Alumni Success Stories
Julayne Austin MPA '07
As a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California, Julyane Austin has attended class with some of the nation’s most promising students under the guidance of instructors who are leaders in their fields. Through her current position as Managing Director for Education Pioneers, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving the schooling of thousands of students, she works to ensure that others are given the same opportunities.
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Kirk Cartozian MRED / MBA '05
Kirk Cartozian attributes his education and experiences at SPPD with helping him form a successful real estate services company. Today, Cartozian gives back to the SPPD community through his role as president of the school’s Alumni Association Board of Directors — serving as the main advocate for all SPPD alumni.
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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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Erika Martin MPA '08
Erika Martin has seen Long Beach change over the years. Martin grew up in the city and is currently working on facilitating change there as a development analyst for the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency. At SPPD, she studied urban planning at the city level and aimed to bring sustainable change to the built environment in areas of cities that need it most.
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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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Hilda Solis MPA '81
During a Dec. 19 press conference in Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama nominated Rep. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte) for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. Solis is an alumna of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, graduating with a master’s degree in public administration in 1981.
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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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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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