USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development
Update in the State Capital
Volume 2, Issue #5
March-April 2010
Haitian Child in Sacramento Area
Noel VanDeViver, MPA 2009, is happy to
report that her son has arrived from Haiti
and is settling in. He loves his sunglasses!
Before he arrived, Noel and her husband
attended a dinner on Martin Luther King's
birthday at the home of Elisabeth Kersten,
clinical professor, where about 20 USC
faculty, staff and students were gathered to
share stories and ideas for how to engage
with relief efforts for Haiti. Noel told the
group about the orphanage that she was
working with to adopt her son Christopher. Ted Trzyna with InterEnvironment shared his knowledge about the
deforestation of the landscape in Haiti, and donations were collected and sent off to Partners in Health, the
organization founded by Paul Farmer, MD, and profiled in the Tracy Kidder book Mountains beyond
Mountains.
Alumna Named One of Top 25 Most Influential Black
Americans in Health Care
Mary Stutts earned her MHA degree at USC in Sacramento in 1997.
Mary is Senior Vice President at Elan Corporation, a research and
pharmaceutical company focusing on neurodegenerative and
autoimmune diseases. Having started out in public affairs television
programs, Mary made a career change into healthcare almost 20
years ago. She has served as Head of Corporate Relations at
Genentech and as Principal for her own MES Concepts consulting
firm prior to her work at Elan. She is the author of the soon-to-be-released The Missing Mentor: Women
Advising Women on Power, Progress and Priorities.
Callahan Lectures in Istanbul
Associate Dean and Director of the Center, Richard Callahan spent two weeks in January lecturing on leadership in
local government and developing leadership courses. Dr. Callahan spoke at a faculty conferences and seminars for
local government leaders in Turkey. He also directed faculty leadership workshops and helped to develop a
curriculum for two leadership courses at Aydin University in Istanbul. In addition, Dr. Callahan spoke to top
municipal management of the Union of Turkish Municipalities in two cities.
USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Partners with California
HealthCare Foundation Project
Emily Bazar, reporter for the California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health
Reporting is stationed at the USC State Capital Center in Sacramento. She will be
working with local reporters to develop health-related research and stories. Ms.
Bazar worked for USA Today prior to joining the Annenberg project. Before that,
she was a reporter for the Sacramento Bee for 9 years and is happy to be back in
Sacramento.
Alums Give Back – Share Valuable Insights
Affordable Housing - State, Federal,
Local and Private Sector
Melinda Coy, Division of Housing Policy
Development, CA Department of Housing
& Community Development; Danielle
Foster, Housing and Human Services
Superintendent, City of Davis; Mike
Kelley, Director of Acquisitions and
Development, Pacific Companies;
Kenneth Watkins, Community Planning & Development Representative, U.S.
Department of Housing & Urban Development.
Research and Analysis Careers
Dionne Evans-Dean, Project Coordinator, Cancer Screening Project, Center for Healthcare Policy and Research, UC
Davis, oversees activities relating to managing randomized control trials (RCT) which include performance site
training, patient recruitment and retention, and database management.
Ginni Bella, Senior Fiscal and Policy Analyst with the Legislative Analysts’
Office (LAO) in Sacramento, California where she specializes in social
services, adult programs, child
support, and labor policy. Vivian
Gerlach, Research Manager, Policy
and Program Development,
California Public Employees
Retirement System (CalPERS)
supervises six high-level subject
matter experts and two support
staff. Their subjects of expertise
relate to best practices of benefit administration.
Interview Workshop Helps Students Prepare
Mary Johnson, DPA, Principal of The Grace Group, presented a hands-on
interview workshop for interested students.
Career Conversation Includes Nonprofit, Federal and Policy
Devon Good, Director of the Community Partnerships at the Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center,
Beverly Miller, Deputy Director of Indian Health Service (Western Region) and Margaret Weston, Research
Associate with the Public Policy Institute of California, spoke to students about their career paths and their
work.
USC Alumni Club
Art Bartner, Director of the award-winning USC Trojan Marching band, was honored
at a reception in Sacramento hosted by the Sacramento Chapter of the Alumni Club.
Tomasa Duenas, current student, and Buzz Forward, alumnus, greeted Art at the
Center, prior to a scholarship fund-raising dinner. President Paul Danczyk announced
this successful fund-raiser will augment the USC Sacramento Scholarship fund. He
also announced some fun activities planned for the March and April. Please contact
Paul at [email protected] if you have questions.
Thursday, March 25, 2010--Beer sampling at Brew It Up, 801 14th Street,
Sacramento; rsvp not needed; 5:00-7:00 PM
Thursday, April 1, 2010--"Trojan Thursdays" happy hour; DeVeres, 1251 L Street, Sacramento; 5:00-7:00 PM;
Check the uscsac.com for updates!
