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SPA Advisory Board

School Mission Statement

The School of Public Affairs lives the ASU Charter by preparing students and professionals for ethical, inclusive and effective public service; conducting cutting-edge research of public value; and engaging locally, nationally and internationally with the communities we serve. 

Membership

Kelly Leid headshot - fair-skinned man, smiling, white hair, navy blazer, blue collared shirt, jeans

CHAIR: Kelly Leid

Director, Lifestyle Operations of Oakwood Homes; Alumni Representative
MPA Advisory Board Member

With twenty-five years of broad-based, results-oriented leadership experience, Mr. Leid’s professional journey has included executive-level strategic planning, implementation and oversight of highly complex community development initiatives across a range of public, private and nonprofit organizations. Some examples include Empower Field at Mile High (Denver Broncos, 1998-2001), State Farm Stadium (Arizona Cardinals/Fiesta Bowl, 2001-02), Omar D. Blair School/Green Valley Ranch Shared Use Complex (2003-04), Evie Dennis Campus (2008-10) and the National Wester Center Campus (2013-17). Collectively these projects total in excess of $2 billion.

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The community-centered work, including 13 years as an executive director, has involved building and managing staffs small to large, establishing and executing budgets, organizing coalitions, guiding media and community relations, engaging, managing and serving on boards through the use of public/private partnerships. Collectively, these efforts have also involved partnering with state and local officials in concert with civic, business and local community leaders to successfully deliver desired outcomes for shared benefit.

Passionate about driving innovations in education, Mr. Leid’s experiences have also included leadership roles with a larger urban school district and two education non-profit foundations, each focused on leading community-centered K-12 educational initiatives and programming, operational management, innovative facility design and construction, strategic partnership development, along with direct, parent and community engagement activities in full collaboration with school district, business and city leadership.

Prior to rejoining Oakwood Homes in October 2017 as the vice president of community operations, Mr. Leid was honored to work for Mayor Michael B. Hancock as an appointee to lead, and in two cases, create new highly entrepreneurial organizations to fulfill key aspects of the mayor’s vision for the City of Denver, including Director of Development Services (2011-13), Founding Executive Director, North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative (2013-16) and Founding Executive Director, Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center (2016 -17).

Presently, Mr. Leid is the co-founder of the STEAD School, a science-based, agriculturally focused and student-led high school that is preparing the next generation of leaders to solve food, energy and natural resource issues. Mr. Leid is currently the board president of STEAD’s Building Corporation. Additionally, Mr. Leid serves as a board member of the National Western Center Authority. In 2022, Mr. Leid was honored to receive the Colorado Governor’s Growth & Innovation Award for his work, along with co-founder Amy Schwartz, on the STEAD School.

Mr. Leid received his Bachelor of Science in General Business from Arizona State University (1989), a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Denver (1991) and a Master's in Public Administration from Arizona State University (1995).

 


Mary Denigan-Macauley headshot - fair-skinned woman, smiling, brown hair, black dress, necklace and earrings with an American flag in the background

CHAIR-ELECT: Mary Denigan-Macauley

Director of Public Health in the Health Care team for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)

Mary Denigan-Macauley is a Director of Public Health in the Health Care team for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)—a nonpartisan and independent investigative arm of the U.S. Congress. She joined GAO in 2001, managing a diverse portfolio related to science and infectious zoonotic diseases. Her current work evaluates the effectiveness of federal programs to promote and ensure public health. Areas of focus under her leadership include leadership and coordination of public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, surveillance of infectious diseases and the medical response to disasters; biodefense; oversight of drug, biologic and device manufacturing and safety; antimicrobial resistance; and biosafety and security of select agents and other high-risk pathogens. Her work has resulted in numerous congressional reports, testimonies and legislation. It has also been highlighted in print and broadcast media, such as the Washington Post, NY Times and national TV stations. Before joining GAO, Mary Denigan-Macauley taught public policy for Sam Houston State University in Texas and Troy University in Japan. She was also a visiting professor at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs in Tbilisi, Georgia, to promote sound and ethical governance. She graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science, attained a Master of Science from the University of Arizona and earned a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Arizona State University.


