Sokkary (MPP '13) were married in Alexandria, Virginia on January 14. Fellow Fordies Lindsay Minnema (MPP '12), Stephanie Swierczek (MPP '12), and Kristin Welling (MPP '12) were members of the wedding party with many more Fordies in attendance. "It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine," says Decker.

Stephanie Rose (BBA '06, MPP '11) and Nathan Dyer, a graduate of Louisiana State University, were married in October.

Anju Mary Paul (PhD '12) was promoted to associate professor of sociology, with tenure, at Yale-NUS College in Singapore.

Monica Cerrezuela (BA '13) is the advocacy and community outreach manager at the Women's Fund of Central Ohio, which works to create gender equality and support women and girls in the community.

DJ McKerr (BA '13) married Alexandra Moresco on September 9 in Park City, UT. The newlyweds plan to continue to reside in the Chicago area.

Caroline Andridge (BA '14) finished her year-long Princeton in Africa Fellowship with the Clinton Health Access Initiative in South Africa. She says she enjoyed working as the initiative's HIV prevention analyst, and is now pursuing a master's in sustainable development at Notre Dame.

Kelsey Rhodes (BA '14) and Jeremy Brill (who earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at U-M in 2013 and 2014 respectively) were engaged in Park City, UT on May 27.

Pete Haviland-Eduah (MPP '16) and
Alexandra Kennedy Pete Haviland-Eduah and Alexandra Kennedy

Pete Haviland-Eduah (MPP '16) married Alexandra Kennedy on May 27 at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

William Lamping (MPP '16) married Katerina Lamping (nee Nabieva) on May 28 in Washington, DC. William currently works as an auditor at the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Thomas Hislop (BA '17) is working as a consulting analyst with Huron's higher ed practice. He is based in Chicago and reports that he's putting his "education and economics focus area" to good use.

In memoriam

W. Larry Collins (MPA ’49)
Richard D. Salvati (MPA ’65)
Joseph F. Powers (MPP ’75)
John E. DiNardo (MPP ’84)
Patrick J. Flaherty (MPP ’96)*

To share condolences, or to notify the Ford School of an alum who has recently passed, please contact Elisabeth Johnston, the Ford School’s alumni relations manager, at [email protected]. This list, which runs from February-September 2017, comes from U-M’s alumni records office and notifications from friends and family.

*See class note above, submitted by classmate Jeff Wallbaum (MPP ’95).

Submit class notes and photos online at fordschool.umich.edu/stay-connected/class-notes.


Below is a formatted version of this article from State & Hill, the magazine of the Ford School. View the entire Fall 2017 State & Hill.