Rick Scott’s (MPA ’12) journey into public service was inspired by the events of September 11, 2001. “I just remember feeling like I wanted to do something,” he recalls of his high school senior year. This feeling led him to an ROTC scholarship,...
Sociologist Jessica Gillooly (PhD ’20) has used her deep knowledge of call taking and dispatching, along with some compelling new theoretical ideas, to become one of the leading experts on this issue. Her expertise is helping inform and shape the...
You can’t get good government without good oversight.” That quote from U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) is a touchstone for the work of Ben Eikey (MPP ’19) and that of the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, where he serves as a manager for the...
As vice president of regional initiatives for the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Partnership, Tayrn MacFarlane (MBA/MPP ’08) unites local officials, business leaders, educational institutions, and community organizations from northern Indiana and...
When Emma Renzi Wise (BA ’19) got hooked on learning about environmental policy at the Ford School, she never imagined working for the New York City Department of Sanitation. But nearly six years after leaving Ann Arbor, Wise is the community...
Over the past 32 years, Jennifer Niggemeier has been a supportive career coach and enthusiastic cheerleader for thousands of public policy students. Her influence has extended beyond individual mentorship to shape and advance programs and...
Professor Elisabeth Gerber is the inaugural faculty director of the Ford School’s Online Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program, which will launch in January 2026. Read what she has to say about the new...
Dean Watkins-Hayes, at the Congressional Breakfast in DC, with Michigan in Washington undergraduates Ajay Morelli, Malinda Brunk, Rachel Ellisen, and Isaac Davis, and Riecker Fellow Hope Wang (MPP...
Two second year master’s students, Hope Wang (MPP ‘25) and Julia Johnson (MPP ‘25), have been selected from a competitive pool of applicants for the Ford School’s prestigious 2025 Riecker Fellowship. They are spending the winter semester in...
While Kevin Naud was born and raised in Ann Arbor, the Ford School alumnus’ offspring will be born and raised in Detroit.Naud, who graduated with a Master’s of Public Policy degree in 2021, and his wife are expecting their first child and just...
The DC career exploration trip, a long-standing annual tradition organized by the Ford School's Career Services, took place on February 6 and 7. This year’s trip saw over 80 graduate and undergraduate students—the largest group of student...
Six Ford School alumni have been elected to serve on the Alumni Board by their peers. These engaged alumni bring diverse experience working in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors in higher education, housing policy, health reform, and other...
David Rivait (MPP ’84) was appointed by Governor Pritzker to the State of Illinois’ eight-member Budgeting for Results Commission. The Commission advises on an annual performance-based budget and provides oversight and guidance for assessments of...
James McIntire leaves a legacy of policy for the public goodThis year, the Ford School Alumni Board honored James L. McIntire (MPP ’78) with the 2024 Neil Staebler Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes outstanding professional achievement in...
Hilary Doe (MPP '08) says she’s always been a “walking through Michigan commercial,” and she’s got the tattoo to prove it. Doe, the state’s first chief growth officer—and the only one in the country—had the state of Michigan inked on her forearm...
Riecker Fellow Joe Mancina (MPP ’24) said he could not have imagined gleaning the same experience on Capitol Hill through a Zoom screen.“It was great to be in person,” he said. “In this environment on the Hill, things are relatively fast...
Each year, our Ford School community of alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends gather together in the name of President Ford on or near his birthday (July 14!). Approximately 200 Fordies celebrated in Ann Arbor, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los...
Stacy Dean (’88, MPP’92), admits that the decision to attend the University of Michigan wasn’t the most thought-out process. Coming from a small town in New York, she simply wanted to go somewhere new.“It was the school that was furthest away from...
Holly Donnelly on harnessing the power of big data: I often joke about my work being taxing but that it keeps my interest (haha!). Specifically, I think about how we can harness the power of big data to collect taxes more efficiently....
John English on COVID funding: Especially during the CARES Act rollout, there was an urgency to distribute funding very quickly. I was part of the effort to understand the complex formula for allocation, and to collaborate with ED attorneys, budget...
Justin Marsico and his team created “Your Guide to America’s Finances,” an easy-to-understand explainer on the federal government’s revenue, spending, deficit, and debt. He also oversees USAspending.gov, a website that includes information about...
Within the last 5 years, $1 billion has been invested in affordable housing in the City of Detroit to create and preserve 12,000 housing units. Julie Schneider facilitated the planning process and is now overseeing its...
As a teenager, I couldn’t help but notice the challenges my community faced— poverty, lower educational attainment, high crime and violence, and environmental injustices. It made me wonder: why is my community the way it is? And why is it...
In October 2023, Anne Coglianese launched Jacksonville’s first ever resilience strategy, which outlines 45 actions and 90 subactions to implement over the next 50...
A growing number of public policy graduates are opting to work in public sector consulting—public arms of larger firms such as EY or Deloitte, or advisory consulting firms such as Guidehouse, Huron Consulting Group, or Booz Allen. For many years, a...
NOAA provides authoritative data, tools, products, and services to build a more weather-ready and climate-ready nation. My job is to understand the policy, political, environmental, and social landscape across the U.S. and try to take a holistic...
David de Voursney implements the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Program (CCBHC) to increase the accessibility of comprehensive mental health and substance use disorder services across the United States. Since 2017, he’s worked with...
The DC career exploration trip, a Ford School tradition organized by Career Services, was held this year on February 8th and 9th in person for the first time since 2020. The experience allows graduate and undergraduate students to learn about policy...
