The Executive Board

*President- Samantha Davis*

Samantha Paige Davis, President of SPA Graduate Council, is a second year MPP student concentrating in Social Policy. A Pittsburgh native, she completed undergrad Magna Cum Laude, with a Bachelor in Business Administration. In her first year she served as the Chair for Community Service, planning and implementing countless community services opportunities, fundraisers and social events for the American University graduate students and the DC metropolitan constituents.

Currently, she works in the field department of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, an organization who advocates for greater involvement of grantmakers in marginalized communities.  Samantha also established and oversees the “Windows of Hope” broken window’s project in her hometown; a project that works with the community and their youth to transform abandoned and condemned buildings in low-income communities into pieces of artwork.

As your president; Samantha promises to create a stronger community between SPA-ers, the American University as a whole and the DC community.  By doing so she pledges to continue to bring opportunities for you to serve, socialize, network and develop professionally throughout 2012.

*Vice President- Keith R. Towery*

Keith Raphael Towery is from Los Angeles, CA. He is a second year criminal justice policy major. He attended Cal State University Los Angeles and majored in Communications. In college he was a part of the Speech Forensic and Debate team and served in the United States Marine Corps with one tour in Iraq.

As your Vice President he promises to be an active voice on your executive board (E-board), helpful and a consulting voice in our various committees, and with our representatives and faculty/ staff matters. As your Vice President; Keith is adamant about creating accontablity measures in our student government and expanding our connections with other graduate programs in the area including our law school and increasing our role in the Graduate Policy Administration Community (GPAC). “We are in DC, why not seize this opportunity to increase our networks!”  While serving as MPP rep, he was afforded the opportunity to learn student & administration issues, and student government issues and he plans to continue to be the student’s advocate.

*Director of Finance- Dominque Green*

Dominique is from Charleston, South Carolina.  She is currently a Masters of Public Policy candidate (2012), concentrating in international development and advanced policy analysis.  She completed her undergraduate studies at the College of Charleston in SC and majored in Economics and International Business.  After undergrad, she interned for United Way, the SC World Trade Center and the State Department.  Before coming to DC, she dedicated a year to service as an AmeriCorps member.  There, she started mentoring programs for underprivileged children.

She has awesome friends and enjoys getting to know people, practicing French, and learning something new each day.  She is looking forward to getting to know her classmates even better as the Director of Finance for the SPA Graduate Student Council.

*Director of Communication- Kevin Olp*

Kevin Olp is a second year MPP student concentrating in environmental policy. He is originally from Montana where he received undergraduate degrees in Political Science and International Relations from Carroll College. He is an avid bicyclist, and enjoys hiking, camping, hunting and anything related to politics/policy.

Kevin first became interested in public policy through competing in competitive college debate. This interest led him to become involved in state politics where he volunteered for Senator Jon Tester’s Senate election campaign, and later led a student-based environmental group in the legislature. He has built on these experiences working for the government and environmental nonprofits. After graduating, he interned for the Senate Finance Committee and was later employed by the Montana Conservation Voters as a community organizer. Upon moving to Washington D.C., Kevin worked as a Project Associate for the American Farmland Trust. He currently is employed as a Program Analyst for the EPA through the Student Career Experience Program.

As Director of Communications Kevin will work to simplify channels of communication, cutting down on the deluge of messages on the list serve. He will also work to consolidate notices and other useful information to make important information easier to find, and expand social networking to provide more outlets to stay informed so that they can find opportunities to get involved with in the school and with student government activities.

*Parliamentarian- Re’Neesha Thomas*

Re’Neesha Thomas is a second year Master of Public Policy candidate concentrating in Social Policy. Her interests include social welfare, social justice, and mental health care reform. She is also an active member of the School of Public Affairs Community Service Committee, and a volunteer at the Offender Aid and Restoration Organization.

Born and raised on the island of St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, Re’Neesha graduated Cum Laude from the University of the Virgin Islands with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science with an applied concentration in Political Science. While there she served as the Public Relations Officer to the Senior Class of 2010, Student Representative on the Human Resources Director Search Committee, and Student Representative to the Model United Nations Conference. She was also an active member of the University of the Virgin Island’s Roteract Club, local chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society, and the Psychology Student’s Association.

Currently, Re’Neesha works as a Project Assistant to the Global Health Technical Assistance Project at the QED Group, LLC. Prior to joining the QED Group, she served as an Education & Training Programs Intern at the AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth, and Families, a Graduate Student Intern at the Office of Congresswoman Donna Christian-Christensen (D-VI), and as a Student Intern at the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.

*Editor in Chief, Public Purpose- Kimberly Meyers*

Kimberly Meyer is presently a second-year Master of Public Administration candidate concentrating in management and policy. Her research interests include Constitutional law, African affairs and development, and grassroots social justice movements.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kimberly graduated magna cum laude from Cardinal Stritch University in 2008 with a degree in broad field social studies and secondary education.  Prior to moving to the D.C. area, she taught American Government to high school students and conducted research on peaceful social justice movements during South African apartheid.  This research earned her the Outstanding Paper Award for a presentation at the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies conference in April 2009.

Currently, Kimberly works as a graduate assistant to Dr. Robert Johnson in the Justice, Law, and Society department at AU and for Midwest Model United Nations, a Missouri organization that conducts an annual simulation for undergraduate students.  She is also editing a conversational anthology entitled Poetic Justice: Conversations about Life and Death in Prison, which is slated for publication in Fall of 2011.

While on the SPA Grad Council this year, she looks forward to utilizing this writing and editing experience in producing an expanded tenth edition of The Public Purpose: An Interdisciplinary Journal in 2012. She aims to get more first-year students involved in journal production and also to expand its readership beyond the AU community, benefitting both the individual authors and SPA as a whole.