LIAISON TO U.S. INDUSTRY AND TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

Nazakhtar Nikakhtar ’02 M.A. (Econ) has served as assistant secretary for industry and analysis with the U.S. Department of Commerce since March 19, 2018, when she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Nominated by President Trump, she serves as the primary liaison with U.S. industry and trade associations to help address industry concerns and support American competitiveness. As the department’s lead on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, she plays a key role in shaping U.S. investment policy and addressing national security threats. She also advises the secretary on trade and economic issues impacting the global competitiveness of U.S. businesses, heading the division that conducts trade policy research and analysis on manufacturing, services, e-commerce, privacy and cybersecurity, emerging technologies and economic trends that impact the International Trade Administration’s mission.

Previously she was a partner at the international trade law firm of Cassidy Levy Kent LLP and was an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

Nikakhtar received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition to a master of economics degree at Maxwell, she received a juris doctor from the Syracuse University College of Law.

Kathryn E. Martin ’99 M.P.A. is the chief operating officer of Health Care Cost Institute, located in Washington, D.C.

Megan S. Sweeny ’99 M.P.A. became the chief financial officer of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million people in health care, public services and property service professions.

00s

David John Brigham ’00 M.A.I.R. and Kate Rudder ’03 M.A. (Anth) moved to Zimbabwe 12 years ago. Since then, Kate has been consulting, volunteering and finishing up an E.M.P.A. at Maxwell. David is currently Chief of Party for Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture. They’ve spent time in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Philippe Solages ’00 J.D./ M.P.A. was confirmed as judge to the New York State Court of Claims by the New York State Senate. Solages serves as an acting supreme court justice in Nassau County, N.Y. John McBride ’01 M.A. (PA) has been named as manager of underwriting and corporate sponsorship for WCNY (Western and Central New York) radio, based in Syracuse, N.Y.

Catherine Choi ’02 M.P.A. is senior director of programs at the Eisner Foundation and an incumbent member of the University of California, Los Angeles Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Rachel Pasternak ’03 B.A. (PSc) joined the Bonadio Group as a recruiting specialist. The Bonadio Group is a group of certified public accountants and consultants based in Rochester, N.Y.

Rebecca Bostwick ’04 M.P.A. is the assistant vice president of community impact for NAF (formerly known as the National Academy Foundation), which supports high school students on their academic paths toward higher learning and career preparation.

Christian C. Jackstadt ’04 B.A. (Econ) was appointed to fill the position of deputy director of agency and enterprise operations, and is now deputy director of state operations for New York State.

Sun-on Gilford Law ’04 M.A. (PA) is the new Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office’s director-general.

Victoria Perez Shires ’04 B.A. (PSt/PSc) received a “40 under 40” award from the Central New York Business Journal

Thomas A. Mandl ’05 M.A.I.R. has written a new book, Modern Paraguay: Uncovering South America’s Best Kept Secret (McFarland, 2021). The book is based on Mandl’s time in Paraguay interviewing leaders and collecting data in order to present Paraguay’s challenges, strengths and direction in a global world.

Artemus Ward ’96 M.A. (PSc)/’99

Ph.D. (PSc) is a professor of political science and faculty associate at the College of Law at Northern Illinois University.

Charles Guthrie ’97 B.A (PSc) has been named director of athletics at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.

John D’Agostino ’98 B.A. (Econ) has joined Pentegra as a regional director. Pentegra is a fiduciary organization based in White Plains, N.Y.

Janis Garcia Keating ’98

M.P.A. was named 2021 entrepreneur of the year for the northeast region by Latina Style magazine She is the founder and president of Wilco Group LLC which provides information technology consulting services, Agile development support and general business consulting services in the Washington, D.C., area.

McGee Wester Young ’98 M.A. (PSc)/’04 Ph.D. (PSc) is founder and chief executive officer at WattCarbon which measures and tracks carbon savings in buildings and is located in California’s San Francisco Bay area.

LeeAnne Rogers Clayberger ’02 M.P.A. was named chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Economy League, a nonprofit organization that provides technical assistance and consulting services to local governments and shares independent research on public policy issues.