Saturday, April 17, 2010--Capitol Tour; 3:00-5:00 PM; Families welcome; RSVP encouraged
at: https://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/SCA/events/event_order.cgi?tmpl=events&event=2246522
Saturday, April 24, 2010--Wine Tour; departure 10:15 AM; Roseville at 1825 Douglas Blvd (old Mervyn’s
parking lot); $45/person; Tour of Grass Valley Wineries; RSVP
at: https://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/SCA/events/event_order.cgi?tmpl=events&event=2246520
College Bowl to be held at the Center
The California Association of Healthcare Leaders (CAHL), a chapter of the American College of Healthcare
Executives (ACHE) is sponsoring a quiz-show type game between teams of students enrolled in health
administration programs in Northern California. Students from The University of San Francisco, California
State University, Chico, University of the Pacific, and University of Southern California will participate. The
School of Policy, Planning, and Development in Sacramento will host the competition this year on April 17th,
12:45 to 2:30pm. Come and root for your friends and colleagues! We are looking for some coaches to help our
MHA student prepare for this big event. Contact Virginia Kaser if you are interested. [email protected]
Guest Speakers Enrich Classes
PK Agarwal and Dan Haverty’s Professional Practice of Public Administration class enjoyed meeting and
learning from the following professionals:
Mr. Jay Allen, Communications Director for CalEMA
Mr. Eric Stern, Project Manager for The Little Hoover Commission
Ms. Tamar Foster, MPPA; Research Analyst, The Little Hoover Commission
Mr. Brian Silverthorn, Consultant, Success Services
Rich Callahan’s class was briefed by Dan Crowley, Chairman, President and Chief Executive office of
Dynamic Healthcare Solutions.
Upcoming Events to Calendar Now
ASPA Awards Dinner will be on Thursday, May 6, at the Embassy Suites.
USC Graduation Dinner, Friday, May 7, at the Sterling Hotel.
Graduation in Los Angeles, Friday, May 14th.
Career Corner
Meet alumni. Expand your network. Gain valuable insights and knowledge. Students, alumni and friends of
the Center are invited to RSVP to Virginia at [email protected]
Lunchtime Programs
The Bookends of Life: Early Childhood – Retirement (and Beyond) Thursday, March 11th,
12:30 – 1:30pm
Mental Health in California: Policies and Promises
Friday, March 12th, 12:30 – 1:30pm
The Healing Hospital
Friday, March 26th, 12:30 – 1:30pm
Healthcare Policy Update Thursday, April 22, 12:30 – 1:30pm
Workshops
Collective Bargaining from Both Sides of the Table with Winnie Lu Anderson: Thursday,
March 25th
Salary Negotiation workshop with Mary Johnson, DPA, HR Consultant extraordinaire. April
15th
Career Advising
For an individual career advising appointment, please contact Virginia Kaser at (916) 442-6911
ext. 26.
Students and alumni may view job postings on the website at
http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/careers/jobs/ You can search from your home or work
computer. Contact Lisa Luna, [email protected] for the ID and password.
We also send job announcements to interested students and alumni! Contact Virginia Kaser for
more information. [email protected]
Employers
Looking for an intern or a new hire? Send the job announcement or description to Virginia
Kaser [email protected]
Alumni and Student Updates
We want to receive your update!
John Armstrong, MPA 2007, has accepted the position as Senior Legislative Consultant at Kaiser Permanente.
[email protected]
Gigi Corpuz Baniqued, MHA 2004, has a new position at Kaiser: she is Nursing Project Manager, ensuring
compliance with regulations under the Patient Care Services umbrella and also leading development and
implementation of facility-wide initiatives on performance improvement at Kaiser Modesto.
Taryn Benson, MHA 2007, is now a Clinic Supervisor at Mercy Medical Group, Catholic Healthcare West.
Mark Higgins, MPA in progress, was recently hired by Assembly Member Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles) as
a Legislative Aide. Mike Davis represents USC’s neighborhood in LA.
Wm. Jahmal Miller, MHA 2003, has accepted the position of Manager for Government & Community
Relations within the Public Affairs Division of Kaiser Permanente's Central Valley Service Area.
Kyle Packham, MPA 2007, is the Legislative Director for the California Special Districts Association.
Bob Sands, MPA 1999, started a new job last November at the Department of Health Care Services as the Chief
of the Safety Net Financing Division. [email protected]
Katie Schnaser, MHA 2005, was promoted to the position of Administrator of Operational Support Services at
Cleveland Clinic. [email protected]
Please send your update to Virginia Kaser [email protected]
If you were sent this newsletter in error or would like to discontinue receiving this and other emails from the
Center please reply to the sender. Your updates are always welcome.