Support ASPA's Rising Stars

... like Alan Kennedy!

My name is Alan Kennedy, and I am a fourth year PhD student in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver. I also studied political science at Yale and law at William & Mary.

The first time I learned about ASPA was through my advisor, Mary Guy, who encouraged me to get involved in the Society. ASPA has introduced me to prominent leaders in public administration and fellow PhD students eager to make a difference, and I am already looking forward to ASPA’s 2020 Annual Conference.

Before becoming interested in public administration, I worked in state government as an attorney. To me, the goal of public administration is to make government work for our communities more equitably, efficiently and effectively. That is why I believe public service takes many forms, whether teaching the next generation or working in government.

I am writing my dissertation on gun policy. I believe public administration can help us understand how to make our communities safer through sensible gun policy, as well as how to increase access to justice through representative bureaucracy and more equitable approaches to institutions.

In addition to my studies and research, I am privileged to serve as a judge advocate in the Colorado Army National Guard. I also recently returned from deployment to the Middle East. Because of that deployment, it was necessary that I defer my acceptance from the 2019 Founders’ Fellow class to the upcoming year. I am honored to be a Founders' Fellow and I look forward to presenting and networking at the 2020 Conference.

Thank you for supporting ASPA. Your contributions provide key resources to support the next generation of leaders in public administration—including me—and ensure that we continue to study, discuss, teach and improve our world through public service.