David Angelo Levinthal ’02 B.A. (PPhil) is now deputy Washington D.C. bureau chief at Business Insider, a financial and business news website. Previously, he held the position of senior Washington correspondent.

Benjamin J. Markus ’02 M.P.A. has been appointed as interim coordinator for English language arts for K-8 at Greenwich Public Schools located in Greenwich, Conn.

Justin G. Rudgick ’05 M.P.A. was named the new president of Christopher Community, Inc., a nonprofit that strives to provide affordable housing in Upstate New York.

Jason Yaley ’05 B.A. (IR/PSc)/’06 M.P.A. is Parson’s Corp.’s new chief communications officer. Parson’s Corp. delivers innovative technologies in defense and intelligence to clients across the U.S.

Jennifer Schiske Tifft ’06 J.D./ M.P.A. is the City of Syracuse’s new director of strategic initiatives, and was tasked by Mayor Ben Walsh ’05 M.P.A. to lead the implementation of the American Rescue Plan Act.

Michael Apicelli ’07 J.D./M.A.I.R. is director for multilateral climate and clean energy engagement for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Steven Wesley Holden ’07 E.M.P.A. currently teaches finance, contract and leadership courses to federal employees and co-owns a business, Digital Horizon Services, which helps veterans win government contracts.

Rufat Mahmud ’07 E.M.P.A. is the advisor to the chairman on the state committee on urban planning and architecture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Mary Jacqueline Myers ’07 M.P.A. works as healthcare and life sciences lead at Slalom, LLC, a global consulting firm focused on strategy, technology and business transformation in the U.S., Canada, Australia and England.

Michael Edward Scherger ’07 M.P.A. was chosen by the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management to be the new director for the National Training Center. In this role, he leads training and workforce development programs from the newly renovated facility in Phoenix, Ariz.

Carlos Torres ’07 M.A.I.R. is currently chief of party for the U.S. Department of Labor government-funded program in Costa Rica for the Foundation for Peace and Democracy and Partners of the Americas. Previously, he worked as a consultant for projects financed by Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. State Department and several corporate donors for organizations such as World Vision and the Central American Public Administration Institute.

Deborah Seltzer ’08 B.A. (PSt) has been named executive director of Maryland Legal Services Corp., a funder of civil legal aid, based in Baltimore, Md.

Ekin Senlet ’08 J.D./M.A.I.R. was listed as a Chambers U.S.A. 2021 “notable practitioner” in geography. A partner at the law firm Barclay Damon, she practices energy and regulatory law in New York state. She was also named a class of 2021 honoree of the Albany Business Review’s “40 Under 40.”

L. Scott Baird ’09 J.D./M.P.A. is vice president at AgReserves, an agricultural investment company based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Jeremy Paul Busch ’09 M.A.I.R. is now serving on the Human Rights Commission and the Shade Tree Committee for the city of Geneva, N.Y.

Lawrence Miller ’09 Ph.D. (PA) was named vice president for learning and workforce development at Greenville Technical College in Greenville, S.C.

10s

Eliza Orlando ’10 E.M.P.A. is the strategic director of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y. She was also recently named director of stakeholder engagement for the Center for Leading Collaboration and Innovation.

Gerard McTigue ’11 B.A. (IR) has been promoted as an account director at Freuds, a London-based communications agency focused on representing clients working to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.

Dan Zhang ’11 M.A. (Soc) joined the online platform ClickUp as vice president of finance.

Selina Howe Carter ’12 M.P.A./ M.A.I.R/’13 M.A. (Econ) is pursuing a dual Ph.D. in statistics and machine learning at Carnegie Mellon University. Carter was a Boren Fellow in Turkey and worked as the financial director at the Turkish Grameen microfinance program. Following that, she worked in Nampula, Mozambique, to conduct a survey on child vaccination with the Jameel Poverty Action Lab. For the last five years, she has worked as a data scientist at the Inter-American Development Bank and completed a master’s in mathematics and statistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

David Frazier ’12 M.P.A. was promoted to deputy secretary of finance for the New York State Senate majority conference.

Joshua Beams ’14 M.P.A. was appointed as the county administrator for Otsego County, N.Y.

Kyle Coleman ’14 B.S. (Econ)/’16 M.P.A. was named borough manager for Kennett Square in Chester County, Pa.