September 27, 2023

Greetings MPA Students,

Welcome to the start of the MPA program’s fall quarter! We hope your summer gave you the opportunity to charge up for the upcoming year, and we are excited to start a new academic year with you. 

As we begin this year, we want to provide you with some more information on ways the MPA program is updating this year:

1) The MPA program has two new permanent faculty joining us this year!  Dr. Spencer Brien joined us last year as a visiting faculty member and we are happy for him to return this year in capacity as a regular faculty member.  He earned his PhD in Public Policy at Georgia State University in 2011 and holds an MPP from American University (2006).  Previously, Spencer served as a faculty member in public administration with the Naval Postgraduate School and at Arizona State University. Spencer also brings professional experience as a program evaluation specialist with the Internal Revenue Service.  Spencer adds to our expertise in public financial management, state and local fiscal policy, public procurement, defense budgeting, and public workforce turnover, and is co-author in a recent article in Public Administration Review, “The Timing of Managerial Responses to Fiscal Stress” (2021), among other publications.

Dr. Jeffrey Callen also returns to us this year in a new role as a permanent MPA faculty member.  He earned his PhD in Public Administration and Policy at Arizona State University in 2013 and holds an MPA from Montana State University (2008).  Jeffrey served as a faculty member with Idaho State University’s MPA and political science programs from 2013 to 2018, and also served as a planner for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho. Jeffrey brings both academic and practitioner expertise in tribal governance, local economic development, digital governance, planning and infrastructure development, public sector ethics, policy analysis, and research methods.

2) We are happy to welcome Ben Feldbush as a faculty member teaching core MPA courses in Tacoma this year!  Ben is the program manager for Comprehensive Life Resources’ Youth and Young Adult Homeless Day Center in Tacoma and a graduate of the MPA program’s first Tacoma cohort in 2021.  He also teaches courses for Tacoma Community College’s Fresh Start program.  Ben brings professional expertise in multicultural competency, workplace communications and conflict management, housing and homelessness policy, and program implementation and management.

3) MPA Professor Meghan Doughty will serve this year as the MPA program’s Associate Director. In this role, Meghan will share MPA Director duties with Professor Mike Craw. This will enable both Meghan and Mike to take active roles in teaching MPA core courses while also assuring student needs from the program are met. Please feel free to reach out to either Meghan or to Mike when you need academic advice or have questions about the MPA curriculum and requirements.

In addition, MPA assistant directors, Puanani and Marcia, remain committed to helping you with your questions about course registration, financial aid, and other program matters.  MPA staff will generally be available in person at our offices on the third floor of Lab I Monday – Friday 9 am – 4 pm.

You can contact us in the following ways:

 

 

 

  • Puanani Nihoa (MPA Assistant Director, Tribal Governance and Tacoma):  nihoap@evergreen.edu Cell: (360) 688-4780

 

 

We wish you a successful fall quarter, and we look forward to getting to support you as you complete your Master of Public Administration!

 

 

Michael Craw                                                                                     Meghan Doughty

MPA Director                                                                                     Associate MPA Director