ASPA Announces 2024 Class of Founders’ Fellows, Inaugural Underwriting Sponsors of Flagship Program

Washington, DC.—The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) announces its 2024 class of Founders’ Fellows, ASPA’s premier program that recognizes the exceptional accomplishments and potential of the next generation of public servants in both academic and practitioner communities. This year’s 21-member cohort represents the most diverse class to date in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, professional focus, tenure in the field and scholastic merit.

This year’s Fellows are:

  • Michelle Allgood (University of New Mexico)
  • Karissa Bergene (George Mason University)
  • Noelle Broughton (University of Kansas)
  • Aaron Colletta (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
  • Claudia Cormier (Texas State University)
  • Raúl Gutiérrez Meave (University of Illinois—Chicago)
  • Kathryn Hickey (University of Central Florida)
  • Colt Jensen (University of Georgia)
  • Perrin Kennedy (American University)
  • Sola Kim (Arizona State University)
  • Georgia Noone-Sherrod (University of Baltimore; Anne Arundel Conflict Resolution Center)
  • Diane Odeh (Portland State University)
  • Reyna Reyes Nunez (University of Nebraska Omaha)
  • Krzysztof Sadowski (Fairleigh Dickinson University; Passaic County Sheriff’s Office)
  • Xiaojiao Shi (Renmin University of China)
  • Mariana Costa Silveira (São Paulo School of Business Administration)
  • John South (Florida International University)
  • Mary Strawderman (Virginia Commonwealth University)
  • Reidel Vichot (University of Delaware)
  • Melanie Waddell (University of Georgia)
  • Amerra Webster (University of Montana)
“The Class of 2024—21 strong—joins more than 350 talented and committed public service professionals who have benefited from this program since its inception,” ASPA Executive Director and CEO Bill Shields said. “Individually, each brings a set of educational, professional and life experiences that demonstrate so very well the reasons for their selection. Collectively, they represent the very best of what ASPA, our nation and the world have to offer when it comes to serving the public good effectively, efficiently and equitably.”

Founders’ Fellows receive a year-long series of developmental opportunities designed for their professional growth. Their participation will begin at ASPA’s 2024 Annual Conference, taking place April 12-16 in Minneapolis. The Fellows will present research, participate in customized programming and meet individually with their mentors who are matched with them based on academic and professional interests. Fellows participate in tailored webinars and continue their personal senior-mentor match throughout the year.

For more than 15 years, ASPA has proudly hosted the Founders’ Fellows program as a significant investment in our future public service leaders. This year, it is honored to welcome several university programs and public service organizations as inaugural Founders’ Fellows underwriting sponsors. These institutions have made five- or ten-year funding commitments to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability and vitality. They are:
  • Arizona State University, School of Public Affairs
  • The George Washington University, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration
  • University of Baltimore, MPA Program
  • University of Nebraska at Omaha, School of Public Administration
  • ASPA’s Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations (SPALR)
To recognize this commitment, ASPA soon will announce several of this year’s Fellows as designated named fellows of the sponsoring institutions.

“For years, the Founders’ Fellows program has received its support from a small but mighty group of individual contributors and mentors, but this year our extended community has embraced the opportunity to provide substantial and sustained support,” said ASPA President Patria de Lancer Julnes, Rosenthal Endowed Professor and Director, School of Public Administration, at the University of New Mexico. “These universities and institutions have stepped up and demonstrated their commitment to what this program stands for: the future of public service. By investing in these Fellows, and those to follow, they have paved the way to further propel this program to greater heights of impact.”