We are proud to recognize our O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs graduates who have distinguished themselves in their careers and who serve as accomplished role models for today’s O’Neill students and the greater community.
We honor our outstanding alumni
Our 2025 Alumni Award honorees

Early Impact Award
Rishard Allen, BSAM’17
Rishard Allen is an emerging philanthropic professional, creative consultant, and curator whose leadership practice is deeply focused on promoting, protecting, and preserving culture—particularly culture at risk of erasure, censure, and appropriation. He currently serves as the grants and community manager at the Pop Culture Collaborative, where he spearheads an innovative grantmaking strategy that harnesses the influential power of popular culture to reshape narratives about marginalized communities and work toward a more just and pluralist future. Rishard holds a B.S. in Arts Management from the O’Neill School and an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Distinguished Alumni Award
Terry Babcock-Lumish, MPA’99
Terry Babcock-Lumish is the sixth—and first female—executive secretary of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Before leading Truman, she founded and led Islay for 15 years, providing strategic guidance for philanthropic foundations and other mission-driven organizations across six continents. Over the last 30 years, Dr. Babcock-Lumish has served in local, state, and federal government for both Democratic and Republican administrations, and as a researcher for two books by former Vice President Al Gore. From 1999 to 2001, she was a Presidential Management Fellow at the Treasury Department and in the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. She completed her B.S. at Carnegie Mellon University, MPA as a Lilly Fellow at the O’Neill School, and D.Phil. at the University of Oxford.
Nominate an alum
Undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral alumni are eligible for this award—the most honorable alumni distinction bestowed by the O’Neill School. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis. Award winners are annually selected in early spring.
Honorees since 1982
Name | Degree | Year Received |
Mark Elwood | BSPA'87 | 2024 |
Melina Kennedy | MSES'95 | 2024 |
Jason D. Dudich | BSPA'01 | 2023 |
Deanna Oware | MPA'00 | 2023 |
Andrew Recinos | MAAA'95 | 2022 |
Christina Mendoza | BSPA'00 | 2022 |
Claudia Cummings | MPA'94 | 2021 |
Ami Tully Lotka | BSPA'82 | 2021 |
Amy Kennedy-Reynolds | MPA'85 | 2020 |
Chris Lowery | BSPA'84 | 2020 |
Srikant K. Sastry | MPA'88 | 2019 |
Trevor L. Brown | PhD'99 | 2018 |
Steven M. Eller | BSPA'84 | 2018 |
Vicki Allums | MPA'86 | 2017 |
Mathew Gentile | BSPA'95 | 2017 |
Amy Rogge-Mack | MPA/MSES'93 | 2016 |
Edward Jacobs | BSPA'79 | 2016 |
Michelle Boone | MPA'98 | 2015 |
Matt Ewer | BSPA'00 | 2015 |
John R. Fernandez | BSPA'85/MPA'89/JD'92 | 2014 |
Jayma M. Meyer | BSPA'75 | 2014 |
Bernard "Bernie" R. Toon II | MPA'81 | 2013 |
Brian G. Clarke | BSPA'83 | 2013 |
Duane Embree | MPA'91 | 2012 |
George F. Schmidt | MPA'75 | 2011 |
Thomas E. Byers | MPA'76 | 2010 |
Dick W. Bowman | MPA'77 | 2009 |
Jim M. Anderson | MPA'92 | 2008 |
Gretchen K. Gutman | BA'86/MPA'87/JD'97 | 2008 |
Brenda C. Smith | MPA'86 | 2008 |
Pamela Brookshire | MPA'96 | 2007 |
Tavis E. Smiley | BSPA'03 | 2007 |
Gregory Meszaros | MPA'86 | 2006 |
Kathryn Sexton Schmoll | BSPA'75 | 2006 |
Andrew Downs | MPA'93 | 2005 |
Jeff F. Richardson | BA'73/JD'77/MPA'81 | 2005 |
Jay Benforado | MSES'80 | 2004 |
Ronald Buskirk | MPA'99 | 2004 |
Daniel Avery | MPA'91 | 2003 |
Nina Harding | MPA/JD'82 | 2003 |
Marie C. Johns | BSMS'79/MPA'82 | 2003 |
R. Edward Ingle | MPA'85 | 2002 |
Mark Royse | MPA'86 | 2002 |
Karen Goldner | MPA'89 | 2001 |
Donna R. McLean | MPA'89 | 2001 |
Jesse F. Devitte | BSPA'80 | 2000 |
Nancy Louraine | MPA'89 | 2000 |
Bruce Hamilton | MPA'85 | 1999 |
Joe E. Loftus | MPA'79/JD'83 | 1999 |
Ann Fumarolo | MPA'86 | 1998 |
Heidi J. Voorhees | MPA'82 | 1998 |
Linda L. Buskirk | MPA'94 | 1997 |
Martin L. Gersey | MPA'90 | 1997 |
Glenn E. Montgomery Jr. | MSES'77 | 1997 |
Michael H. Zunk | MPA'96 | 1997 |
Eric A. Myers | MPA'82 | 1996 |
Jeanette "Jenny" S. Perkins | MPA'85 | 1996 |
Kenneth G. Stella | MHA'74 | 1996 |
Thomas M. Bartholomy | MPA'86 | 1995 |
Raymond E. Gnat | MPA'81 | 1995 |
Jane Roberts Perez | MPA'76 | 1995 |
Cheryl G. Sullivan | MSES'86 | 1995 |
Richard T. Brown | MPA'82 | 1994 |
Fredus Nelson Peters | BSPA'82/MPA'89 | 1994 |
Charles T. Hurley Jr. | BSPA'78 | 1993 |
Talmadge Neil Moore | MPA'86 | 1993 |
Jacqueline Agee | MPA'87 | 1992 |
Stephen J. Bardoczi | MPA'88 | 1992 |
Lyn Leone | MPA'82 | 1992 |
John Blower | MPA'85 | 1991 |
Gerald Hanas | MPA'77 | 1991 |
James P. Perron | BSPA'83 | 1988 |
Walton R. Collins | MPA'76 | 1987 |
Charlotte Pfeifer | MPA'81 | 1985 |
David R. Sage | MPA'77 | 1984 |
Thomas M. Becker | MPA'79 | 1983 |
Roland B. Smith Jr. | MPA'76/Doctoral'88 | 1982 |