Congratulations to the spring and winter 2019 awardees of the Local Government Early Career Service Certificate. Students receive the certificate based on nominations submitted by their ICMA Student Chapter faculty advisors at the end of each academic semester.
Spring 2019 Recipients
Brittany Anderson | Virginia Commonwealth University
Brittany is a Master of Public Administration and Nonprofit Management Certificate candidate, and a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Originally from Chesterfield, VA, Brittany graduated from Howard University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and a minor in mathematics. Brittany recently joined the VCU Chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha (PAA) Honor Society, the National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration. Brittany aspires to work in the public sector post-graduation.
Phyllis Anderson | University of Pittsburgh
Phyllis decided to transform her life by going back to school as a non-traditional student. By the time she graduated from the Community College of Allegheny County, she was named “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges”, Leadership in Honor’s Scholar, and inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. In May 2016, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science. After taking a year off from school, she graduated from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) with a Master of Public Policy & Management degree.
Tucker Brofft | Mills College
Tucker is a joint Master of Business Administration and Masters of Public Policy student at Mills College in Oakland, CA. He has served as treasurer of the Mills College ICMA Student Chapter and as a student representative for the Mills College Education Policy Committee. He is a teaching assistant for a research methods course at Mills and also a freelance consultant, working with local governments and nonprofits on program evaluation and organizational efficacy.
Megan Ford | Virginia Commonwealth University
Megan Ford is a Master of Public Administration candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University. Megan graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology from Bridgewater College in 2017, with minors in Neuroscience and Political Science. Megan works as a Government & Partner Relations Strategist with a company focused on helping people in the criminal justice system with substance use disorder.
Ciona Hall | Oakland University
Ciona L. Hall is a Master of Public Administration candidate at Oakland University. She serves as Vice President of Oakland University’s ICMA Student Chapter and is seeking graduation. Ciona works as the permit coordinator with the City of Rochester, Michigan. She works to streamline the workflow for the commercial developments in the city. She credits Oakland University’s ICMA Student Chapter with helping her land her first job in government by attending its first networking event in 2018.
Jenifer Logia | Mills College
Jenifer Logia is a Master of Public Policy candidate at Mills College and currently serves as the treasurer of the ICMA Student Chapter at Mills College. Jenifer grew up in Redwood City, California, and graduated from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) with a bachelor's degree in International Development Studies and Asian American Studies. Jenifer is also an alumnus of the County of San Mateo Management Fellowship program.
Auria Malachowski | University of Central Florida
Auria Malachowski is graduating this Spring with her Master of Public Administration and Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Central Florida degrees. Auria graduated from UCF with her Bachelor of Science in criminal justice, minor in Spanish, and certificates in leadership studies and security management. Auria has participated in graduate-level research studying the success of priority-based budgeting in local government. Currently, Auria serves as the Chair of Public Relations and Outreach for the UCF Graduate Student Association. In addition to receiving this Early Career Service Certificate for her collaboration on a strategic planning project in the community, Auria is a 2019 Local Government Management Fellowship (LGMF) fellow at the Sarasota County Government.
Danielle Metcalfe | University of Delaware
Danielle Metcalfe is a Public Administration Fellow at the Institute for Public Administration and graduating senior of University of Delaware’s MPA program. Originally from Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, Danielle is an Air Force veteran, serving for 8 years as a C-17 Hydraulic Mechanic and then a Flight Engineer on C-5’s. Danielle currently serves as the founding President of University of Delaware's ICMA Student chapter. She will be starting her first City Manager position post-graduation on June 3rd in Delaware City, Delaware.
Nalisha Nandkumar | St. Cloud State University
Nalisha Nandkumar is a Master of Public Administration candidate at St. Cloud State University. Nalisha graduated from St. Cloud State University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies and a minor in Spanish. She has served as the Graduate Assistant for the President’s Office at St. Cloud State, focusing on academic policy development. Nalisha has worked at the City of Sartell as an Administrative Assistant which allowed her to develop skills in accounting and citizen engagement. Her work experience also includes working as an Administrative Intern at Stearns County where she worked closely with the Assistant County Administrator on budgeting projects. She currently works as the assistant to the city administrator and parks and recreation supervisor at the City of Falcon Heights.
Jessica Ohree | Virginia Commonwealth University
Jessica Ohree is a Master of Public Administration candidate at Virginia Commonwealth University. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Jessica graduated from VCU in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. Jessica is active in her local community, volunteering often with several organizations and participating in the City of Richmond's Chamber of Commerce young professionals’ program.
Elizabeth (Betsey) Suchanic | University of Delaware
Elizabeth (Betsey) Suchanic is a Public Administration Fellow and Master of Public Administration candidate at the University of Delaware. Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, Betsey received her undergraduate degree from Mary Baldwin University in Marketing Communication and Studio Art. Betsey is an active member in University of Delaware's ICMA Student Chapter. Her research for the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) was used to develop the 'The Delaware Complete Communities Toolbox,' an online resource of urban planning tools for local governments.
Tom Van Koughnett | Oakland University
Tom Van Koughnett is a Master of Public Administration candidate at Oakland University, where he is also a member of Pi Alpha Alpha. In 2006, Tom graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology. Tom currently works as a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) administrator at Oakland County. After over 10 years of law enforcement experience, Tom is looking to transition to a local government management position.
Jessica Wawrzynski | Oakland University
Jessica Wawrzynski is a Master of Public Administration candidate at Oakland University from Sterling Heights, Michigan. Jessica graduated from Oakland University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in public administration, with a minor in international relations. Jessica served as Vice President of Oakland University’s ICMA Student Chapter in 2017 during its first year of implementation. Jessica has been with the City of Rochester, MI since August 2016, assuming her current role as Deputy City Clerk in February 2017.
Other Recipients:
Sarah McCraken | University of North Texas
Ingrid Rivera | Mills College
Winter 2019 Recipients
Rebecca Sakyi | Georgia Southern University
Rebecca is a Master of Public Administration candidate in the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies at Georgia Southern University. Originally from Ghana, Rebecca received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). Rebecca is currently employed by Georgia Southern University as a Graduate Research Assistant. She works with a professor on a Georgia Municipal Association project collecting data from Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports of cities in Georgia to conduct financial analysis on their performance. After graduation, Rebecca would like to work with a finance department of a local government as a budget analyst.
Jonathan McCoy | Virginia Tech
Jonathan a dual Master of Urban and Regional Planning and Public Administration candidate at Virginia Tech. He is originally from Bedford County, VA near Smith Mountain Lake. He began his undergraduate studies at George Mason University where he earned a degree in Public Administration. Following undergrad, Jonathan served as an AmeriCorps VISTA working to reduce poverty through entrepreneurial development. During his graduate studies, Jonathan worked with Roanoke County Parks, Recreation & Tourism, primarily focusing on greenways and trail development. Post-graduation, Jonathan would like to begin a career in local government consulting.
