After 11 years with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), Alexis MacDonald (MPA ’08) has accepted a position as a professional staff member for the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. MacDonald also recently received the Badger of the Year Award from the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s DC Chapter.

Joshua Cruz (MPA ’18), a student in the Neuroscience & Public Policy Program, is giving a presentation titled Poverty, Pregnancy, and Public Assistance Programs: A Neuroscience & Public Policy Perspective on Thursday, October 4.

Mark Starik (MA ’78) is a contributing faculty member in Walden University’s Public Policy & Administration Doctoral Program. He also conducts research and writes academic and practitioner articles about sustainability management.

Daniel Speckhard (MA ’82), president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, has joined the La Follette School’s Board of Visitors (BOV). Lutheran World Relief, an international development and relief organization, works in more than 30 countries.

Dan Leopold (MPA ’03) recently was promoted to the chief intelligence officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago.

Daniel Kaneshiro (MPA ’04) was promoted to senior policy analyst at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He is the lead policy analyst for several initiatives in the OMB’s Office of Federal Financial Management, including enterprise risk management, internal controls, and reporting and data integrity in accordance with guidance in OMB Circular No. A-123.

Bryan Gadow (’05 MPA) received the Richard B. Schmied Leadership Award from the Green County Development Corporation (GCDC) on April 25. Schmied, who served as president of the New Glarus Village Board, was president of the GCDC when he passed away in 2000.

Jennifer Klippel (MPA ’06) was named director of UW–Madison’s Budget Office on January 9. She served as interim director since July 2018, succeeding Tim Norris, who led the office since 2004.

The Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) named Raul Leon (MIPA ’07, PhD ’10) as one of its eight Forward under 40 recipients for 2018.

Several members of the La Follette School Class of 2009 got together in late August for a 10-year reunion. Alumni came to Madison from as far as Oregon and Massachusetts, enjoying a reception at the Memorial Union with spouses, significant others, and a few children.