Peter F. Lydens (MPA ’58) provides pro bono management consulting services to the city of Mount Airy, NC. He was Mount Airy’s first city manager (1961–63), and retired there in 2007.
Frank Spence (MPA ’60) was appointed planning commissioner for the city of Astoria, OR, and recently received a 50 Year Distinguished Service Award from the International City/County Management Association.
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Jeff Ebihara (MPP ’86), his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughter, Sophie, attended the 2016 Citrus Bowl. “We made Sophie [who signed a national letter of intent to run track at the University of Florida this fall] sit between us in the U-M alumni section,” Jeff reports.
Eric Norenberg (MPP ’87) has been named city manager of Milford, DE. Its historic downtown, he says, “boasts boutiques, art galleries, restaurants and annual regional festivals.”
George Julnes (MPP ’89), a professor in the University of Baltimore’s School of Public and International Affairs, received the Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award from the American Evaluation Association in November.
Global Detroit, a nonprofit spearheaded by Steve Tobocman (MPP/JD ’97), was honored to receive one of the first-ever Renewal Awards for “innovators, grassroots organizers, and problem-solvers who are making progress against the greatest challenges facing America.”
Mellie Torres’ (MPP ’97) article, “An exploratory study of the academic engagement and beliefs of Latino male high school students,” was published in Race Ethnicity and Education.
Michael Landweber’s (MPP/MA ’98) second novel, Thursday 1:17 p.m., will be published by Coffeetown Press in May.
Charles Henley (MPP ’00) was promoted to deputy director of the Metropolitan Transit Authority capital program in New York City. He was pleased to watch U-M hoops and hockey at Madison Square Garden recently.
Sarah Lyberg (MPP ’00) was appointed assistant chief financial officer for budget at the Department of Housing and Urban Development last summer. This past fall, Sarah was one of 70 federal employees invited to the White House for a thank you from the President for her service.
Jennifer Kelley Wilder (MPA ’00) is director of development for Warrior Canine Connection (WCC), a national non-profit that serves U.S. veterans.
Stuart Berlow (MPP ’01) received the “campaign manager/lobbyist of the year” award from the American Heart Association.
Jeff Kosseff (MPP ’01) has joined the faculty of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he is an assistant professor of cybersecurity law.
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Cortney Robinson (MPP ’01) and his wife, Abby, welcomed parenthood with the birth of their first son, Herman Benjamin Robinson, on Oct. 24, 2015 in Arlington, VA.
Sarah Sargen (MPP ’02) welcomed Lauren Abigail on Sept. 16, 2015. She joins big brother Ian (age 7) and big sister Cate (age 3).
José Stevenson (MPP ’03) got married in August; he and his wife live in the Bronx. Last summer, he marked 10 years at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY. Outside of work, José continues to serve on the board of the TriLatino Triathlon Club—a non-profit he helped found. He runs the TriLatino Juniors program for public high school students in the South Bronx, continues do triathlons himself, and is training for his first Ironman.
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Bulbul Gupta (MPP ’04) is head of social innovation at Greyston Social Enterprise, a New York benefit corporation. Bulbul also serves as board chair for Upaya Social Ventures and is a policy advisor to Hillary for America 2016.
Kay (Milewski) Kelly (MPA ’05) co-authored a children’s book, Max the Monkey Has MCADD, that was briefly #2 on the Amazon best seller list for children’s health and nutrition (behind the Disney Princess Cookbook). The book describes MCADD, a rare metabolic condition, in kid-friendly terms.
Ifie Okwuje (PhD ’05) is currently serving the U.S. State Department in Shanghai. She and her family hope to travel throughout China and the region.
Caroline Sallee (MPP ’05), along with husband, Jim, and big sister, Eleanor, welcomed Julia Reece, on Sept. 11, 2015.
Larisa Shambaugh (MPP ’05) was appointed chief talent officer for Newark Public Schools in January.
Elizabeth Delgado Garcia (MPP/MUP ’06) and José Garcia (MPP/MS ’06) recently moved from the San Francisco Bay area to LA. José is working from the EPA’s southern California field office, managing brownfield grants for Arizona-area tribal grantees. Elizabeth is working for Culver City as an economic development project manager. In October, they and their oldest son, Benjamin Diego, welcomed Mateo Esteban to the family.
