Alumni Success Stories
Timothy J. Collins MHA '95
Tim Collins learned a great deal about being a first-responder when he was just a teenager out of high school. As a lifeguard in Laguna Beach, he served on the frontlines of clinical care, rescuing beleaguered swimmers. The summer job was his introduction to the healthcare industry.
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David Kuehn, MPA '96
Drawing on his training at SPPD, alumnus David Kuehn conducts research to address the critical need for long-term improvements to transportation systems nationwide. Kuehn manages the Federal Highway Administration's Exploratory Advanced Research Program in Washington, D.C.
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Kiki Coyne Nocella MHA '91, Ph.D. Public Administration '05
Before Kiki Coyne Nocella became the founding vice provost of health affairs at University of California-Riverside, she was a Trojan. "SPPD’s impact was huge," she says. "At the master’s degree level, it was about the experience, the exposure to health professionals and entities, and the network. It was about finding my place in the professional world."
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Lucy Okumu MPP '03
As a legislative advocate for the Los Angeles Unified School District, Lucy Okumu represents the interests of more than 700,000 children and 800 schools. Stationed in Sacramento, she works to secure state resources and support state laws that address the instructional needs of students in the nation's second-largest school district.
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Sid Paul MRED '03 and Alex Saunders MRED '03
The new Puerta del Sol development in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of east Los Angeles is more than just another mixed-use development complete with street level retail environments and proximity to mass transit. It’s a mixed-income development that is addressing the L.A. housing crunch, and at the same time, revitalizing a forgotten manufacturing and industrial neighborhood. So say SPPD alumni Sid Paul and Alex Saunders, members of the Master of Real Estate Development Class of 2003, who are working together on the project.
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Jeff Schaffer MPA '87
After years of working separately for agencies that provide international humanitarian aid and organizations committed to ending homelessness in the United States, Jeff Schaffer MPA '87 found a unique position that allows him to work on both interests simultaneously.
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Karin Stellar MPA '00
As an Associate in the executive search firm Morris & Berger, Karin Stellar helps nonprofit institutions identify and recruit new presidents, VPs, and other senior administrators.
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Brissa Sotello MPP '06
Brissa Sotelo believes in the power of community policy – where and how communities can help shape policy as stakeholders. She is especially interested in the ways in which communities influence the operations of private industry – an interest that plays a large role in her job at Tesoro Corporation Los Angeles Refinery.
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Erroll Southers MPA '98
How many students at USC can say their professor was a former FBI special agent? SPPD alumnus Erroll Southers has returned to USC with three new identities: professor on counter-terrorism, founding member of the SPPD Alumni Association, and associate director of the USC Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE).
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Allison Tom-Miura MPL '97, DPDS '04
Allison Tom-Miura is combining her tenacity, her considerable experience in the nonprofit, financial and government arenas, and the knowledge she gained in the master's and doctoral programs at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development to help the working poor realize the dream of home ownership.
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Jason Umino BS '95
n the early 90s, Jason Umino was a Renaissance scholar long before the new USC Renaissance Scholar program was created. With a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy and Management from SPPD, and a minor in French, he was able to diversify his undergraduate education in such a way that allowed him to create a specialized career path later on.
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Lupe Valdez BA Psychology '83, MPA '85
Lupe Valdez recently traveled to Washington, D.C. for two reasons. As director of public policy and community affairs for Union Pacific Railroad, she was on Capitol Hill with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce to urge federal investment in Southern California. She was also at the nation’s capital to speak at a special reception for alumni and friends of SPPD as the incoming president of the school’s alumni association.
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Suzanne Yu, MHA '06
Entering the medical field and contributing to societal change were always Suzanne Yu’s aspirations. By including the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development’s Master of Health Administration program in her path, she gained valuable skills and resources that have helped in her professional life and complemented her dedication to working for the public interest.
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