Maxwell Class Notes
Ekin Senlet ’08 J.D./
was listed as a Chambers U.S.A. 2021 “notable practitioner” in geography. A partner at the law fi rm Barclay Damon, she practices energy and regulatory law in New York state. She was also named a class of 2021 honoree of the Albany Business Review’s “40 Under 40.”
Vikas Sheel ’15 M.P.A.
is an administrative service officer for India and serves as secretary for the country’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Sheel is part of the national team handling COVID emergency response, and developing and implementing Co-WIN, India’s digital COVID vaccination platform.
Victoria Perez Shires ’04 B.A. (PSt/PSc)
received a “40 under 40” award from the Central New York Business Journal.
Cynthia Simison ’76 B.A. (PSc)
was named The Republican’s first woman executive editor in 195 years. The Republican is a daily newspaper based in Springfield, Mass. It is owned by Newhouse Newspapers, a division of Advance Publications.
J. Ryan Smith ’91 B.A. (PSc)
is currently an anchor for ESPN’s SportsCenter and Outside the Lines. Smith has worked for ESPN as a legal analyst and a correspondent, and he has hosted ABC News shows including 20/20.
Philippe Solages ’00 J.D./M.P.A.
was confirmed as judge to the New York State Court of Claims by the New York State Senate. Solages serves as an acting supreme court justice in Nassau County, N.Y.
Caral E Spangler ’81 M.P.A.
was nominated by President Joe Biden ‘68 for the role of principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army (financial management and comptroller) at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. She was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 27 and confirmed by the full Senate on Aug. 9.
David Sulek ’88 B.A. (PSc)
is senior vice president at Booz Allen, where he analyzes emerging policy, regulatory, market and technology trends for U.S. government clients. He currently focuses on law enforcement issues. Prior to that, he focused on issues surrounding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Megan S Sweeny ’99 M.P.A.
became the chief financial officer of the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million people in health care, public services and property service professions.
Ronald James-Terry Taylor ’15 B.A. (PSc/PSt)
was appointed as the new head of Middle School at Browning School in New York City. Prior to the start of this appointment, he was acting director of the Office for Identity, Culture and Institutional Equity at Horace Mann School, also in New York City.
Mark Temnycky ’17 M.P.A./
was among the recipients of the Ukrainian World Congress’ inaugural Ukrainian Diaspora “30 under 30” award. The Ukrainian World Congress is an international non-governmental organization composed of 60 countries that work to support a European Ukraine and has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Cathryn Quantic Thurston ’95
recently left the federal government after 25 years working in national security in Washington, D.C., to be an associate professor at SUNY Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Thurston is heading Empire State’s new bachelor’s degree in security studies.
Jennifer Schiske Tifft ’06 J.D./M.P.A.
is the City of Syracuse’s new director of strategic initiatives, and was tasked by Mayor Ben Walsh ’05 M.P.A. to lead the implementation of the American Rescue Plan Act.
Carlos Torres ’07
is currently chief of party for the U.S. Department of Labor government-funded program in Costa Rica for the Foundation for Peace and Democracy and Partners of the Americas. Previously, he worked as a consultant for projects financed by Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. State Department and several corporate donors for organizations such as World Vision and the Central American Public Administration Institute.
Jeffrey Towery ’85 M.P.A.
has been selected as president-elect of the International City/County Management Association, which advances professional local government through leadership, management, innovation and ethics.
Cynthia Wang ’19 B.A. (IR)
is a lecturer teaching English and social science research methods at the University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, France.
Artemus Ward ’96 M.A. (PSc)/ ’99 Ph.D. (PSc)
is a professor of political science and faculty associate at the College of Law at Northern Illinois University.
Alison Weber ’15 B.A. (Anth/IR)
is working as an English community manager for Storybook, an Ecuadorian tech start-up. She does translation work, gives ESL classes and manages its English social media networks.
Baylee Wright ’19 B.A. (IR)
has accepted a position as a senior global legal specialist with Bain and Company, a management consulting firm in Boston, Mass.
Jason Yaley ’05 B.A. (IR/PSc)/ ’06 M.P.A.
is Parson’s Corp.’s new chief communications officer. Parson’s Corp. delivers innovative technologies in defense and intelligence to clients across the U.S.