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Michael Anderson

Assistant Vice President of Risk and Resilience, ASU

Michael J. Anderson has been named Arizona State University’s assistant vice president of Risk and Resilience. Anderson assumed his role in early January 2023 and reports to Nichol Luoma, vice president of University Business Services. Anderson will oversee operational, reputational and strategic risk areas across ASU to support physical security, emergency preparedness and risk management initiatives, among other duties.

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“Michael’s extensive experience in risk management, security and crisis response will be an incredible resource in his new role,” Luoma said. “University Business Services is delighted to welcome Michael to ASU in support of our students, faculty and staff and the Sun Devil community.”

Anderson comes to ASU from Arizona Public Service, where he was general manager for enterprise security. During his five-year APS career, Anderson was the critical infrastructure protection senior manager, overseeing the company’s performance in the Department of Energy’s COP compliance audits. Anderson also administered physical and cybersecurity operations, overhauled their Emergency Event Program and designed the Insider Threat Program that assessed physical, cyber and financial risks.

“My father had a very rewarding 25-year career in higher education in Minnesota, so I am thrilled to build upon that legacy in an innovative, inclusive and dynamic public service organization like ASU,” Anderson said. “I am very excited to channel my passion and professional experience in risk and security to foster and enhance ASU’s enterprise risk, physical security and emergency preparedness programs.”

Before APS, Anderson served as Special Agent in Charge at the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the Chicago and New Orleans divisions. During his 22-year FBI tenure, Anderson managed all national security, cyber, criminal and foreign counterintelligence investigations and operations for the fourth-largest field office in the U.S. He also implemented the FBI’s post-9/11 Threat Intelligence Program.

Anderson holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Iowa and a Juris Doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law. He is the board chair for the Phoenix Police Foundation and a member of the FBI Phoenix InfraGard, Carnegie Mellon Insider Threat Working Group and ASIS International.


Evelyn Casuga - medium-skinned woman, smiling, red hair, black shirt, black blazer, pearl necklace

Evelyn Casuga

Director of Community & Economic Prosperity, Center for the Future of Arizona

Evelyn is currently serving several roles in part-time employment and as a volunteer in the areas of economic and community development, education and civic engagement.

She is Director of Community & Economic Prosperity at the Center for the Future of Arizona and serves as a Governing Board member and chair for Central Arizona College where she previously worked for 5 years as community relations advisor in the President’s office. After 25 years, Evelyn retired in December 2014 as General Manager of Community Affairs at APS. Her area encompassed community relations, corporate contributions and volunteer programs, economic development and strategic partnerships. She served in numerous leadership roles during her tenure at APS including Southeast Arizona Division Manager with operations, maintenance, construction and community interface responsibilities.

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Her previous roles included nearly 10 years in municipal government serving as City Manager of Eloy, Town Manager of Marana and Asst. City Manager in Orange Cove, CA. She served nearly 5 years in the non-profit sector with a regional economic development group serving five West Valley communities and a community-based organization in central California.

Evelyn is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and serves on the Boards of Directors for Arizona Town Hall-immediate past chair, Arizona Capital Source, Filipino American National Historical Society-AZ Chapter and chair, Growth Partners Arizona-chair, Local First Arizona and Pinal Alliance for Economic Growth-past chair including its Achieve Pinal committee. She is an advisory committee member to Asian Corporate and Entrepreneur Leaders.

Evelyn is the recipient of the William Lampkin Long Term Excellence in Economic Development Award and the Economic Developer of the Year from the Arizona Association for Economic Development. She received a Profiles of Success Special Recognition Award from Valle del Sol in September 2016 and the Asian Pacific Community in Action Community Leader Award in 2015. She also received the Governing Board Award from Central Arizona College in Pinal County in 2013 and is an Honorary member of the Arizona City/County Management Association.

Evelyn received her Master's of City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley and her undergraduate degree in Community Studies/Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Evelyn and her husband, Jerry Stabley, reside in Casa Grande, Pinal County, Arizona.


