Class Notes
Howard Locke, MPA’78, retired as director of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Human Resources, Shared Service Center after 47 years of public service. His career included six years with the state of Indiana and 41 years with the Department of Defense.
Amy Kennedy-Reynolds, MPA’85, recently retired from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In addition to her distinguished career, her horse, Louie, was named the National Champion at the 2024 National Appaloosa Show in the Novice Non-Professional Western Pleasure class.
Deborah Anselm, BSPA’87, was featured in the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal for her dedication to community service and commitment to civic engagement. She currently serves as the executive director of the Iowa Newspaper Association, advocating for Iowa newspapers.
Kristen Doyle, BSPA’94, was named the new chief executive officer of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, beginning July 1.
The Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce announced Terrence Sweeney, MPA’97, as the new downtown development director for Main Street Warsaw.
Michael Roubitchek, BSPA’98, has been appointed to serve as deputy general counsel at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. He oversees the enforcement of the agency’s wastewater and drinking water statutes and regulations. Additionally, he serves as the president of the Chatham Area Public Library District in his spare time.
Sharon King, MPA’02, was named the new executive director for Louisville Parks and Recreation. She will oversee a department consisting of 123 parks, 14 community centers, and more than 13,000 acres of land across the city of Louisville. She has worked for the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District since 2005, most recently serving as assistant director.
Matthew Leach, BSPA’04, was hired by Iowa State University as the new head swimming and diving coach, after previously serving as the head coach at Washington State.
Michael Milligan, BSPA’08, is approaching the two-year anniversary of publishing his memoir Win or Go Home. Recently, his publisher offered a collaboration with a movie producer. They developed a pitch in hopes of securing an investment for a screenplay adaptation of his memoir.
Ruth Gabler-Schachermayr, MPA’11, is now head of alumni relations at the University of Vienna, one of the largest universities in Europe with 90,000 students and 10,000 graduates every year. Since her Fulbright years at IU, she has aimed to make a difference, first by leading fundraising efforts with Kiwanis International for Europe, and now back in the education sector. She feels privileged to use the knowledge and expertise acquired during her time at IU to create alumni relations, form bonds and connections, and build communities with a great team.
Simon Jeffrey, BSPA’11, is currently the program director at the Posse Foundation’s Chicago location, where he has held various roles during the past 11 years.
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce awarded Leslie Abshier, BSPA’10, Grad Cert’12, MPA’12, vice president of resource development at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington, with one of the Women Excel Bloomington 2024 awards.
Alexander Luboff, MPA’13, was named the deputy lead for product and training at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency School Safety Task Force.
Heather Farmer, MAAA’14, was featured in Bloom magazine for the opening of Bloomington Fine Art Supply, which offers a diverse selection of art supplies, tools, and classes designed to cultivate community and creativity among artists of all skill levels in Bloomington, Indiana.
Cory Martin, BSPA’13, Grad Cert’15, MPA’17, was honored at Association Forum’s 40 Under Forty.
Jacob Ihrie, BSPA’19, was honored by the Albion Town Council in May for his service as town manager. On May 7, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership announced his appointment as director of regional initiatives.
Colleen Rosales, Ph.D.’21, received a Rising Star Award from the Science Gateways Community Institute (NSF-Funded) in October 2023 for her work on increasing open data access for real-time and historical air quality data nationally and worldwide.
