Mandelman joins HIAS

Elizabeth Mandelman (MPP ‘10) is now the associate director of advocacy and outreach for HIAS based in Washington, D.C. Previously, Elizabeth worked with the U.S. House of Representatives as a legislative assistant as well as a research analyst and legislative aide for the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn.

Schaack heads THINK, NGO in Liberia

Rosana Schaack (Humphrey Fellow 2008-09) is now the executive director for Touching Humanity In Need of Kindness, or THINK. THINK is an NGO that was founded in 2003 and is involved with the advocacy and activism on human rights, especially for women and children.

Read the original post on Global Notes.

Connect with Rosana on LinkedIn.

Mitchell meets President Obama

Christopher Mitchell (MPP ‘07) has been working at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance since he graduated from the Humphrey School. His focus has been on community owned internet networks built by local governments.

On January 16 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, President Obama gave a speech about how important community owned networks are. Christopher was invited to attend and had a front row seat for the speech. Afterwards, he was able to shake the President’s hand.

The next day, Christopher was on the Daily Circuit on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) talking about these networking issues.

Listen to the MPR story here.

Connect with Christopher on LinkedIn.

Ghere and Burton Santibanaez contribute to MinnPost

Erin Ghere (MPP ‘13) and Martha Burton Santibanaez (MPA ‘11) contributed to the report by MN Community Measurement that MinnPost recently wrote. The report is focused on Minnesota’s racial and health inequities.

Read the report here.

Connect with Erin on LinkedIn.

Connect with Martha on LinkedIn.

Douma narrates in documentary

Frank Douma (MA ‘95) took part in the narration of the documentary “State of Repair: Industries of Constant Motion”. The documentary is a 30 minute program that focuses on the air, rail, and water transportation business in Minnesota. Frank is the narrator for the rail section of the program.

Watch the documentary here.

Connect with Frank on LinkedIn.

Mendis returns from China

Patrick Mendis (MA ’87) has recently returned from China after an extended teaching and book tour on “Peaceful War” in China. In November 2014, Patrick was profiled in the Chinese Central Government’s news portal in Beijing. He has written a number of Sino-American relations articles that appeared in the China Daily, Beijing Review, South China Morning Post, and Harvard International Review (HIR). Patrick serves as an advisor to HIR and the recipient of the University of Minnesota’s Alumni Notable Achievement (ANA) Award.

Read the news article here.

Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn.

Rahn joins MnDOT

Sean Rahn (MPlan ‘14) has joined the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) as the assistant commissioner. He will be working with the team at MnDOT, the legislature, and other interested stakeholders to help further Minnesota’s transportation goals.

Connect with Sean on LinkedIn.

Abdi joins Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Abdihakin Abdi (MPP ‘14) is now a social science research analyst for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington, D.C. Previously, Abdi was a teaching assistant for the Humphrey School.

Connect with Abdi on LinkedIn.

Kosek joins Otto Bremer Foundation

Kristine Kosek (MPA ‘13) is now the program officer at the Otto Bremer Foundation. She will be assisting people in achieving economic, civic, and social participation for the betterment of their communities. To do this she will be helping to build relationships with nonprofit and community leaders, review and analyze funding proposals, and assessing community needs.

Connect with Kristine on LinkedIn.

Kwarciany joins Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Jodi Kwarciany (MPP ‘14) is now a research associate in health policy for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C. Previously, Jodi was an intern with the UnitedHealth Group.

Connect with Jodi on LinkedIn.

Ringold is promoted

Jennifer Ringold (MS-STEP ‘05) is now the deputy superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Previously, Jennifer was the director of strategic planning, manager of public engagement and citywide planning, citywide planner, and community planner with the organization.

Connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn.

Krinn published in Health Affairs

Kelly Krinn (MPP ‘14) with the help of Pinat Karaca-Mandic and Lynn Blewett has had a professional paper published in Health Affairs. The paper focuses on ‘Clearinghouse’ plan management models and how they are associated with lower premiums.

Read the full paper here.

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn.

Warner featured by MINN

Julie Warner (MPA ‘09) was featured by MINN in their volunteer spotlight this past month. Julie has been an advocate for creating the MINNspire series as well as a class facilitator for the class series. She will be leading the MINNspire January class herself.

Read the full article here.

Connect with Julie on LinkedIn.

Olander passes away

Herbert Martin Olander (MAPA ‘55) passed away at the age of 83 on December 30, 2014 surrounded by his family.

Herbert worked in L.A. County before moving to Alaska to work for the State Bureau of Mines. He then returned to Minnesota to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Commodities Office.

Services will be held in Duluth, MN this spring.

Read the full obituary here.

Labiner-Wolfe joins U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Judith Labiner-Wolfe (MA ‘96) is now the branch chief for policy, data, and TA, MCHB Division of Home Visiting and Early Childhood Systems for the U.S. Government, Department of Health & Human Services, HRSA. Previously, Judith was a senior program analyst for the USDA.

Connect with Judith on LinkedIn.

Baltazar joins U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

James Baltazar (MURP ‘12) is now the senior management analyst with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Minneapolis. James joined HUD in 2012 as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Connect with James on LinkedIn.

Cakici joins American Evaluation Association

Hanife Cakici (MPP ‘11) is now the co-chair for the American Evaluation Association – International and Cross-cultural Evaluation TIG. Hanife will be taking on this job in addition to being the associate program management officer for the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa-Ethiopia.

Connect with Hanife on LinkedIn.

Knuth joins Minnesota State Bar Association

Sherri Knuth (MPA ‘08) is now the government relations and membership engagement director for the Minnesota State Bar Association. Previously she was the policy and outreach manager for the League of Women Voters Minnesota.

Connect with Sherri on LinkedIn.

Palmer joins Anoka County Attorney’s Office

Leah Palmer (MPA ‘13) is now the community engagement coordinator at the Anoka County, Minnesota Attorney’s Office. She will be coordinating press releases and media relations as well as engaging the communities of Anoka County in dialogues regarding the criminal justice system.

Connect with Leah on LinkedIn.

Miles Receives New Position with Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Charles Miles (MPP ‘11) is now the senior project manager at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. Charles has been with the company since 2010 and has previously been a business systems analyst, healthcare analyst associate, and intern.

Connect with Charles on LinkedIn.

Utecht joins Metropolitan Council

Brad Utecht (MURP ‘10) is now a senior planner for the Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities. He previously worked with the Minnesota Department of Transportation as a planning program coordinator, principal planner, and senior transportation planner.

Connect with Brad on LinkedIn.