Alumni
Keeping in Touch
Our graduate and undergraduate political science and legal studies programs give students the foundation to excel in public, private, and non-profit sectors. As a UMass alum, you are automatically part of the UMass Alumni Association. Visit their website for alumni events, career resources, mentoring programs, and more.
Join our group on LinkedIn to reconnect with classmates, network with political science and legal studies alums, and offer guidance to current students.
We would also love to hear from you personally. Just drop us a line and let us know what you have been up to since your days on campus!
Class Notes (updated Spring 2012)
Political Science and Legal Studies alums: We'd love to hear from you! Please submit an Alumni Update Form and let us know what you are up to!
2010s
Thomas Messer '10 was recently deployed to Afghanistan, attached to a Provincial Reconstruction Team as a Infantry Platoon Leader.
Marc Perrone-Rinaldi '10 has recently started a job as a Personal Banker at Citizens Financial Group and has started his Law school applications.
Liana Steir '11 Started working at a non-profit literacy organization, First Book. Steir worked in two other internships prior to this, and is pleased to continue to work in non-profit groups.
Dan Gigliotti '11 is working for the Office of Cultural Development in Pittsfield, MA, building and managing a new website for tourists and residents.
Samantha Schnoerr '11 has received the prestigious Peggy Browning Fellowship for public interest labor law.
Jonathan Tabb '11 is working as the Manager at the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council in Washington,DC. He is also completing an MA in Security Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service focusing on National Security Policy and has a forthcoming article on the IRA and the Good Friday Agreement in a publication by RAND.
2000s
Paul S. Adams '08, Assistant Professor of Political Science, was awarded the Distingusihed Teaching Award for 2010-2011 at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. He is currently the faculty advisor of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society, and the President-Elect of the chapter of Phi Kappa Phi at UPG. He also serves as the Vice President of the UPG Faculty Senate. Dr. Adams is an Affiliated Faculty and Member of the Regional Advisory Board for the European Union Center of Excellence and Center for European Studies at the University of Pittsburgh (Main Campus) in Pittsburgh, PA.
Andrew Armstrong '01 is Bravo Company Commander for the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, USMC.
Nathan Barksdale '08 is finishing his law degree at UCLA. He is scheduled to graduate May 2011.
Asher Berman '06 is a graduate student at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and studying in Amman, Jordan as part of a Boren Fellowship. Berman was in Egypt during the recent revolution, and is developing a comic on the experience.
Kevin Capetanelis '07 is pursuing a joint JD and LLM degree at University of New Hampshire School of Law.
Sara Crossman '10 has been working at a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) for the past 6 months reviewing information for export control and compliance
Jen Cormier '02 will graduate from Georgetown Law in May. While studying in D.C., she has interned for the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Children's Defense Fund, and the D.C. Public Defender's Office. Jen will move to Boston after graduation to practice labor and employment law with Ropes & Gray.
Linda Forman '07 is a policy advisor for Congressman Chris Murphy (D-CT) and recently announced her engagement to Linson Naval '03 (political science).
James Gabello '05 recently graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and is currently working as a housing attorney with Neighborhood Legal Services in Pittsburgh, PA.
Andrés González '05 is the Supervisor and Pedagogical Coordinator of one of Brazil's most sucessful English Language schools in São Paulo. In the future, he would like to return to the US and work with international students.
Melissa James '10 is an AmeriCorp member and working to provide housing and immigration legal services to low income people through the MA Legal Assistance Self Sufficency Program.
Peter Kelly-Joseph '07 graduated from Tufts with a master's in environmental policy and planning. He is currently working as a pollution control specialist at Tufts.
Dan Koffman '07 graduated from University of Southern California Gould School of Law and was named General Counsel for Scudder Bay Capital in Waltham, MA.
Jessica LaCroix Hall '01 is currently working as a Criminal Analyst at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety, and has been there for 11 years.
Roger Lau '00 is currently working as the Deputy State Director in the Office of US Senator John Kerry. Prior to this position, Lau worked as Campaign Manager for Richard Neal, Mike Capuano, Nick Tsongas, and John Kerry; he was the State Director for Hillary Clinton for President and the District Director for Congressman Marty Meehan.
Joanna Lee '00 is currently working at Cambridge Associates, an investment consulting firm in Singapore.
