Maxwell Class Notes
Nancy Laird ’97 M.P.A.
joined the Harvard Art Museums as the director of finance after working for Harvard University for 22 years.
Robert Layton ’79 M.P.A.
received the 2021 Board of Trustees award from Wichita State University. The award is given to a person who has made significant contributions to the partnership between Wichita State University and the surrounding community. Layton is currently the interim chief financial officer for Kansas City Community College.
Zachery Le Cuyer ’17 B.A. (IR/PSc)/ ’19 M.A. (IR)
joined the federal civil service as a NATO program manager for the Department of Defense, supporting the secretary of the Air Force’s Office of Information Dominance at the Pentagon.
Norman Leffman ’95 M.P.A.
retired in December 2021 after 17 years of service as assistant executive officer to the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority.
Matthew Little ’97 M.P.A.
was recently named the western region director of public policy for the Memphis-based Ducks Unlimited, an organization that supports the growth of duck populations and the future of waterfowl hunting.
Mark L. Loeben ’98 M.S.Sc.
was recently appointed chairman of the National Aerospace Research & Technology Park, a research, design and innovation organization based in Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
Marissa Lorenzetti ’08 B.A. (PSc/PSt)
has been named chief of staff at the Madison, Wisc.-based Madison Group, which provides consulting services, technical expertise and innovative technology to the plastics industry.
Alicia Madden ’10 M.P.A.
returned to Syracuse University as director of finance and administration for the iSchool after serving 10 years in government.
Rob Magliaro ’08 B.A. (Econ/IR/PSt)
is education lead at Grow with Google, a national company working with higher education institutions to co-create programs to support job readiness across disciplines.
Blake Neumann ’19 M.P.A.
has joined the Adirondack Council’s conservation team in the newly created role of clean water advocate.
Michael Nitzky ’98 B.A. (PSc)
was appointed to Mercury as managing director of its New York office. Mercury is a global, bipartisan public strategy firm located in all 50 states.
Brandy Oakley ’05 B.A. (PSt)
was elected as state representative for the 12th Suffolk district in Massachusetts and was sworn in on Jan. 6, 2021. Prior to her appointment, Oakley earned an M.A. in education at Johns Hopkins University and attended law school at Emory University. Oakley became a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services in the Boston Municipal and Chelsea District courts.
Kent Olson ’83 M.P.A.
retired after 37 years of local government financial management. He served as finance director for two suburbs in the Chicago region and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Howard Palley ’63 Ph.D. (SSc)
professor emeritus in the School of Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, published three articles in 2021. “Review of Health Care in Switzerland: A Closer Look at a System Offered as a Model for the United States” was published in the Journal of Medicine and Surgical Sciences, while the Open Journal of Political Science featured two pieces: “The White Working Class and the Politics of Race in the United States and Race and Caste: Its Impact on the American Political System.”
Krista Peyton ’95 M.A. (PSc)
was appointed associate circuit judge for St. Louis County in the 21st judicial circuit in the greater St. Louis, Mo., area.
Kevin Porter ’18 B.A. (PSc)
was promoted to Congressman Kurt Schrader’s communications director in March 2022. Schrader represents Oregon’s 5th congressional district.
Kate Powers ’02 J.D./M.P.A.
was appointed assistant deputy superintendent of life insurance at the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Joseph Ralbovsky ’11 B.A. (PSt)/ ’14 M.P.A./M.A. (IR)
became an energy technology program specialist for the U.S. Department of Energy in October 2021.
Richard Ramacier ’89 M.P.A.
retired on Jan. 1, 2022, after 25 years of service to County Connection, a public transit agency based in Danville San Ramon, Calif.
Diana Rocco ’02 B.A. (PSc)
is co-anchoring News 4 San Antonio Today, a broadcast based in San Antonio, Texas.