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ASPA Announces 2025 Class of Founders’ Fellows, Underwriting Sponsors of Flagship Program
Washington, DC.—The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) is pleased to announce its 2025 class of Founders’ Fellows, ASPA’s flagship program that recognizes the exceptional accomplishments and potential of the next generation of public servants in both academic and practitioner communities. This year’s 27-member cohort represents a diverse class in terms of gender, ethnicity, age, professional focus, tenure in the field and scholastic merit.
This year’s Fellows are:
- Rodolph Adonis (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice)
- Edmund Poku Adu (University of North Texas)
- Mariam R. Al-khafaji (Virginia Commonwealth University)
- Derrick Boakye Boadu (Florida International University)
- Thuong (Annie) Bui (University of La Verne)
- Mac-Jane M. Crayton (Appalachian State University)
- Ofek Edri-Peer (University of Haifa)
- Ranya El Alaoui Moad (Abdelmalek Essaadi University)
- Faith Hanson (Rhode Island Office of Postsecondary Commissioner)
- Hyojun Kim (University of North Texas)
- Phil Kim (Korea Research Institute for Local Administration)
- Ferdinand Forkuo Kwarteng (University of New Mexico)
- Kyungmin Lee (University of Central Florida)
- Michael Lee (University of Nebraska at Omaha)
- Tianyi Li (University of Texas at Dallas)
- Addie Murphy (The George Washington University)
- Meghna Paul (Georgia State University)
- Travis Reginal (The George Washington University)
- Ángel A. Rodríguez Ramírez (University of Puerto Rico)
- Dan Rudy (University of Georgia)
- Urvi Shukla (Rutgers University—Newark)
- Margaret Swenson (University of Wyoming)
- Meher Mujtehdi Syeda (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
- Ha B. Vien (North Carolina State University)
- Shuwen Zhang (University of Illinois Chicago)
- Catherine Znamirowski (University of Baltimore)
- Daniel Zorrilla-Velazquez (University of Delaware)
“The Class of 2025—27 strong—joins more than 375 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 2025 Annual Conference, taking place March 28-April 1 in Washington, DC. 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. We are gratified to recognize a number of university programs and public service organizations as underwriting sponsors. These institutions have made five-year or permanent funding commitments to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability and vitality. They are:
- Arizona State University, School of Public Affairs
- ASPA’s Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations (SPALR)
- Association for Budgeting and Financial Management and Public Financial Publications, Inc.
- Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College
- Friends of Diane Disney
- George Mason University, Schar School of Policy and Government
- The George Washington University, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration
- Indiana University—Indianapolis and Indiana University—Bloomington
- Northeastern University
- University of Arkansas, Clinton School of Public Service
- University of Baltimore
- University of Central Florida
- University of Illinois Chicago
- University of Massachusetts Amherst
- University of Nebraska at Omaha, School of Public Administration
- Wichita State University, Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs
To recognize this commitment, ASPA soon will announce a number of this year’s Fellows as designated named fellows of the sponsoring groups.
“For years, the Founders’ Fellows program has received its support from a small but mighty group of individual contributors and mentors. Now, our extended community is embracing 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.”
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