Brandi Flores

Deputy Finance Director, City of Phoenix

Brandi serves as a Deputy Finance Director with the City of Phoenix where she oversees citywide risk management and accounts receivable including the receipt and analysis of over $1 billion in annual TPT revenue. She has demonstrated experience in budgeting, auditing, fiscal policy, & accounting. She holds a bachelor’s degree & MBA both with an emphasis in finance. Brandi is actively engaged in industry associations that provide guidance in the area of governmental finance and leadership including the Government Finance Officers Association of Arizona (GFOAz) and Arizona Women Leading Government (AZWLG). Notable roles include serving as the 2021 President of GFOAz and the 2021-2022 President of AZWLG. In her free time, Brandi enjoys reading and camping with her husband and five beautiful children.


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Mary Foote

Director, Greater Arizona Development Authority

Mary Foote is the Director of the Greater Arizona Development Authority where she oversees financing for public infrastructure statewide. Within the Arizona Finance Authority, Mary works to grow public financing for housing and other important initiatives. Mary is the former CEO of Pipeline AZ, a non-profit organization that supports statewide workforce development efforts through custom software solutions. 

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Prior to her time at Pipeline AZ, she also served as the Director of Industry Engagement for the Partnership for Economic Innovation, an organization focused on public-private partnerships to drive economic development for Arizona. She served as Senior Vice President for WAVTEQ, a Financial Times company, opening their US office in 2012. She led the company's tax incentives practice, supporting government offices globally. She spent five years with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, serving as Vice President of Strategy and Performance Management. 

She is a former Phoenix Business Journal 40 Under 40 and Founding Curator of The World Economic Forum's Global Shapers hub in Arizona. She currently serves on the Foundation for Non-Profits, assisting non-profit organizations with board management. She is also Chair of Valley Leadership's Jobs and Economy team, focused on increasing the number of "Fair Chance" employers in the state.

Mary is a proud alumna of the School of Public Affairs at ASU, where she received a master's degree in public administration.


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Andrew Gorgey

Founder, Columbia Ltd.

Andrew (Drew) Gorgey is one of the premiere executive recruiters in the United States. He founded Columbia Ltd, a well-regarded executive recruiting firm, in 2016, registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission as Columbia, Ltd. of Arizona, LLC. Recruiting actively in Arizona since 2017, Mr. Gorgey brings a local government executive recruiter’s perspective to the advisory board. His interests include the Marvin Andrews Fellowship and the Jane Morris Fellowship, among others.

Mr. Gorgey has served as a local government attorney, manager and recruiter for nearly 25 years. He holds an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Colorado, as well as a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.


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Jerry Hart

Retired

Jerry is a retiree currently serving on the board of Government Finance Officers Association of Arizona (15+ years) and the City of Tempe’s Risk Management Trust Board (5+ years). He is a native Arizonan who received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Arizona State University in 1985 and Arizona certified public accountant license in 1987. Jerry then received his Master's of Business Administration degree in Management from Western International University in 2005.

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Before retirement in early 2019, Jerry served in various finance roles at the City of Tempe ranging from Senior Accountant to Finance Director for 30+ years. He served in various management roles overseeing all finance functions including accounting, budgeting, procurement, risk management, sales tax administration and utility billing customer service. During his tenure, Jerry was responsible for effectively managing and guiding the city’s finances. Prior to working for Tempe, he worked approximately two years as an auditor for Peat Marwick Mitchell (now KPMG).

Since retirement, one of Jerry’s main interests is to find ways to expose and attract college students to the variety of rewarding, public service career opportunities that are available at the local, state and national level. Jerry and his family reside in Tempe, Arizona.


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Gabe Lavine

Director, Arizona Division of Emergency Management

Gabe Lavine serves as the director of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management, one of five divisions in the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. In this role, he manages the state’s emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation efforts, and supports county and tribal emergency managers.

