Alumni News

2021

Brenda Hicks-Sorensen (’01, MS Urban Studies) was hired as director of the San Antonio Economic Development Department. – Read more here.

2018-2019

Lara Fritts (’95, MS Urban Studies) was named the president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership, a regional economic development organization in Virginia. – Read more here

Jacob Balistrieri (BA ‘17) is the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District Public Space Operations Coordinator.

Jessica Helgesen (BA ’12) is the Environmental Health Coordinator and Communication Lead at US Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 Border Office

Gary T. Henry (PhD ’82), has been named dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware – Read more here

Trevor Jung, (BA ’17) is the new Community Engagement Coordinator for Visioning Racine and was also appointed by the Mayor to the Planning Commission for the City of Racine.

Shannon Kelly-Fong (MS ‘14) Senior Policy Analyst at City of Lakewood, Washington.

Jeremy Lucas (BA ’13) is Senior Budget & Management Analyst for the Milwaukee County Dept. of Administrative Services.

Joy Nielson (MS ’17) is a Program & Policy Analyst – Advanced at the Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections.

Harrison O’Brien (BA ’16) is an Economic Support Specialist at Waukesha County Health and Human Services and current MS student in Urban Studies.

Alex Snyder (MS ‘16) is Planner for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

Kimberly (Stephenson) Triplett (PhD ‘10) recently received her tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in the Dept. of Social Work and Urban Studies at Tennessee State University.

2017–2018

MS Alumnus Thomas Rose (’67) has written a reflection on Urban Affairs at UWM in the Mid-Sixties. Read now

2012–2013

Doctoral Alumna Karen Moore received the news that her article “Exposing State Institutional Factors Impeding Local Policy Implementation: A Case Study of Transit Development in Progressive-Era Milwaukee” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Urban Studies.

Doctoral Alumni Kelly Patterson and Robert Silverman served as guest editors of the February 2013 issue of the Journal of Urban Affairs dedicated to Urban Education and Neighborhood Revitalization.

MS Alumnus Marcus White, vice president of Community Partnerships for the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, joined Milwaukee Public Television as host of Fourth Street Forum.

Doctoral graduate Mike Lorr‘s article “Defining Urban Sustainability in the Context of North American Cities,” was accepted for publication in Nature+Culture (Spring 2012). Dr. Lorr accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Sociology at Florida State College at Jacksonville.

Former MS student Jose Perez was elected 12th District Milwaukee alderman in April 2012.

MS alumnus Mark Rice was a Fellow in the inaugural class of the Wisconsin Political Leaders Fellowship,which is the flagship program of the Center for Progressive Leadership (CPL).

Doctoral Alumna Kimberly (Stephenson) Triplett published “Environmental Justice and Transportation: An Analysis of Public Involvement at Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.” Race, Gender & Class Journal, Vol 18, Number 3-4, 2011 (348-371), with Glenn S. Johnson.

2011

September-October 2011 – Urban Studies alumna, Dr. Phyllis Santacroce, will be part of a panel discussion on a new documentary that is part of the Milwaukee Film Festival, The Myth of Pruitt-Igoe, that is based on the St. Louis public housing complex that was demolished in the 1970s.

May 2011 – USP offers its congratulations to alumnus Dr. Steve Byers, Marquette University Assistant Professor of Journalism and faculty adviser to the Marquette Tribune. The paper just won an award from the Society for Professional Journalists for being the best non-daily student newspaper in the nation. This is no small feat, as there were more than 4000 entries.