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Alumni Spotlight MPA 2023 2016 2010–2014
David Tanner brings the skills he gained through BYU Marriott's MPA program to the state of Georgia, where he consults state leaders, community organizers, and county and city elected officials.
Clark Pew has learned over the course of his life that persistence pays off. The EMPA alumnus now lives in India working for the Department of State.
In December 2022, BYU Marriott alum Scott Adams retired after 30 years of service as the CEO of Pullman Regional Hospital in Washington state.
MPA alum Kena Jo Mathews has built her life around volunteer and nonprofit work, though she started out on a different path. “Sometimes you end up where you’re supposed to be even if you don’t realize that’s where you want to be,” she says. While studying political science at the University of Utah, Mathews worked for a senatorial candidate. But when he lost the election, she changed course, volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, where she laid the foundation for her career.
“Reach for the stars” is a figurative goal for most of us, but for Kevin Watts, a 1986 graduate of the BYU Masters of Public Administration program, it is an everyday reality.
A group of seasoned farmers sit facing Rebecca Loveland, a recent college grad in her mid-twenties, as she leads their discussion on everything from daily planning to marketing to an upcoming potato audit. Loveland feels inexperienced but plows forward, relying on the leadership skills she developed with her Marriott School training to make decisions and collaborate effectively.
By day, Arie Van De Graaff is a public servant, but by night he is an accomplished cartoonist.
When Jackie Saumweber joined the BYU MPA program, she didn't know she would find her niche in corporate social responsibility.
Though Provo native Bill Dalebout attended BYU for his undergraduate degree, it wasn’t until the economics student was in Washington, D.C., interning with microfinance organization FINCA International that he seriously considered BYU’s MPA program.
Gary Gustafson, a 1994 MPA graduate, is a man who just keeps going. His career is full of accomplishments and adventures, but his endurance continues outside the office.
Just four years after completing her joint JD/MPA degree, Kristi Anderson has become a rising star in the Navy JAG Corp. As a prosecuting attorney and a naval officer, Anderson handles a variety of civilian and military cases. She credits her time at the Marriott School for giving her an extra boost in skills and experience to land the job and excel in her responsibilities.
With an accomplished career in the health care industry, Gary Pulsipher found himself where no one wants to be: in the middle of a natural disaster.
According to education reformer Horace Mann, "human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated"
While many business leaders strive to expand their organization’s reach globally, one Marriott School grad oversees projects that have a more vertical approach—out of this atmosphere, actually.
Melinda Brimhall always strives to incorporate her creative touch into her management style. And unifying the thirteen departments she manages as the Grand County council administrator in Moab, Utah, into a cohesive masterpiece isn’t always an easy task.
Janene Eller-Smith gets green. Whether it’s obtaining the green to fund the renovation of multiple buildings or assisting in the city’s plans to make a more eco-friendly Ogden, Utah, she’s the go-to gal.
It’s 9:58 p.m. in a small, dark theater. The audience members, an eclectic mix of fashionistas and film fanatics, sit whispering, their faces washed in the green glow of the theater’s exit signs.