Andrew Schroeder (MPP ’07) has co-founded a new nonprofit, WeRobotics.org, which helps local communities use robotics technologies for relief, development, health, and ecology. Andrew continues to work as research and analytics director of Direct Relief, and was nominated for the “humanitarian innovation” award at the 2016 Mobile World Congress for his data collection and analysis work to aid Syrian refugees.
Andreas Hatzigeorgiou (MPP ’08) has been selected one of Sweden’s top economics and finance “Super Talents” by Veckans Affärer. Hatzigeorgiou holds a PhD in economics and currently serves as chief economist of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
Jeremy Borovitz (BA ’09) and Rebecca Blady, a student at Yeshivat Maharat, will be married in May.
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Brandy Johnson (MPP ’09) and her husband, Will Repko, welcomed their son Kirby Daniel on Aug. 1, 2015 in Lansing. “Kirby is being raised in a house divided,” she reports. “Mom bleeds blue and Dad bleeds green!”
Nathan Triplett (MPP ’09) accepted a position as political director of Equality Michigan. Nathan and his wife Sarah Gonzales Triplett welcomed their first child, Theodore Charles Triplett, in November.
Jessica (Simoncelli) Gershman (MPP/MUP ’10) and Tom Gershman welcomed their son, Joseph Simon, in December 2015. Joe is enjoying the mild winter in St. Louis, where the family recently relocated from Chicago.
Dani Liffmann (BA ’10) is a research associate with the Chartis Group, a national advisory services firm dedicated to the healthcare industry.
Matthew Mejia (BA ’12), hired as a policy analyst at the Harlem Children’s Zone in December 2014, was promoted to policy and research associate in October. He sends his love “to the Fordie family.”
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Nathan Rix (MPP ’12) and Kristen Riordan were married in December 2015 in Victoria, BC, surrounded by family and friends. Nathan continues his work as a senior policy analyst with the state of Oregon, where he’s “establishing the nation’s third recreational marijuana program.”
Andrew Bracken (MPP ’13) and Jimmy Schneidewind (MPP/MBA ’15) climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak at 19,341 feet. Jimmy is completing a fellowship with the 2Seeds Network in rural Tanzania, where he is working with poultry farmers to improve production and operations.
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Peter Coats (MPP/MBA ’13) and his wife, fellow Fordie Cici Vu (MPP ’13), are living in New York. Their daughter, Daphne, who was born while they were at Ford, is growing up a city girl and “has a deep interest in being an astronaut,” says Peter.
Bridget Lavelle (PhD ’13) and her husband, Matthew Paul, merged their family names to become Bridget and Matthew Pavelle. On Dec. 30, 2015, their daughter, Mauve Elizabeth Pavelle, was born. The Pavelles live in Olympia, WA, where they work for the research and data analysis division of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
Tina Wei Smith (MPP/MA ’13) and Kevin Smith (a 2012 graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School) welcomed Theodore Edward Smith into the world on Nov. 2, 2015. Data: 7 lbs., 6 oz., 20.5 in., with a head full of hair and lots of smiles. Tina is director of the global engagement office at Asbury University.
Sarah Zarate (MPP ’13) was recently interviewed by “Lake Effect,” a Milwaukee Public Radio show, about MKE Plays, a $1.7 million park rehabilitation project she helped to establish in 2015.
Stephanie Chang (MPP/MSW ’14) and her husband, Sean Gray, welcomed Sonya Belle Gray-Chang on August 4, 2015.
Donavan McKinney (BA ’14) is running for state representative in Detroit’s third district. His platform is based on “ensuring high quality education for Detroit students, government accountability, and economic development.”
Eric Ferguson (BA ’15) is a research associate for the Education Advisory Board, a higher education research and consulting firm based in Washington, DC.
Qi Zha (MPP ’15) has a new job as an associate at Blackpeak Group, “a strategic advisory firm, based in and focused on Asia.”
below is a formatted version of this article from State & Hill, the magazine of the Ford School. View the entire Spring 2016 State & Hill here.