On April 4th the School of Public Policy (SPP) will host its annual Pi Alpha Alpha (PAA) Induction Ceremony. SPP’s current Board Members include:
- President—Karen Hasterok, MPA ‘24
- Vice President—Ludwig Pulaski, MPA ‘24
- Treasurer—Beverne Cordner, MPA ‘22
- Secretary—Mekaila (Carey) Wilhelm, MPA ‘23
Pi Alpha Alpha President Karen Hasterok will kick-off the evening with a Pi Alpha Alpha President’s Welcome. She will be followed by a Public Policy Welcome by Pi Alpha Alpha Faculty Advisor Professor Renzo de la Riva Agüero.
School Director Angela Eikenberry will then provide a Keynote Introduction for our Keynote Speaker and SPP alum Chief Lynn Malerba.
Karen will then conduct the Pi Alpha Alpha Induction and Pi Alpha Alpha Oath. A Business Meeting and New Officer Induction will follow. Professor de la Riva Agüero will then end the evening with closing remarks.
Congratulations to this year’s inductees, which are listed below:
| Adiba Anzum
Audrey C. Berry Daryl Richard Bodrick II Maria Camila E. Bortolleto Bryan G. Callender Tracy A. Cellillie Jeffrey A. Currey Jaden Del Gobbo Jaimee L. DelPiano Trayvonn A. Diaz Madeline Doyle Layla E. Ennis Crystal Alexandrea Fernández Rosalie Donatella Filippone Eliz R. Flores Fritny Fontilus Jonathan Galligan |
Marilia Isabel González Mojica
Matthew Hono Juliet R. Kapsis Payton Kinney Anthony Lagana In-Jee Lee Joseph P. Listro Molly J. Lukiwsky Wendy G. Mackstutis Jamarl McLean Nevada Q. McMahon Janie Eileen Murphy Shannon N. Murphy Chidi D. Nwuneli Robert Osei Mensah Adam R. Pacheco Alexander R. Pachkovsky |
Emma Kates Paynter
Madeline Peling J Wren Pennington Chase Prentiss Heather Price Alexander T. Rollins Cody D. Ryan Megan Soffen Noel A. Sosnoski John Julius Stein Henry Patrick Stone Andrew P. Theberge Mabel Thompson Christopher N. Tyburski Shantel Walker Holly White Timothy G. White |
Pi Alpha Alpha Speakers
Karen Hasterok, MPA ‘24 PAA – President, CT Chapter
Karen Hasterok earned an MPA and Nonprofit Management Certificate in 2024 from the UConn School of Public Policy. She obtained her undergraduate degree in English and Psychology from Muhlenberg College in PA. After a long stint working in corporate America on Wall Street and in law, Karen realized she wanted a change. She first completed the UConn Encore program with an internship at an LGBTQ+ community center which turned into a full-time consulting position. Not quite ready to stop being a student, Karen began working towards a nonprofit management certificate then became an UConn Public Policy MPA Fellow. Since graduation, and recovery from breast cancer, Karen has begun her job search and hopes to land a position with a nonprofit organization.
Karen currently volunteers as a Girl Scout Leader, runs the recruitment and new member orientation program for the Junior League of Greenwich, and serves as the Chairperson and Commissioner on the Town of Greenwich Fair Rent Commission.
Professor Renzo de la Riva Agüero – Assistant Professor, PAA Faculty Advisor UConn School of Public Policy
Renzo is an Assistant Professor of Public Management at the University of Connecticut School of Public Policy. He received his Public Policy Ph.D. at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Department of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. His work engages with research on local administrative capacity, communitybased CSOs, collaborative governance, and environmental sustainability. His public administration and management research assesses how varying local governance conditions in the Global South may explain performance differences between more and less complex services. He is also the recipient of the NASPAA 2021 Staats Emerging Scholars Award. Previously, he was a public servant in the Peruvian public sector, a consultant at the World Bank in Washington, DC, and public sector manager at Deloitte Peru. He has a B.A. in Political Science from St. Olaf College in Minnesota and a Master of Public Policy from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.
Keynote Speaker
Chief Lynn Malerba, MPA ‘08 – Chief of the Mohegan Tribe, and Former U.S. Treasurer
Chief Mutáwi Mutáhash (Many Hearts) Marilynn “Lynn” Malerba became the 18th Chief of the Mohegan Tribe on August 15, 2010 and is the first female Chief in the Tribe’s modern history. The position is a lifetime appointment made by the Tribe’s Council of Elders.
Prior to becoming Chief, she served as Chairwoman of the Tribal Council, and served in Tribal Government as Executive Director of Health and Human Services.
Preceding her work for the Mohegan Tribe, Malerba had a career as a registered nurse, ultimately as the Director of Cardiology and Pulmonary Services at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital. She was awarded an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Science from Eastern Connecticut State University and an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Humane Letters from the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. Malerba earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice at Yale University and was named a Jonas Scholar, a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the College of St. Joseph. She was also awarded an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Humane Letters from the University of Connecticut.
Lynn was appointed by President Biden and served as the 45th Treasurer of the United States from 2022- 2024.
Pi Alpha Alpha Oath
I pledge my support for the intellectual and professional advancement of the art and science of public administration and public affairs.
I shall honor and respect the virtues and values of public service and those who serve.
I shall uphold the eternal need for education that imbues public administrators with traditions of democratic governance.
Moreover, as a member of Pi Alpha Alpha, I shall uphold the highest ethical standards applying to public service and will endeavor to encourage and engage in meaningful interaction with other members.