Biography
Marlon Brown is committed to a life of public service and civic engagement. He works for the State of Michigan as the chief administrative officer for the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. He also has worked for the Michigan Supreme Court, the State Budget Office and the Delaware Senate, in addition to teaching at Davenport University and Albion College. He is very active in his community and serves as a city councilmember and mayor pro tempore for the City of Mason, Michigan. He serves on various boards for the Michigan Municipal League and is a former trustee of the Mason Area Chamber of Commerce. He has been an ASPA member since 2009 and serves on the executive committee for the Section on Public Performance and Management. He is a member of the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management and the Conference of Minority Public Administrators, and has presented at conferences for ASPA, COMPA, ASPA's Michigan Capital Area Chapter and
GOVERNING magazine. He earned a bachelor’s degree from American University, an MPA from the University of Delaware and is pursuing a doctorate in public administration at Valdosta State University.
Candidate Statement
Public service is about doing the most good and helping as many individuals as possible. ASPA has been a cornerstone of my professional career, helping me pursue this ideal and challenging me to align research and practice to advance excellence in public service. As such, I seek to give back to our profession continuously, even as I continue to grow personally in my own knowledge and understanding of public administration. I earnestly desire to serve on the ASPA National Council because I feel I can make meaningful contributions that will strengthen and enhance the scope and work of our organization. I intend to collaborate with ASPA leadership to help broaden our reach among practitioners, as well as those who aspire toward careers in public service. I have a deep passion for public service and am personally committed to ASPA's mission. I believe my diverse experiences in state and local government, higher education and nonprofit governance will enable me to be an effective member and positive voice on the council. I humbly ask for your vote for District II Representative. It would be my great honor to serve you as a member of the ASPA National Council.
Biography
Dennis K. McBride is affiliate professor of practice at the Center for Public Administration and Policy, School of Policy and International Affairs, and research professor at the Hume Center, National Security Institute at Virginia Tech. As a fellow at the Defense Acquisition Innovation Research Center, he is leading the development of an acquisition policy/public administration “flight test simulator.” He has 40 years of experience at the intersection of public administration and science and technology development/fielding. He completed a 20-year career as a specialty staff corps Naval Officer, leading major programs in application of organizational psychology. He served as a dean-level institute director at the University of Central Florida and professor with joint appointments, bridging two colleges. He is president emeritus of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, where he continues to provide highly sought policy advice for Congress and the current presidential administration, particularly related to COVID. He was selected nationally as distinguished scholar and executive director of the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University, and volunteers as president of the Institute for Regulatory Science. In 2003, he became adjunct professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and in the medical center, teaching and supervising 60+ graduate degree projects. He was editor in chief of
Review of Policy Research. He has published more than 150 papers and recently co-authored an invited policy-focused article for the National Academy of Engineering’s journal,
The Bridge. He served five years as chief strategist at Source America, the congressionally designated Ability One agency that develops jobs nationally for people with disabilities. In so doing, he interfaced almost daily with senior-most executives in every White House Cabinet-level office and congressional oversight committee. McBride earned his MS and PhD from the University of Georgia; his MPA/MSPA from Troy State University; his MS in systems management from the University of Southern California; and is currently pursuing his DPA.
Candidate Statement
I have led in the practice, science and advocacy of public administration for the past 36 years. After earning my PhD in psychology, four years into my professional career in the U.S. government, I became enamored with public administration. I immediately earned my MPA/MSPA, affiliated with ASPA for the first time in 1984, and have functioned continuously and tirelessly at the intersection of science, transition, public policy/budgeting, regulation and program evaluation. My career in national-level government service took me to six national laboratories, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and to senior leadership positions in consecutive presidential administrations, where I served as a transition-focused scientist, as well as collateral duty public affairs/communication officer—all in the practice of public administration. Through my career, I have worked for municipal, county, regional, state and federal government. For 10 years, I served as president (now emeritus) of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank in the DC area. My resourcefulness brought this public policy organization from $2 million per year in research & advocacy revenue to approximately $12 million per year. In 2004, I became research professor (Hume Center for National Security and Technology) and affiliated professor of public policy at Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy and program lead for policy and advocacy in the medical school, teaching 12 distinct public policy/administration graduate courses, supervising 50+ graduate completions, co-authoring 18 articles during the past 10 years. I recently became research professor and affiliated professor of practice of public administration at Virginia Tech, teaching and supervising public administration research. I earned academic degrees from multiple universities, including the University of Georgia, and University of Southern California. I am extremely anxious to turn my energy and resourcefulness to representing the extremely important ASPA District II. I respectfully ask for your vote, confidence and support.
Biography
Thomas Stanton is an attorney who has dedicated his career to strengthening government programs, policies and organizations, including agencies in the Departments of Agriculture, Education and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Small Business Administration, OMB, GAO and CBO. He is a former federal senior executive and former president of the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM), dedicated to improving government risk management. At AFERM, he partnered with ASPA to host a Washington, DC-based forum on public sector enterprise risk management. In 2018, AFERM awarded him its Hall of Fame Award. He is an ASPA Life Member. Stanton is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), served on its board of directors and., for many years, as chair of the NAPA Panel on Executive Organization and Management. He serves on the steering committee of NAPA’s Panel on Social Equity in Governance. In 2017 NAPA awarded him its George Graham Award for Exceptional Service to the Academy. He served as lead staff member on governance and risk management for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. He teaches on the adjunct faculty at the Center for Advanced Governmental Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He also teaches a course at the Yale Alumni College based on his newest book,
American Race Relations and the Legacy of British Colonialism. His published books on finance include
Why Some Firms Thrive While Others Fail: Governance and Management Lessons from the Crisis; and
A State of Risk: Will Government-Sponsored Enterprises Be the Next Financial Crisis?, which helped lead to the creation of a financial regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He has written extensively for
Public Administration Review and other journals. Earlier in his career NACo awarded him its Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the intergovernmental partnership.
Candidate Statement
I have a proven track record of supporting ASPA and playing a leading role in advancing its priorities. That record demonstrates the many valuable contributions I can bring as a Council member. When I received a $270,000 grant from the Arnold Foundation to study federal credit programs, I had a wide array of organizations from which to choose to house it. Understanding ASPA’s intent to regain footing in the federal domain, I chose ASPA, which became home to the effort. Not only did ASPA recognize $15,000 for administering the grant but also it gained visibility—both within the federal credit manager community and media like
The Washington Post—when the report was released. This example shows how I would be able to help ASPA strategically strengthen its position among federal government professionals. As ASPA seeks to place greater emphasis on its public advocacy activities, my background and expertise will be enormously valuable to ensure a deliberate approach. I have testified extensively before the U.S. Congress, have served on the staff of two federal commissions and provided nonpartisan technical support to House and Senate committees and members to improve the substance of pending legislation. Having chaired ASPA’s Priority Issues Task Force, I understand what public advocacy means within a context that respects ASPA’s history and values. Finally, I will bring deep knowledge of nonprofit governance to the Council. I served multiple terms on NAPA’s board and on numerous NAPA committees. As former president of AFERM, I understand deeply the nuances of membership organizations and the role of professional development programs—including conferences—in them. My financial expertise will bring fresh and useful perspectives to the Council as it fulfills its fiduciary responsibilities.
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