Stephen Webster (MA ’73) received the La Follette School’s 2025 Alumni of Distinction award. The annual award, which recognizes an alum for their significant contributions to the La Follette School and outstanding public service, was presented at La Follette’s April 1 alumni and friends reception. Since earning joint master’s degrees from Public Policy and Administration and the School of Social Work in 1973, Webster has worked to make a difference for the health and wellbeing of people around the world through a career dedicated to disaster response and recovery, community building, and the promotion of human services.
Gordon Hintz (MPA ’01) was elected County Executive in Winnebago County. Hintz served Winnebago County for 16 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly (2007-2023), including four years as the assembly minority leader and three years on the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee. Most recently, he served as the director for the Wisconsin Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust, promoting issues of mutual benefit and concern to both labor and management.
Daniel Maxwell (MPA ’01) received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service from the U.S. Department of Justice for his years of work towards countering narcotics and chemical trafficking to the U.S. from China. Maxwell has spent the last nearly 24 years working for various federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Naval Intelligence and currently the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration where he works as a group supervisor overseeing a team involved in criminal matters. “I can say with absolute certainty that my education at La Follette from those many years ago still applies to what I do today serving as an administrator in the public sector,” says Maxwell. “I am extremely grateful for my La Follette education and the way in which it launched my federal career.”
Bo (Benjamin) McCready (MPA ’10) won IronViz, the world’s largest data visualization competition. As a finalist, McCready competed in a live showdown at Tableau Conference. He works as a quantitative business analysts manager for Apple. Previously, he worked as a senior Tableau consultant at XeoMatrix.
Susan Cosgrove (MPA ’13) stepped into the permanent role of executive director of Health Promotion Council Southeastern Pennsylvania, Inc. and the Health Promotion Services Division of Public Health Management Corporation. Cosgrove had been working in the role in an interim capacity since November. Previously, Cosgrove worked in several different roles for the Health Care Improvement Foundation, from project manager to senior director of community impact. While at UW–Madison, Cosgrove developed an evaluation plan for the Western Wisconsin Mental Health Access Audit as part of a project assistantship for the Population Health Institute.
David Albino (MIPA ’15) started a new position as director of the Bureau of Vehicle Services at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Previously, he worked as chief operating officer of rate setting for Wisconsin’s Medicaid Program with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Derek Field (MPA ’16) was reelected to the Madison City Council (District 3). Field was originally elected to the council in 2023. He works as an institutional policy analyst for UW–Madison.
Ross Ryan (MPA ’17) was promoted to assistant performance evaluation director at the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau. Ryan, who has worked for the bureau since 2017, previously worked as principal performance evaluator.
Erik Gartland (MPA ’20) was featured in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article covering the findings from a recent report on where families using housing vouchers live in the Milwaukee metro area. The analysis was conducted through the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, where Gartland works as a research analyst.
Lauri Luosta (MIPA ’21) accepted a position as a post-doctoral scholar at the Polish Institute of Science. He will work on the Wellbeing Simulation Model aimed at enhanced wellbeing in collaboration with the London School of Economics, Paris School of Economics, and University of Luxembourg. Luosta is currently completing his PhD in consumer behavior and family economics at the UW–Madison School of Human Ecology.
Natalia Borowska (MPA ’23) started a new position as a management analyst for the Kendall County government in Yorkville, IL, where she will conduct policy analysis for the county. Previously, she worked at the Small Business Advocacy Council as a community engagement specialist.