Executive to ExecutiveThe Alumni Newsletter for the Key Executive Leadership Programs

Fall 2012

The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress. – Joseph Joubert

Greetings!

There are many exciting events we would like to share with you. First among these is the continued growth of our certificate programs.

This summer, we ran our first international program with the senior leadership of Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment. The cohort of 22 officials stayed on AU’s campus for two weeks at the beginning of August for training on “Leadership and Economic Policy Planning during Crises Times”. The group was very pleased with their training and has expressed interest in sending another group next year.

Outside of international programs, we will be running new development pro-grams with DOD, OPM, HUD, DOI, and EPA. These programs vary from SES candidate development programs to training for potential future leaders not yet managing staff. In addition to new programs, our standard 18 cohorts in the MPA, Open Enrollment, Senior Program Manager, and OIG remain strong.

Finally, as I mentioned in my last message, we started a new certificate program solely for members of the SES with SSA. The program is based out of Baltimore, and has gone well. We are looking forward to working with SSA more in the future.

It was good seeing those of you who were able to attend our Leadership Forum on October 10. As always it was a suc-cessful event, sparking interesting and engaging conversations. I highly encourage you to join us at our next forum and to come by and see all of the great improvements that have been made to provide the best academic programs possible for future leaders like you.

As always, I encourage you to send students who desire to begin the path of extraordinary leadership. Over seventy percent of our students come from recommendations of Key graduates. Our best ambassadors are our alumni and their ability to share their personal success in our program. I depend on your help to sustain our programs.

I continue to work with Key faculty, alumni, staff, and students to ensure that we maintain our tradition of providing a learning environment where students make the choice to excel. I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming Key event.

Message from the Director

Visit us at: american.edu/spa/key

Key Announces 2012 Recipients of Donald G. Zauderer and Anita F. Alpern Scholarships

The Key Executive Leadership Programs are pleased to announce the 2012 recipients of the Anita F. Alpern and the Donald G. Zauderer scholarships, Lourdes Cuevas and Aisha Heath. Both scholarships are endowed through the generosity of Key Executive Leadership Programs Alumni and Friends of Key.

Lourdes Cuevas is the 2012 recipient of the Donald G. Zauderer Scholarship, and a member of the AU/Key Maritime MPA Cohort 1. Lourdes serves as Vice-Consul at the Embassy of Panama. As Dr. Ruth Zaplin aptly described Lourdes in her recommendation, “Her drive and enthusiasm to be of service to her country coupled with her demon-strated ability to lead and her

resolve to further develop as a leader, I believe, makes her an outstanding candidate.”

Aisha Heath is the 2012 re-cipient of the Anita F. Alpern Scholarship, and is a member of Key MPA Cohort 42. She currently serves as the Direc-tor of Development for the Hydrocephalus Association. Aisha helped launch the Chronic Illness Foundation of America (CIFA) and cur-rently serves on the Board of Directors as Vice President.

Both students will be honored at the Key Alumni Dinner before the prestigious Roger Jones Awards Ceremony in October. Please join Key in congratu-lating this year’s scholarship recipients. Lourdes Cuevas

Aisha Heath

Key Hosts First International Leadership Development Program

This summer, Key was asked to run its first international program with the senior leadership of Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Invest-ment. The cohort of 22 officials stayed on AU’s campus for two weeks at the beginning of Au-gust for training on “Leadership and Economic Policy Planning during Crises Times”. The training involved a combination of semi-nars on varying topics including Leadership Ethics, Organization Development, Organiza-tion Design and Corporate Culture, Managing Change, and Corporate Strategy. The group also made several site visits in DC to the Capitol Building, US Treasury Department and Interna-tional Monetary Fund.The group was very pleased with their training and has expressed interest in sending another group next year. We are looking forward to offering more international trainings in the future.

Visit us at: american.edu/spa/key

Key Certificate Programs Welcomes Office of Personnel Management Cohort

American University Key Executive Leadership Programs is pleased to welcome new students from the Office of Per-sonnel Management (OPM) this fall in a new leadership development certificate. The OPM certificate program is specifically tailored for lower level staff interested in poten-tially becoming managers and leaders in the future. The

program is comprised of six courses, spread out over two five day sessions. The courses focus on team leadership, financial management, communication and leading with authenticity. The first cohort began the program in September and will finish in November.

Help Support the Next Generation of Key Leaders!

We are proud to honor Donald G. Zauderer, former Direc-tor of the Key Program, and Anita F. Alpern, former faculty member, by providing scholarship support to the next gen-eration of public leaders. Your gift significantly affects our ability to recruit and retain students in the Key Executive Leadership MPA Programs. Please consider a gift to the Key Executive Program before April 30, 2013.

Make your gift online at giving.american.edu, and choose to give to the Zauderer or Alpern scholarship from the drop down boxes that appear after selecting School of Public Af-

fairs under Area/School. You may also mail a check, payable to American University, to SPA Development & Alumni Relations, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, Washington, DC, 20016-8143.

The Donald G. Zauderer and Anita F. Alpern Scholarship awards are dedicated to providing financial support to the next generation of public leaders. Each scholarship is meant to assist students who are pursuing a MPA degree in the Key Executive Leadership Program.

Watkins Building4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20016-8128

Alumni UpdatesJason GordianKey 39Key MPA cohort Key 39 alum Jason Gordian was promoted to Section Chief at the Dallas Field Office for US Citizen-ship and Immigration Services.

Dana Vickers ShelleyKey40Key MPA Cohort 40 alum Dana Shelley has accepted the position of Director of Communications with the Poverty Law Center.

Dr. Alexander FriendUSDA 16Key Certificate/USDA SES CDP Cohort 16 alum Alex Friend has been named as the Director of the Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service Research and Development, in Albany, CA.

Have an update or other news to share? Please let us know by emailing us at key@american.edu. We love hearing from you!

Staff UpdateAs you may have heard, Key’s longtime Senior Academic Advisor (and biggest cheerleader), Nina Allen, retired from AU earlier this summer after many years of dedicated service. We miss her and wish her the best in her future endeavors.

In August, Jennifer Tether joined the Key team as our new Academic Coordinator for the Key MPA. She is responsible for recruiting for all of the Key programs and will be advising one of the MPA cohorts. Please join us in welcoming Jen-nifer to Key!