News: Alumni News

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.

May was a busy month for Bryan Gadow (’05 MPA). On May 3, he graduated from the Wisconsin Certified Public Manager (CPM) Program. A week later, he was the Graduation Ceremony Keynote speaker for the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture (DPLA) master’s degree program in urban and regional planning at UW–Madison.

Elizabeth Doyle (MPA ’17) won an uncontested election for District 1 of the Dane County Board of Supervisors in June. Doyle replaced Mary Kolar, who is now serving as secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs in Governor Tony Evers’ administration.

The Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership has named Eric Tempelis (MPA ’03, JD ’06) as its new assistant director. He previously worked in local, state and federal government, most recently as a prosecutor.

Josh Todd (MPA ’02) celebrated six years as executive director of Campus Compact of Oregon, the largest nonprofit network of higher education in the state of Oregon. Before joining the organization, he was director of the Commission on Children, Families, and Community in Multnomah County, Oregon.

With more than 30 years of consulting and communications experience, Terry Lierman (MA ’71) has joined the La Follette School’s Board of Visitors. Lierman is a founding partner of Summit Global Ventures, which he began after serving as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer from 2007 to 2011.

The U.S. Senate recently confirmed Patrick Fuchs (MPA ’11) to serve a five-year term as a member of the Surface Transportation Board. Previously, Fuchs was a senior professional staff member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Nick Osborne (MPA ’05) began his duties as Polk County’s chief administrative officer (county administrator) in Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, on February 25. Previously, he served as assistant to the county administrator in Rock County, Wisconsin, for eight years.

Elizabeth Doyle (MPA ’17) is seeking election as District 1 Dane County Board Supervisor. A former member of the Verona City Council from 2013 to 2018, Doyle is a health care rate analyst for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

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.