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A roundup of recent news about the alumni of the  Gerica Goodman has been named director of legislative affairs by Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger. Goodman, who earned a bachelor of science degree in psychology from 911���� in 2012 and a Schar School  (MPA) degree in 2015, is the governor’s principal point person for interacting with the General Assembly and coordinating the administration’s legislative strategy.

Goodman, who worked in 911����’s admissions and alumni relations offices as a student and after graduation, in 2020 became the first Black woman to serve in the post of legislative and policy director for the Virginia Speaker of the House.

“I'm not surprised at her place in government,” said , former director of the MPA program. “She has earned her position through intelligence and hard work.”

Goodman, he said, “possesses two rare talents. She combines a keen intellect with excellent people skills. It isn't easy to unpack a proposed law and explain it in plain English to regular folks or to take an idea and turn it into legislation. Even more important, she has earned the trust of people in power as an honest broker.”

Goodman said  that her Schar School master’s degree comes in handy on a daily basis.

“One of my favorite classes was Program Evaluation,” she said, adding that it was taught by an adjunct who was also “a bureaucrat’s bureaucrat,” a senior analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office. “The class looked at government programs and took them apart and evaluated them, which is essentially what I do for bills and government agencies.”

She admitted to being “kind of a boring person who likes the legal print on the back of anything, and I like legal jargon,” she said. “Reading bills seems like a daunting process, but I always find something really interesting.”

Always? 

“We had a bill about milk, about not calling anything that’s not derived from a dairy cow ‘milk.’ I find stuff like that super interesting,” she said.

French Medal of International Security

Jude Sunderbruch, who earned his PhD in public policy from the Schar School in 2008, has been awarded the French Medal of Internal Security at the Gold level, one of France’s highest recognitions for contributions to public safety and security. The medal was presented during a ceremony late last year in Washington, D.C.; the award recognizes his longstanding role in advancing Franco-American cooperation in homeland security and law enforcement.

The award, conferred by France’s Minister-Counsellor Agnès von der Mühll, highlights Sunderbruch’s work building durable operational ties between U.S. and French security institutions. French officials noted his contributions during his tenure as executive director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) and later as director of the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3)—two roles central to counterintelligence, cybercrime, and international security collaboration.

According to French representatives, as reported by the media outlet Homeland Security Today, the ceremony also underscored Sunderbruch’s close engagement with France’s direction de la coopération internationale de sécurité (DCIS), the country’s international security cooperation directorate, and his consistent efforts to deepen bilateral and multilateral coordination across agencies.

Sunderbruch, managing director at the Dallas-based cybersecurity consulting firm OakTruss Group, will serve as an adjunct at the Schar School in the summer semester. He will teach POGO 750 Consulting Practicum. 

Leading Idaho’s Hispanic Affairs Agency

Annette Tipton, a 2011 graduate of the Schar School’s International Commerce and Policy master’s program (now the  program), has been appointed by Idaho Governor Brad Little (R) to be executive director of the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs (ICHA).

The state commission serves Idaho’s Hispanic community of some 271,000 by acting as a liaison between the community and the government. According to its website, the commission provides recommendations to the governor and legislature regarding issues facing the state’s Hispanic population. It also plays an important role in connecting people with resources and collecting data about Hispanics in Idaho.

Tipton has long been familiar with the commission’s mission. As a teenager, she attended one of the first Idaho Hispanic Youth Leadership Summits, an annual event organized by ICHA to engage young people with workshops, a college fair, and a keynote speaker.

“It’s really exciting to see that program has continued,” she said. “I know it has evolved recently. There’s a genuine desire to keep moving forward and to continue those collaborations with academic institutions here in Idaho.”

Born into a family of agricultural workers in Rupert, Idaho, Tipton comes from a lineage of perseverance and hard work. Her grandparents emigrated from Mexico and worked on farms across the United States before settling in Idaho.

After becoming the first in her family to earn a master’s degree, Tipton worked in government relations for major financial institutions including JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Merrill Lynch.

While working in finance, Tipton also volunteered with nonprofits such as the Idaho Latino Scholarship Foundation, a college migrant assistance program, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

“It’s a good blend of what I’ve done,” she said. “From a more strategic perspective in business or finance, to deeper community involvement, strengthening relationships, and understanding that these are families, they are Idahoans, and they have needs.”

COO of Oregon’s Most Populus County

Christopher L. Neal, a 2007  graduate, is the new chief operating officer (COO) of Oregon’s most populous county, Multnomah County, home of the state’s largest city, Portland.

The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously confirmed Neal as the COO and director of county management from a pool of 84 applicants following a national recruitment and hiring process.

Neal oversees the county’s daily operations and its more than 6,000 employees, guiding the county’s senior leaders to ensure effective administration, financial management, and operational consistency. He is also charged with continuing to roll out the county’s Workforce Equity Strategic Plan and developing the county’s strategic plan.

Neal acknowledged he arrives at a difficult time in county history amid significant budget shortfalls in the general fund and homeless services.

“But we all know that during these times of adversity, we become our most creative, bold, and daring,” he said. “These qualities have carried us through to the other side before, and they will again.’’