Alumni Today
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

Alumni Today

Kristy Buchanan (master of public administration, '01) has accepted a position as a program evaluator in the U.S. General Accounting Office.

Former Mandela Fellow Gabriel Disenyana (master of arts in economics, '00) has been named deputy director/research manager, regional economic relations, for the South African Trade and Industry Department.

Kevin Fillion (master of public administration, '95) recently was promoted to director of the Budgetary Responsibility Oversight Committee of the Georgia General Assembly. The committee was created in 1993 to provide policy and program evaluation and analysis to Georgia legislators.

French

Ronni French (bachelor's in urban policy studies, '87) joined the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies as the director of development in February. French founded the Atlanta Downtown Partnership, a private nonprofit organization designed to improve and market the city's downtown. She also is involved in Leadership Atlanta and Kiwanis International, and serves on the boards of the Wren's Nest, Atlanta's Inn for Children, Sweet Auburn Curb Market and the Atlanta International Museum of Art and Design.

Joseph F. Hacker (master's in urban policy studies, '89) recently accepted a position as senior transportation planner with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

Mary Kassis (Ph.D. in economics, '99) has accepted a position as assistant professor of economics at West Georgia University.

Marshall Lawson (master of public administration, '01) is a research analyst with the Georgia Department of Community Health's Division of Health Planning. Lawson formerly served as an intern in the division's planning and data management section.

Former Mandela Fellow Veronica Mafoko (master of arts in economics, '00) has accepted a position with the South African Department of Public Enterprises.

Kathleen Mahoney (bachelor's in economics, '98; master of arts in economics, '00) has received a Ph.D. program fellowship at Ohio State University. She plans to spend the summer working in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota.

Sherry Okun (bachelor's in economics, '99), a student in the master of arts in economics program, is planning to pursue a Ph.D. in economics at the University of California-Davis. She's currently a research assistant at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Joe Timmerman (Ph.D. in economics, '98) recently accepted a faculty position at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

Alumna wins Georgia State's Torch of Peace award

Andrew Young School of Policy Studies alumna Juliette Tyler received this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Torch of Peace Award for her work in promoting positive race relations at Georgia State University.

The award is presented annually to a student, faculty or staff member by the university's Office of Diversity Education Programs.

Tyler, 24, who received a bachelor's degree in urban policy studies in December, credited her civic awareness to her parents.

"I want to thank everyone who thought I deserved this, including my parents," Tyler said. "They're the ones who supported me, and made me more aware and tolerant of racial diversity."

During her years as a student, Tyler wrote urban-policy reports while working as an intern; studied how people of various races can live and work together; and volunteered with several nonprofit organizations.

Let us know where you are! If you have a degree from Georgia State in public administration, economics, urban policy studies or other programs now offered by the Andrew Young School, we want to hear from you! Fill out and return the enclosed "Alumni News" portion of the envelope inside this newsletter to:

Ronni French
Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
Georgia State University
University Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083

Or contact us at:
Phone: 404-651-3927
E-mail: rlfrench@gsu.edu

Photo above: Several Andrew Young School alumni gathered at the American Economic Association meetings in January in New Orleans. Pictured left to right are Richard Hawkins (Ph.D. in economics, '96), Bob McNab (Ph.D. in economics, '01), Brett Katzman (bachelor's in economics, '91), Roger Tutterow (master of arts in economics, '88, Ph.D. in economics, '90), and Carol Robinson Scotton, (Ph.D. in economics, '00).