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Maxwell Class Notes

alumni standing together

Gabrielle Denby ’09 M.A. (PSc)

has been named a partner in the Boston-based Rubin and Rudman Family Law Group. Denby is a member of the Greater Boston Family Law American Inn of Court and serves on the Massachusetts Bar Association Family Law Section Council. She has been named a Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Family Law and Family Law: Arbitration and Mediation (2025) and a Super Lawyers’ Massachusetts Rising Star for Family Law (2016–24).
May 29, 2025

Amy O. Majani ’16 M.P.A.

is the community engagement advisor for the mayor’s office in the city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada.
May 22, 2025

Edward F. Pincar ’14 M.P.A.

has been appointed president of Fifth Avenue Association, a nonprofit that works to preserve and promote Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York City. He previously served as commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation’s Manhattan borough.
May 21, 2025

Nicholas Weatherbee ’08 M.P.A.

is senior director of government affairs for Corning, Inc., a materials science company based in Washington, D.C.
May 21, 2025

Olga Boichak ’15 M.P.A./ ’19 Ph.D. (SSc)

received the Max Crawford Medal, awarded by the Australian Academy of the Humanities, for her research on the role of media and technology in military conflicts. Boichak, a Ukrainian-born media scholar, was also recently named a 2025 Westpac Research Fellow, receiving funding for new research in digital security.

May 15, 2025

Joseph M. Hanna ’14 M.P.A.

was named to Buffalo Business First’s 2024 Power 100 Business Leaders of Color for the third year in a row. He is a partner at the law firm Goldberg Segalla, and is also the founder and president of Bunkers in Baghdad, a nonprofit that collects and sends golf equipment to U.S. troops and veterans worldwide to aid in recreation and rehabilitation from injuries.

May 14, 2025

Felipe Estefan ’10 M.A. (IR)/M.S.P.R.

joined the Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School as a fellow to explore the intersection of narrative change, social justice and politics. A former Maxwell Advisory Board member, Estefan also served as vice president for narrative change and regional vice president for Latin America with Luminate, a global philanthropic organization. 
May 6, 2025

Victoria Perez Shires ’04 B.A. (PSt/PSc)

began a new position as the senior director of development for the Maxwell School. She previously served as chief development officer at the Rescue Mission Alliance of Syracuse. With a background in sales and marketing, Shires held positions with Bell’s Brewery, Duvel Moortgat USA and Coca-Cola Enterprises.

April 29, 2025

Shane Wasden ’03 M.P.A.

was recently named assistant program director of applied business management at Brigham Young University-Idaho. He previously served as the department chair for business management for five years. In the summer of 2024, Wasden joined Soegijapranata Catholic University as a Fulbright specialist in Indonesia.
April 23, 2025

Carolyn J. Bourdeaux ’03 Ph.D. (PA) Carolyn (J.) Bourdeaux ’03 Ph.D. (PA)

is the president and executive director of The Concord Coalition and Concord Action. Based in Arlington, Va., the nonprofit organizations focus on educating citizens on fiscal debt and the economy. Bourdeaux served as a congressional representative for Georgia from 2021-23. 

April 15, 2025

William A. Polf ’71 M.A. (Hist)/ ’73 Ph.D. (Hist)

released a new book, Not the Same River (Atmosphere Press, 2024). The book is a collection of fiction stories, centered around diverse characters and places. Polf previously served in the New York State Legislature and spent 35 years in the Columbia University–Presbyterian Hospital system.

April 11, 2025

Nancy E. Coviello ’88 B.A. (SPsy)

is a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C. Coviello has been with the EPA for nine years; previous roles include work for the Voice of America and serving as an English instructor with the Peace Corps in Namibia, Africa.
April 8, 2025

Terrence R. Guay ’92 M.A. (IR)/ ’96 Ph.D. (PSc)

recently co-authored “The European Union and the United States: Competition, Convergence and Crisis in the Global Arena” (Bloomsbury Press, 2024) with Michael Smith and Jost Morgenstern-Pomorski. Guay is an associate dean for international programs at Pennsylvania State University.

March 11, 2025

Peter C. Kissel ’69 B.A. (PSc)

serves as the national president of the Irish American Unity Conference. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington, D.C., with chapters around the nation advocating for the unity of Ireland. Kissel’s position involves working with Congress, particularly the Friends of Ireland Caucus, and publishing articles and letters in various media outlets.

February 18, 2025

David L. Wanetik ’71 B.A. (AmSt)

is a volunteer and president of the Queens B’nai B’rith House, a 190-unit apartment complex for seniors in Queens, N.Y. He previously worked as an attorney and title insurance executive for First American Title Insurance Company.

February 18, 2025

Melvin I Norris ’96 B.A. (PSt)

was recently promoted to vice president of government affairs for The Durst Organization, a commercial and residential real estate company in New York City. His previous positions include deputy chief of staff for Congressman Charles B. Rangel.

February 17, 2025

Deborah A. Hanmer ’01 M.P.A.

is the founder and CEO of Breakthrough Leadership Consulting, a public sector consulting firm with offices in Rochester, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. The firm works with schools, nonprofits and government entities. She previously served as director of the Greater Rochester Parent Leadership Training Institute.
February 14, 2025

Philippe Magloire ’83 B.A. (IR)

recently retired in Hawaii. During his 39-year career, he served as superintendent of juvenile corrections facilities in Hawaii and Oregon. Magloire also served as deputy assistant secretary of the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice and deputy executive director of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

February 14, 2025

Joshua N. Weiss ’91 B.A. (Hist)

recently published “Getting Back to the Table: 5 Steps to Reviving Stalled Negotiations” (Berrett-Koehler Press, 2025). The book describes how to deal with setbacks and failures in negotiation. Weiss is also a senior fellow at the Harvard Negotiation Project and the co-founder of the Global Negotiation Initiative at Harvard University. 

February 14, 2025

Richard A. Stoff ’75 M.P.A.

serves as senior advisor with Leadership Now Project, a Washington, D.C.-based membership organization of business and thought leaders who seek to protect and renew American democracy. He previously served as a partner with the management consulting practice of Ernst & Young and was founding chief executive officer of the Ohio Business Roundtable.

February 11, 2025
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