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Alumni MPA
Discovering your career niche can be difficult, but for Hannah Richards Michaelsen, her role found her. After her family began receiving much-needed support from a nonprofit organization, Michaelsen joined the organiza- tion and began to provide that same service to others.
BYU Marriott EMPA alumna Janine Wood Green loves to learn. With her love for learning and a passion for education, Green moved to China to become a professor of English at Nanjing Tech University.

When Kara Norman Chatterton was young, her BYU alumni parents took her and her five siblings on a pilgrimage to Provo from Idaho every other year or so.
Joining the healthcare field after shooting free throws in front of thousands is quite the change of pace. However, serving others through healthcare transformation is former BYU men's Basketball player and 2016 EMPA grad Anson Winder's newfound passion.
Being a police chief is a challenging position to hold, but BYU Marriott helped prepare Darren Paul, Chad Soffe, and Chris Autry to serve the communities they love.
The Romney Institute recently honored Doral Vance with the 2019 N. Dale Wright Alumnus of the Year Award.
In 1965, Ken Driggs was in his second year of graduate school. When he wasn't juggling his school responsibilities, Driggs hid his identity as he pulled on the cougar suit and transformed into Cosmo.
As the deputy director for the Utah Department of Corrections, BYU Marriott MPA alum Chyleen Richey helps run a city of people who are forgotten by society.
MPA alumnus Scott Sellers is inspiring national change through his efforts to connect university students to local government.
Not many people stick to the dreams they had when they were five, but Kena Mathews has the opportunity on a daily basis to see her childhood calling to make a difference in the world become reality.
The Romney Institute of Public Management honored BYU Marriott MPA graduate Chris Brady, city manager of Mesa, Arizona, with the 2018 N. Dale Wright Alumnus of the Year Award at a luncheon on 26 October.
When Hani Almadhoun returned to Provo in February, he had a handful of items on his must-do list. First, take his wife and two young daughters to the BYU Creamery for a Raspberries & Cream Cheese ice-cream cone.
After improving the election process in Utah and a push from friends, Kelleen Potter is seeking success as the mayor of Heber City.
When Hani Almadhoun, a Muslim from Palestine, attended BYU, he found many Mormon friends. One of his favorite stories of his time on campus is how his Mormon friends often introduced him to others.
Todd Tapp's decision to leave his comfort zone will undoubtedly shape his entire career.
Honoree Brett Swigert shared the importance of service before self in his acceptance speech.
Kristin Yee landed her dream job, successfully working her artistic talents at Disney. But after 13 years, an impression directed her to a new line of work at a very different organization.
As part of a new series, the Ballard Center is giving students the opportunity to ask alumni questions and career advice. This piece features Jeff Roberts of Self-Reliance Services/PEF.
“Making a difference.” “Making the world a better place.” Use these phrases enough and they start sounding stale. But backed by real results, the work of MPA alumni is proving the skills developed within the walls of the Marriott School can make meaningful—and real—change.
Steve Thacker, city manager of Centerville, Utah, was honored for his legacy of exceptional management in governmental positions for over the past thirty years.
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.