Michelle-Kim Lee '03, was selected for inclusion in 2011 New England Rising Stars in the areas of Employment Litigation Defense and Employment & Labor Law. This recognition is published in the 2011 issue of Massachusetts Super Lawyers – Rising Stars Edition and includes only 2.5% of Massachusetts lawyers. Each year, Massachusetts lawyers are asked to nominate the best up-and-coming attorneys whom they have personally observed “in action.” Massachusetts Rising Stars are then evaluated and selected based on twelve indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement.
Stephanie Marchese '10 is working as a Legislative Policy Analyst at the NJ Hospital Association, which is a not-for-profit trade organization committed to helping NJ hospitals and health systems provide quality, accessible, and affordable care to their communities.
Chris Marcoux '08 has accepted a tenure-track position as assistant professor of political science at DePauw University. He will start Fall 2012.
Tricia McCabe '06 graduated from Western New England Law School in 2009. She was admitted to the MA Bar in December 2009, and the CT Bar in April 2010. She is currently an associate attorney with Lyon & Fitzpatrick LLP in Holyoke, MA.
Jason McGrath '07 recently completed a Masters Degree in Public Administration at Suffolk University and has been appointed as a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C.
Patrick Meaney '09 is working as a Consultant in The Hartford's Complex Claims Group. He handles claims involving asbestos, environmental, construction defect and other toxic tort exposures.
Michaella Morzuch '03 received a Master's of Public Policy at UMass Amherst in 2008 and has been working as a Health Research Analyst at Mathematica Policy Research in Cambridge, MA. She has worked on an evaluation of a payment system for rural hospitals, of state grantee efforts to build a coordinated system of services for children with autism, and of health infrastructure capacity building in the Mississippi Delta.
Brian Palmucci '00 is a 2004 graduate of New England School of Law and is currently serving as a member of the Quincy, MA City Council and as chair of the city council's Public Safety Committee.
Pavel Payano '06 was unanimously appointed to the Lawrence, MA School Committee.
Luke Perry '07 has accepted a position as Associate Professor of Government at Utica College, New York. He will be a Fulbright Scholar in Vilnius University in Lithuania in Spring 2012.
Taara Ramgarajan '07 is serving as special assistant to US Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice. Prior to this position, Taara worked for President Obama in the White House as an Associate Director of Management and Administration.
Michael Sances '06 is in his third year of a PhD program in political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He expects to graduate May 2013.
Robert Shepherd '07 graduated from Quinnipiac University with a dual JD (magna cum laude) and MBA. He has been inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, and has recently published Illegitimacy, Inefficiency, and Disrespect: A Call for Reforming the Causes of Action for Misuse of Legal Process. In June 2011, he passed the MA and CT bar exams.
Elizabeth Sweeney '08 graduated from Western New England University School of Law in May 2011 and passed the MA Bar Exam in July 2011. She is currently working with criminal defense firms in Massachusetts.
Kirsten Swenson '10 works for for Schwartz MSL, a communications firm in Waltham, Mass.
Peter Trovato '05 is founder of the Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund, a non-profit organization that offers educational assistance grants to the children of fallen soldiers from Massachusetts. He was a receipient of a 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award from UMass Amherst
Jaime Zagami '08 is Operations Associate at American Corporate Partners in NYC. The organization parterns post-9/11 veterans with business leaders in some of America's top corporations. Jaime is in charge of all New England memberships.
1990s
David Narkewicz '90 was elected Mayor of Northampton, MA after having served as acting mayor.
David Bodah '94 recently received his Certified Fundraising Executive CFRE certificate (2009) and is currently Senior Director of Development for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Providence, RI.
Bart Gobeil '94 was just named Chief Operating Officer of the state of Georgia by Governor Deal.
Lara Herscovitch '91 has released a new CD, "Four Wise Monkeys." Her policy and social worker background, is often reflected in her music.
Janet (Rubinstein) Keller '91 was recently installed as the Brandeis Association Corresponding Secretary. She was also awarded a Division Chief Award for superior legal accomplishment at the New York City Law Department where she currently serves as Senior Counsel.
Krista Kellogg '96 was recently named Chair-Elect of National Psoriasis Foundation Board of Trustees. She also serves as a Guest Blogger on WebMD (October 2011).
