Alumni Awards

About the Awards

Every year, the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration recognizes exceptional alumni who are changing the world through their work. Among our outstanding awardees are ambassadors, vice admirals and lieutenant commanders, nonprofit and business founders, government affairs experts, presidents of universities and much more. 

Outstanding Recent Alumni Award honors graduates within the past 10 years who are at the early stages of their careers and have already distinguished themselves while demonstrating the promise of even greater achievements in the future.

Distinguished Alumni Award honors graduates (more than 10 years post-graduation) who have made a lasting influence on society through outstanding professional, volunteer and/or philanthropic accomplishments.

Selection Criteria:
Candidates must have an MPA, MPP, ENRP or PhD degree (or their predecessor degrees) from the George Washington University. Accomplishments in the following areas will be considered:

• Professional Attainment and Achievement – Candidates should have attained prominence in their career or profession. Work should have a demonstrated and wide-ranging impact.
• Public Service/Outstanding Service to Field or Profession – Candidates should have demonstrated outstanding scholarship, teaching, and service in the fields of public policy and/or public administration or active and reflective engagement in local, national, and global governance.

2023 Award Winners

 

Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

Traci Kraus, MPA '14, is the Executive Director of Government Relations leading the US federal advocacy team at Cummins Inc. She focuses on energy, climate, hydrogen, transportation and budget legislative and regulatory issues. She also represents Cummins as a co-founder of the Hydrogen Forward coalition, Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council Policy and Advocacy Project Team and the Chair of the Truck and Engine Manufacturer’s Association Public Policy Committee. Traci serves on the Leadership Circle of the Ascend Fund, a bipartisan organization accelerating the pace of change toward gender parity in U.S. politics, and was a founding member of the Jewish Women International Young Women’s Impact Network. 

Distinguished Alumni Award

Terry Hartle, DPA '82, has been one of America’s most effective and experienced advocates for higher education for over 25 years. As senior vice president of ACE’s Government Relations and Public Affairs division from 1993 to 2023, Hartle directed comprehensive efforts to engage federal policymakers on a broad range of issues including student aid, government regulation, scientific research, and tax policy. He received the GW President’s Medal and the Hiram College Alumni Achievement Award, was inducted into Hiram College’s William H. Hollinger Athletic Hall of Fame, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 2021, Hartle and ACE’s Government Relations and Public Affairs team received the Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education Award from NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education in recognition of their public policy advocacy on behalf of the entire higher education community, particularly in response to the crisis the COVID-19 pandemic has posed for institutions and students.

Past Awardees Honored in Previous Twenty Years

Outstanding Recent Alumni Award

• Rachel Breslin, PhD '19 (2022)
• Lieutenant Commander Paul Miller, MPA '14 (2020)
• Commander Zeita Merchant, MPA '10 (2019)
• Dominique Harris, MPA '11 (2018)
• Kristen Easterday, MPA ‘07 (2017)
• Emily St. Martin Lord, MPA '08 (2016)
• Kara Ryan, MPP '07 (2015)
• Alex Lawson, MPP '08 (2014)

Distinguished Alumni Award

• Dr. Charita Castro, PhD '07
• Ambassador Susan Schwab, PhD '93
• Vice Admiral Scott Buschman, MPA '96
• Amy B. Peeples, MPA '91
• Dr. Mark Esper, PhD '08
• Jeff Marootian, MPA ‘03
• Dr. David J. Bernstein, MPA '83 and PhD '00
• Dr. Cynthia Pierre, PhD '06
• Dr. Jeffrey Levi, PhD '99
• Commander Timothy Cronin, MPA ’08
• Dale Didion, MPA ’83
• Christa Fornarotto, MPP ’05
• Dr. Nancy Potok, PhD ’09
• Michael Stinziano, MPA '04
• Frank DiGiammarrino, MPA '95
• Edwin Verburg
• Dr. Demetra Nightingale, PhD '98
• Alfredo Campo, MPA '86
• Allison Gurnitz, MPA '91
• Claudia Oakes, MPA '83
• Dr. Kathryn Mohrman, PhD '93
• RAdm. John M. McConnell, MPA '86
• Robert Efrus, MPA '82
• Kenneth Yellis, MPA '87
• Mary Beth Morgan, MPA '97
• Susan Brita, MPA '83
• Winnie Stachelberg, MPA '90
• Michael Freimuth, MPA '79
• Mark Duffy, MPA '82
• Nancy Tate, MPA '80
• Adm. Thad Allen, MPA '86
• John Berry, MPA '78
• Matthew Crouch, MPA '90
• Dr. Jay White, PhD '82
• Michelle Mrdeza, MPA '83
• Dr. Anne DeBeer, PhD '80
• William Haden, MPA '65
• Dr. Harry West III, PhD '73
• Christopher Smith, MPA '86
• Sec. Henry Cisneros, PhD '76
• Elizabeth Craig, MPA '83
• Gen. John Vessry Jr.
• Natalie Flores Prim, MPA '03
• Rep. Gilbert Gude
• Cpt. Patrick Stillman, MPA '88