MPA News 

Whether Ezra Nair is balancing Utah County's budget or arranging fire services for unincorporated counties, he draws on the skills he gained from BYU Marriott's EMPA program to manage and serve the county.

Jeanelle Carden and Savannah Heath are the two new administrators for the BYU Marriott School of Business MPA program. In their respective roles, each brings fresh perspectives and expertise to help grow the MPA community and increase its impact in the world.

MPA alumna Anastasia Jespersen knows you can’t do everything you want all at once. However she’s learned through experience that life has seasons, and each one comes with the opportunity to prioritize different parts of your life. “You just have to consider where you are and what your priorities are at that time in your life,” she says.

Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford received the 2024 Administrator of the Year Award from the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics at the BYU Marriott School of Business, an award which recognizes an outstanding man or woman who has achieved distinction for management in the public or nonprofit sector. Even though Reckford has found his vocation in public service, his journey to becoming the CEO of one of the largest charitable organizations in the United States was unconventional—and longer than one might expect.

In Tuesday’s devotional at the Marriott Center, BYU Professor Brad Owens shared the message that we can “not only complete this mortal part of our eternal journey, but can do so with magnificent success.”

The Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics at the BYU Marriott School of Business honored Amanda Rutherford, a professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and a scholar in the field of public administration, with the 2024 Gary C. Cornia Award.

In 1948 Mariyah Housari’s grandparents fled from their home in the Levantine city of Jaffa to Ramallah in the West Bank. Twenty years later, Housari’s father left Palestine for a brighter future in the United States. Fast forward to today, where Housari, an MPA student at the BYU Marriott School of Business, comes full circle as she aims to aid modern-day Palestinian refugees.

Erica Jensen and Brianna Merling, two MPA students from the BYU Marriott School of Business, each received the 2023 Doyle W. Buckwalter Award, which includes a $1,500 cash prize, for exemplary performance in respective off-campus internships.

In January, Vicki Okerlund retired after 24 years in her position as director of alumni relations for the master of public administration (MPA) program at the BYU Marriott School of Business. From building an alumni network to forging one-on-one relationships with those in the MPA community, Okerlund leaves behind a legacy of Christ-centered leadership that extends beyond the workplace.

Justin Weiss, a graduate of the EMPA program from the BYU Marriott School of Business, has lived a life full of unexpected triumphs and hardships. Throughout all of these pivots, Weiss has embraced spiritual, academic, and professional opportunities by keeping an open heart.

Dale Hull has spent most of his professional career helping others seeking medical attention. During his most recent endeavor, he took the opportunity to help individuals with paralysis by co-founding a rehabilitation center. This year, Hull was named the 2023 Alumnus of the Year by the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics.

Eva Witesman believes in creating a better world, and she works toward it through her position as a professor in the BYU Marriott School of Business’s MPA program. Teaching courses on statistics, social impact, and prosocial business strategy, Witesman emphasizes to students the importance of unity with one another and the organizations they will work for.

As an art student, Laurel Galli-Graves could not have imagined that in a couple years she would end up working for the Department of Defense. In fact, before she began the Master of Public Administration program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, she had never written a piece of code and didn’t know what a data scientist’s job was. Now, as a US Digital Corps Data Science Fellow, she combines her artistic creativity, passion for public service, and love of analytics and machine learning to help further the public good.

When Aaron Miller talks to students about success in business, he says that future business leaders should focus less on climbing the corporate ladder and more on creating a positive impact in the world. As a teaching professor for the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics, Miller equips students with the skills they need to put their ideas into action in an ever-changing business world.

In October the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics invited Senator Mitt Romney and Ann Romney to BYU Marriott to share advice with MPA students preparing for careers in the public sector. The Romneys drew on their years working in government and nonprofits as they answered questions ranging from personal ethics to marriage in the public eye.

As a young girl growing up in North Carolina, Liz Dixon marveled at the floor-to-ceiling books that lined the office of her father—a professor of political science at a small liberal arts college. “Have you read all these books?” she asked him, “I mean all these books?” Her father replied: “All of them. Twice.”

Originally from the lush islands of Tonga, Malissa Fifita believes there are multiple pathways to personal success. A first-year student in the master of public administration program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Fifita navigates life’s everchanging roads by drawing strength from her family, her culture, and her determination to serve others.

At the 2023 University Conference in August, Brigham Young University recognized a handful of faculty and staff across campus for their efforts in advancing research and experiential learning as well as their exemplary contributions to the university. Among those honored were three faculty members from the BYU Marriott School of Business: Jeff Dyer, Eric Blum, and Isaac Smith.

Researchers from UNC Charlotte, University of Louisville, University of Georgia and Brigham Young University analyzed how the race and gender of federal judges might be impacting judicial processes. Specifically, they wanted to see which types of judges get the most attention from their peers when they have complete discretion to reference another judge’s work.

At the corner of Lindsey Street and Elm Avenue in Norman, Oklahoma, sits an institute of religion building. University of Oklahoma undergraduate Travis Ruddle had seen the building often but hardly acknowledged it. In summer 2009, Ruddle diverted from his normal walk across campus and entered the inconspicuous one-story building. Inside, Ruddle found a new life and a new path that would one day lead to teaching in the MPA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business.