Maxwell Class Notes
Ife Olatunji ’06 B.A. (Anth)
has spent the last four years as a media educator with Facets Multimedia, a Chicago, Ill.-based nonprofit that connects people to independent ideas through transformative cinema. Olatunji teaches media literacy, narrative editing and documentary filmmaking.
Alejandro Perez ’02 M.A. (IR)
is the senior vice president of policy and government affairs at the Washington, D.C.-based World Wildlife Fund, an organization that seeks to preserve wildlife globally.
Jennifer Rafael ’94 B.A. (PSc)
is working at the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association as the director of communications and marketing. The Alexandria, Va., organization is dedicated to the general welfare of federal workers and retirees.
Syedur Rahman ’77 Ph.D. (PA)
has retired after a 40-plus year career in international education administration. He served as director of international sponsored programs at Northern Virginia Community College and, before that, was director of international programs and coordinator of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at Penn State University.
Tapan Ray ’06 M.A. (PA)
was re-appointed to the board of directors of CMS Info Systems, a cash management and payment solutions company based in Mumbai, India.
Timothy Robb ’90 B.A. (PSc)
has joined World Insurance Associates LLC as general counsel. World Insurance Associates LLC is a national brokerage specializing in personal and commercial insurance lines, bonding, employee benefits, financial and retirement services and human capital management solutions.
Claire Rupert ’14 B.A. (IR)
is the country director for parts of Europe/ NATO in the office of the Regional Affairs Directorate, for the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force, International Affairs. Rupert oversees foreign military sales cases for Italy, prepares senior leaders for engagements with their Italian counterparts, and serves as the main point of contact for the Italian air attaché to the U.S. in the Pentagon.
Joseph Serbun ’16 M.P.A.
has joined CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield of Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., as a market research and customer insights consultant. Prior to this, Serbun served as a project manager and research lead for the federal elections team at Fors Marsh Group, a market research firm in Arlington, Va.
Charri Hern Shairer ’89 M.P.A.
joined Providence Community Housing, an organization that provides affordable homeownership in New Orleans, La.
Scott Shuster ’92 B.A. (PSc)
through his real estate company, 11 Development, completed the conversion of a church and rectory in Cambridge, Mass., into a single family residence and condominiums. In addition, Shuster has continued his 20-year relationship in a leadership role with the Jimmy Fund, an organization which raises funds for pediatric cancer research for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston
Debra Rahmin Silberstein ’81 B.A. (Econ)
an estate planning attorney, was named Family/Elder Law Trailblazer by the National Law Journal, a periodical based in Washington, D.C.
Robert Simpson ’01 M.P.A.
has been confirmed to serve on the Empire State Development Board of Directors. Empire State Development promotes job creation and business development to create a strong and growing economy for the state of New York.
Robin Lamott Sparks ’91 M.P.A.
was named executive director of the Community Health Network of Connecticut Foundation.
Christopher R Sponn ’20 M.P.A.
is deputy workforce development director for Tompkins County, N.Y.
Roma Y Stibravy ’54 B.A. (IR/PSc)
founded and serves as president of NGO Sustainability, an organization whose mission is to “help preserve planet earth for future generations by advocating for and promoting environmental stewardship globally, together with government, business and civil society.”
Michelle Thompson ’82 B.A. (PSt)
is a professor at the University of New Orleans in the Planning and Urban Studies Department. She was recently interviewed for the Business World article, “15 minute city in Noire de Paris,” where she describes the 15 minute city as an urban design that reduces carbon emissions, increases walkability and incorporates education and social needs within a reasonable distance from home. This model focuses where social and economic gaps occur in cities to provide more sustainable and equitable models of city life.
Debbie Truong ’14 B.A. (PSc)
joined the education reporting team at the Los Angeles Times. She has focused her reporting career on higher education and challenges facing universities in California.
Edward Yoshio Uechi ’08 M.P.A.
joined the United States Department of Labor as a federal project officer, charged with managing grants implemented by state governments and nonprofits.
Kathleen Walpole ’12 B.A. (Hist/PSt/PSc)
is the director of program strategy, impact and evaluation for Home HeadQuarters, a nonprofit housing and community development organization in Syracuse
David Whitmore ’06 M.P.A.
was named vice president for advancement, academic affairs at Syracuse University. In this position Whitmore will work closely with Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter, among others, to advance Syracuse University’s academic and research enterprise. Whitmore came to Syracuse from Cornell University, where he served as the associate vice president for major gifts and alumni affairs and development.