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Gabe has more than 19 years of experience in emergency services and management, public safety-first response, military combat arms, reconnaissance, specialized operations, diplomatic security, intelligence, special weapons and tactics, incident management team leadership and recovery operations. His emergency management experience encompasses both the city and county levels, including serving in Arizona as the Cochise County Director of Emergency Management and Office of Emergency Services.

Most recently, Gabe worked in Texas as the Administrator of the Office of Emergency Management for the City of Sugar Land. In addition to a number of state and federal disaster declarations, his diverse experiences included serving on the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Regional Collaboration Committee, UASI Technology Work Group as Chair, Levee Improvement District Ambassador, the Texas All Hazards Incident Management Team Region 2 as Deputy Team Leader and on the Texas Disaster Recovery Task Force. Serving as incident commander, Lavine was also intimately involved with the Hurricane Ian response and recovery efforts as well as deploying in various team lead, section chief and liaison roles in support of other statewide incidents including the Uvalde Mass Casualty Incident, Houston Tornado Outbreak and San Jacinto County Fugitive Recovery efforts.

Lavine served in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) for nine years with domestic and international assignments as an infantry and reconnaissance officer, including multiple deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Additionally, he served as a civilian contractor with the Department of State’s High Threat Protection Detail assigned to the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan for more than 2 years. Prior to joining the USMC, he worked in a variety of public safety roles in Virginia.

Certified by the International Association of Emergency Managers, Lavine completed his undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech in Building Construction and earned an Undergraduate Certificate in Infrastructure Disaster Management from Texas A&M University. He also has completed three graduate programs at Walden University, earning a Master of Public Administration and Master of Science degrees in Criminal Justice Executive Leadership and Emergency Management.


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Judith Leonard

General Counsel, Emerita, Smithsonian Institution

Judith Leonard served as General Counsel of the Smithsonian Institution from 2009 – 2023, advising and representing the Board of Regents, the Secretary and management and leading the Office of the General Counsel. In that role, she coordinated and oversaw all legal matters for the institution, including issues of public and non-profit law. She also served as the Smithsonian Secretary’s designee to the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. Prior to the Smithsonian, she served as Vice President and General Counsel of the University of Arizona from 1998 to 2009 and as General Counsel of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Executive Office of the President from 1997 to 1998. Ms. Leonard was also an attorney for the U.S. Department of Education, an Assistant Attorney General in Arizona and an Associate University Counsel for the University of North Carolina.

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Recently as a Professor of Practice at the James E. Rogers College of Law of the University of Arizona, she taught Leadership in the Law and previously taught Higher Education Law in the Educational Leadership and Policy graduate program of the College of Education of the University of Arizona.

Ms. Leonard is an elected member of the American Law Institute, the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize and otherwise improve the law. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, having served on numerous committees and presented at conferences, and is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel. She currently serves as a trustee of the Southern Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing equitable education policies that elevate learning for low-income students and students of color in the southern states. From 2015-2019, Ms. Leonard served on the American Bar Association’s Legal Education Accreditation Committee, chairing its complaint committee. She is a member of the Board of Visitors for the University of Arizona College of Law where she received a Distinguished Honorary Alumna award (2009) and the 2021 Law College Association Award. She is also a member of the Arizona chapter of the International Women’s Forum. She served on the Women’s Advisory Board of the Girl Scouts of the Nation’s Capital from 2010-2022. Ms. Leonard received her master’s and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a graduate of Cornell University.


Jeremy Rodrigues - fair-skinned man, smiling, black hair and beard, blue collared shirt, navy suit

Jeremy Rodrigues

Senior Director of Enterprise Security, Excelerate Energy

Jeremy Rodrigues is the Senior Director of Enterprise Security at Excelerate Energy, a leader in the floating liquified natural gas (LNG) industry. In this role, he is responsible for the security of the company's global operations and assets. In addition to his work at Excelerate Energy, Jeremy serves as a faculty associate at Arizona State University's School of Public Affairs, where he teaches courses in homeland security studies.

