MPA News 

As seven new faculty members joined the BYU Marriott School of Business, dean Brigitte Madrian shares, “We are grateful that these extremely capable individuals have joined our faculty. They are deeply committed to our guiding principle of being centered on students and to our mission of developing leaders of faith, intellect, and character who will transform the world.”

After earning an MPA from the BYU Marriott School of Business in 1970, Michael Dyal focused his career on creating a culture of continual improvement and customer service in each of the four cities where he worked as a city manager. Dyal says he relied on spiritual promptings to guide his leadership to help others find value and fulfillment in their work.

“Every professor thinks that the class they teach is the most important class students take—but I’m the only one that’s right,” jests Associate Professor David Hart, who teaches ethics to students in the BYU Marriott School of Business. Jokes aside, Hart hopes his students come to see that the key to making ethical decisions starts with intentions.

When a group of MPA students from the BYU Marriott School of Business went to Pittsburgh in September 2024, it was to learn more about local government at the International City/County Management Association Annual Conference. What they weren’t expecting, though, were the strong connections and inspiration they would discover—especially from BYU Marriott alumni.

Forging strong relationships and authentic connections in global diplomacy is often not easy, but when Jeff and Cheryl Flake spoke to students, staff, and alumni from the MPA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, they shared why they feel fostering meaningful bonds in public service is worth the work.

Armed with his faith in God and dream for a better world, Salvador Torres Dávalos has made it his life mission to relieve suffering. In recognition of his contributions to that cause and for his many years in management in the public sector, Dávalos was awarded the 2025 MPA Administrator of the Year Award by the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Brigitte Madrian, dean of the BYU Marriott School of Business, has announced the appointment of David Matkin as the new director of the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics. Matkin will be taking over for Robert Christensen on July 1, 2025.

The Dr. Garth N. Jones Writing Award is presented annually to an MPA student at the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics whose outstanding writing demonstrates work that is impactful and relevant to public administration.

Claudia Barillas was 12 years old when her family moved from Mexico to Los Angeles. Despite her struggle to learn a new language and culture, Barillas found support in her newly discovered faith community, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where members encouraged her to pursue higher education and embrace her culture. Those mentors changed Barillas’s vision for her life: “I wanted to do the same for others,” she says.

Kenji Sugahara has lived on five different continents and seen that people’s similarities are often more important than their differences. His passion for building connections brought him to the MPA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, where he hopes to gain the tools he needs to make an impact in international development.

Students, faculty, alumni, and friends of the BYU MPA program participated in a bike race from Salt Lake City to Saint George—facing heat, cold, mountains, and fatigue together—and eventually crossed the finish line as a team.

In fall 2024, the MPA program presented the Alumnus of the Year Award to Robert Carver, director of the NASA Agency Workforce Strategy and Transformation Office, to recognize his extraordinary service and leadership in the public sector and in his community.

Paul Lambert hopes to empower students at the BYU Marriott School of Business to see their faith as one of their biggest assets in the workplace.

Growing up in Hanover, Germany, Rahel Meyer witnessed many of the ongoing difficulties faced by some of the 2.5 million refugees displaced to her country. Now as an MPA student at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Meyer is preparing herself to make the difference she wants to see in the world.

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.