Eric Morrell '94 has been practicing law at his own New Brunswick, NJ firm for more than a decade. His private practice specializes in criminal law and serves the entire state of NJ -- and they recently welcomed another UMass alum as a paralegal! Eric is married to fellow UMass alum Kim Nathan. The two have two children, a 5 year old son and a 1 and a half year old daughter.
Lisa O'Brien '90 is happily ensconced in motherhood after a career in public affairs spanning the executive branch (President George H. W. Bush) and state government (Governor William F. Weld, Governor George E. Pataki), directing communications for a national charter school management organization, and founding the New York Charter Schools Association. Lisa and her husband Daniel have six great children, and she is training to teach hot warrior yoga.
Mindy Peden '97 is an Associate Professor of Political Science at John Carroll University. Since 2009, she has also been serving as Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Dan Rivera '96 is an At Large City Councilor in the City of Lawrence, MA and Chairman of the Budget & Finance Committee.
Kerry Terrel '97 is Director of MBA admissions for the full-time MBA program at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business.
1980s
Beverly (Prescott) Cannone '82 has been a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services for 24 years. During her tenure, she has been honored to recieve the Mass Bar Association's Access to Justice Defender of the Year award and the CPCS Duggan award and was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, where she is currently a fellow. In 2009, Gov. Deval Patrick appointed her to the Quincy District Court.
Linda Chen '88G is professor of political science at Indiana University South Bend. She has recently moved into academic administration and is also Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Thomas Flayhan '89 is regional manager for Triumph Motorcycles (America).
Larry Kocot '82 is deputy director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform and a visiting fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He was a 2011 recipient of a UMass Distinguished Alumni Award.
William Martel '81 has published Victory in War: Foundations of Modern Strategy (Cambridge University Press) which explores the development of a theoretical narrative or language of victory to help scholars and policymakers define carefully and precisely what they mean by victory in war.
Barnaby Page '89 received his Juris Doctor in May 2011 from the Charleston School of Law.
Mark Papirio '81 has practiced child welfare law at the trial and appellate levels for the past twenty years. Recently he argued successfully before the MA Supreme Judicial Court.
Klyde Seigfriedt '80 is president of the Washington DC UMass Alumni Association.
1970s
Peter Chisholm '72 is Director of Government Relations at Framingham State University and senior associate with the Victory Group.
Robert Colosi '71 has retired after 20 years on the Maricopa County Superior Court bench in Phoenix, Arizona. He now works part time as a pro tem Judge for the Phoenix & Mesa Municipal Courts. He lives with his significant other in Phoenix and enjoys,traveling, gardening, trying new and different experiences, including being lazy. "Retirement is 'highly underrated,'" he says.
C. Vernon Gray '71 is an Administrator of the Office of Human Rights in Howard County, Maryland. He is also a retired Professor of Political Science in Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Robert A. Hall '72 is a former Marine and Vietnam Veteran. He served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate, and has worked since 1982 in a sucessful nonprofit. He has also just released a new book, The Coming Collapse of the American Republic: And what you can do to prevent it, his fourth book.
Russell Finer '73 is Executive Director of Congregation Beth Ahabah in Richmond, VA
Joel Fox '71 has worked for over 30 years on multiple issues in California, including being in multiple advisory positions and leadership roles in different campaigns, such as Governor Schwarzenegger's campaign in 2003, as well as McCain's Presidential run in 2000. He currently is an advocate for small businesses, and has published a book, Lincoln's Hand, all while being an Adjunct Professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.
Robert Moro '73, a former president of DSS Social Worker's Union and Northbridge Teachers Association and 38-year social worker, is set to retire from Ashland Public Schools. He is additionally working as a Court Investigator for the Worcester County Juvenile Court.
Janet St. Laurent '77 is a managing director of the Government Accountability Office's defense capabilities and management team. She investigates, reports and testifies on defense spending on behalf of Congress. She is a finalist for a Sammy Award (Service to America Medal).
1960s
Robert Malloy '69 is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Resourcesforhistoryteachers.wikispaces.com, a history/political science wikispace edited by Malloy at won a 2010 WEBBIE award from the Massachusetts Computer Using Educators organization.
1940s
Samuel Glass '48 returned to campus in December to re-enact a game of ping pong in the Lewis Hall basement. Sam and classmate Sidney Topol were playing ping pong on Dec. 7, 1941 when they heard FDR declare war on Japan.