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Jeremy has a wealth of experience in the corporate security field, having previously served as the head of global security services in the Americas at Pratt & Whitney, a business unit of Raytheon Technologies. He also led the successful creation of the global security operations center while at The Boeing Company. Prior to these roles, Jeremy worked as a foreign affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, as a project manager at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and as a border patrol agent. He is a retired U.S. Coast Guard Reserve officer and a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Jeremy holds several professional accreditations, including the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) from ASIS International, which is recognized as the gold standard for global security executives. Jeremy serves on the advisory council for Hostage US, a 501c3 organization that ensures American hostages, wrongful detainees and their families get the support and guidance they need to survive the challenge of a kidnapping. He is also a member of the International Security Management Association (ISMA) and the World Affairs Council of Houston.

In addition to his extensive professional experience, Jeremy holds a Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management from Arizona State University's Thunderbird School of Global Management, as well as a Master of Science in Homeland Security and a Bachelor of Arts in International Security & Conflict Resolution from San Diego State University. He is a graduate of the ISMA Senior Executive Leadership Program at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Jeremy lives in The Woodlands, Texas with his wife Marcela and their three children.


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Rick Shangraw

President, Cintana Education

Dr. Shangraw has spent most of his career scaling organizations while at the same time improving the quality of organizational outcomes. Currently, he serves as president of Cintana Education. Cintana Education is Arizona State University’s global implementation partner. He is the executive sponsor for partnerships in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and India. He also oversees Cintana’s professional services teams. From November 2021 to May 2023, he also served as the founding president of American University Kyiv.

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Prior to Cintana, he spent 15 years as a senior executive at Arizona State University. From 2016 to 2019, Dr. Shangraw served as the founding chief executive officer of ASU Enterprise Partners, which is the resource raising arm of Arizona State University. ASU Enterprise Partners include five subsidiaries securing resources for ASU through philanthropy, real estate, technology transfer, applied research and spin-off incubation. He became CEO of the ASU Foundation for a New American University in 2011 and directed its expansion and transformation into ASU Enterprise Partners. During his nine-year tenure at ASU Enterprise Partners and the ASU Foundation, he oversaw the growth of their combined assets from $500 million to $1.5 billion. The organization also generated more than $900 million in new gifts and commitments, earned Charity Navigator’s coveted four-star rating for eight years of his tenure and received recognition for its commitment to transparency by GuideStar USA.

Dr. Shangraw previously served as senior vice president for research and innovation at ASU, establishing ASU as one of the fastest-growing research enterprises in the U.S. Under his leadership, nearly 5,000 distinct research projects were awarded over $1.2 billion in funding. Prior to his tenure at ASU, Dr. Shangraw was the founder and CEO of Project Performance Corporation, a Washington, D.C.-based research and technology consulting firm specializing in environmental, energy and information management challenges. He advised the U.S. Departments of Defense, Transportation, and Energy, as well as Fortune 100 companies.

Dr. Shangraw started his career as a tenure-track faculty member at Syracuse University. Dr. Shangraw has a bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in political science and a certificate in environmental studies from Dickinson College; a master’s degree in public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University; and a doctorate in public administration from the Maxwell School, with a specialization in technology and information policy and organization design.


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Craig Sullivan

Executive Director, County Supervisors Association of Arizona

Craig Sullivan has served as the Executive Director of the County Supervisors Association (CSA) since 2005. CSA is a non-partisan collaboration of Arizona’s 15 counties, with a mission to conduct research and policy work that supports decision-making at the county, state and federal levels. To this end, CSA promotes improved government operations and public services.

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At CSA, Craig leads an outstanding team of policy professionals who serve county officials, and he directs CSA’s strategic initiatives and intergovernmental engagement. His expertise spans various policy areas, including public finance, infrastructure, community development, human resources and public pensions. He also represents Arizona’s county governments on multiple legislative task forces and study committees. Currently, he serves on Governor Hobbs’ Water Policy Council and on the advisory committee to the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System.

Before joining CSA, Craig worked in two state agencies, the departments of commerce and water resources, and served on the staff of Governor Fife Symington.

Craig is a veteran of the United States Navy. He holds a B.A. in economics from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government.