Month: April 2024

2024 Alumni Impact Awardee: Dana Begin

Full Name: Dana Begin Title and Organization:  Director of the Evidence-Based Practices and Grants Division, within the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Office of the Commissioner DPP Degree and Graduation Year:  MPA Fellows, 2020 Dana Begin is the Director of the Evidence-Based Practices and Grants Division at the Office of the Commissioner (OOC) […]

2024 Alumni Impact Awardee: Fionnuala Darby-Hudgens

Full Name: Fionnuala Darby-Hudgens Title and Organization:  Director of Data Strategic Planning, CTData Collaborative SPP Degree and Graduation Year:  MPA, 2018 Fionnuala Darby-Hudgens joined CTData Collaborative in early 2023, bringing 13 years of public service and nonprofit experience to CTData’s new social enterprise, Data Strategic Planning©. In this newer role, Finn works to help nonprofits […]

2024 Alumni Impact Awardee: J. Michael Keyes

Full Name:  J. Michael Keyes Title and Organization:  Trademark Trial Lawyer, Dorsey & Whitney SPP Degree and Graduation Year:  SRDA, 2022 J. Michael Keyes is a trademark trial lawyer and consumer survey expert at the international law firm of Dorsey & Whitney in Seattle. During his nearly 25 year legal career, he has represented a […]

2024 Distinguished Alumni Awardee: Shawn Morris

Full Name: Shawn Morris Title and Organization: Deputy Chief, Greenwich Fire Department and Principal, Fireground Consultants LLC SPP Degree and Graduation Year: MPA, 2012 After undergraduate studies at Central Connecticut State University, Shawn enrolled in the School (formerly Department) of Public Policy (SPP) program at UConn beginning in 2009.  A member of the Pi Alpha […]

2024 Faculty Excellence Awardee: Jason Jakubowski

Full Name: Jason Jakubowski Title and Organization: Adjunct Professor (SPP) and President and CEO, Connecticut Foodshare SPP Degree and Graduation Year: MPA, 2001 Jason Jakubowski is President & CEO of Connecticut Foodshare, the official Feeding America food bank serving the entire state of Connecticut. With a dedicated team of 120 employees and more than 5,000 […]

PAA Inducts Over Fifty New Members

On March 22, 2024 the School of Public Policy (SPP) hosted their 2024 Pi Alpha Alpha (PAA) Induction Ceremony at The Lyceum in Hartford, CT. After a brief reception, PAA President Paula Norato and faculty advisor Professor Renzo de la Riva Agüero welcomed the inductees and their support systems to the evening. Forty-Three of SPP’s graduate […]