2004 MPP Alumna of the Year Mary Kohav, MPP 1998

Mary Kohav is VP of Community Engagement Programs at The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and oversees communications and programming of the department’s civic engagement portfolio. An experienced team leader providing strategic communications, community relations and public affairs services to clients in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, Mary has been at the forefront of leading change across numerous institutions.

Before joining the Federation, as BSC’s Director of PR and Marketing, Mary led and managed consumer-focused patient engagement, digital marketing and earned media campaigns for leading global health organizations. She ran branding and marketing campaigns on emerging and cutting-edge health trends working daily with world-renowned surgeons, medical industry innovators and other healthcare influencers.

Before joining BSC, Mary branched out on her own to run Mary Kohav PR, helping creative agencies compete for, win and implement public sector RFPs while also leading social media and digital marketing campaigns for social justice nonprofits including Breathe LA, First 5 LA and the Legal Aid Foundation of LA.

As Associate VP at the Lee Andrews Group, Mary managed strategic public affairs services for clients in the environmental, real estate, transportation and health-related industries and led one of the nation’s foremost clean energy campaigns as project manager for the Green LA programs of the LADWP.

Mary is a Board Member at the Speak Up Foundation and CivicCare and is an alum of The Jewish Federation’s Rautenberg New Leaders Project. Mary holds a BA in philosophy from the University of Michigan and a Master in Public Policy degree from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and has been awarded with the Luskin Public Policy program’s Alumna of the Year Award for excellence in community service, professional achievement, public service and university service.

Employer: Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
Profile: linkedin.com/in/marykohav
Twitter: @goodstuffpr
Media: HuffPost, Jewish Journal

2005 MPP Alumna of the Year Emily C. Williams, MPP 1998

Emily C. Williams is the CEO of the UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network (UCAAN), housed within the  UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. UCAAN operates the ACEs Aware initiative, which is committed to reducing the toxic stress  resulting from Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) by 50 percent within one generation. UCAAN is the brainchild of former California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and is financed by the CA Department of Healthcare Services.

Emily also operates a consultancy, Emily Presents, through which she delivers training and strategic guidance on communications, diversity, equity, leadership, organizational development, policy, and related subjects. At the height of the pandemic, she served as the lead strategist on the County of Los Angeles’ groundbreaking initiative to embrace remote work as a permanent reality and reimagine the workplace of the future for its employees.

For six years, she served as Senior Policy Deputy for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. In her role, she shaped budget, legislative, equity, and human services policy for the largest County in the nation and oversaw child welfare, education, social services, and workforce development initiatives for the district’s two million constituents. Prior to joining the County, Emily worked for The Princeton Review, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and the City of Los Angeles. During her 14-year career with the City, she worked first as a policy advisor with the Human Relations Commission, then as a civilian commander overseeing non-tactical training for the Los Angeles Fire Department, and finally as deputy chief of staff to former City Councilmember (now U.S. Representative) Tony Cárdenas (CA-29).

Emily earned a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA and an M.P.P. from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where she was recognized as Alumna of the Year in 2005 and currently serves as a Senior Fellow. She was also a 2017-18 Fellow with the USC Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics. She is an adjunct instructor at the Los Angeles Police Academy, a founding board member of A Better LA, and a former board member of the American Association of University Women – Beach Cities branch. She is currently a member of the SAM Initiative, the Polytechnic School Alumni Board, and the New Village Girls Academy Board of Directors.

Employer: Hon. Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Profile: linkedin.com/in/emilypresents
Twitter: @emilypresents
Media: CityWatchLA, UCLA Luskin, UCLA Luskin, Los Angeles Sentinel

2005 MPP Alumna of the Year Emily Williams, MPP 1998

Veronica Melvin serves as the president and chief executive officer of the LA Promise Fund, a Los Angeles based not-for-profit ensuring students graduate prepared for college, career and life. The LA Promise Fund is a reform–minded education organization with a mission to raise private funds to improve public education opportunities across LA County while simultaneously leading a network of 5 schools in South Los Angeles.

Last year, LA Promise Fund programs benefited more than 15,000 individuals. They served 5,000 students at their three Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) partner schools and two charter schools, ensuring a strong college and career program with wrap-around services and enrichment. In addition, they worked with 10,000 students countywide in programs like girl empowerment, arts education and internships.

Previously, Veronica served as the executive director for the Alliance for a Better Community (ABC), an organization improving the quality of life for Latinos in Los Angeles through community based policy advocacy. Veronica earned a Master’s of Public Policy from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in political economies of industrial societies from UC Berkeley.

Profile: linkedin.com/in/veronica-melvin-876b6854
Twitter: @LAPromiseFund
Media: Los Angeles Standard Newspaper, Annenberg Foundation, Fox6

2006 MPP Alumna of the Year Veronica Melvin, MPP 2001

Veronica Melvin joined the LA Promise Fund as its CEO & President in November 2011. Passion, activism, empowerment, and learning are four key qualities that are present throughout Veronica Melvin’s dedicated work in the fields of education and health for children and families. These attributes, that have defined her life and career, are the reason why she received a Presidential appointment to a White House commission on educational excellence.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of LA Promise Fund, Melvin guides a dedicated, reform–minded education organization with a mission to raise private funds to improve public education opportunities across LA County, while simultaneously leading a network of schools in South Los Angeles.

Known for her organizational leadership and unwavering passion to uplift and empower communities, Veronica Melvin is a champion of children and families. Melvin envisions building a kindergarten-to-college pathway for our students and constructing a career pipeline laid upon a foundation of access to excellent academic, health, and enrichment opportunities for the LA Promise Fund youth in South Los Angeles.  She also understands the needs of schools to be provided additional opportunities for students to access enrichment opportunities to ensure every child’s success.

Melvin has a solid track record of building effective coalitions comprising educators, students, parents, and community stakeholders who make a firm commitment to work collaboratively to constantly improve education opportunities for struggling populations of students.

Melvin served as Chief Operating Officer of the national organization Communities for Teaching Excellence, and as Executive Director for the Alliance for a Better Community (ABC), an organization working to improve the quality of life for Latinos in Los Angeles through systemic policy reforms. In her management role, Melvin has also been instrumental in launching community–based campaigns to advance issues crucial to student academic achievement and success.

Melvin earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Economies of Industrial Societies from UC Berkeley. She earned her Masters of Public Policy from UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Employer: LA Promise Fund
Profile: linkedin.com/in/veronica-melvin-876b6854
Twitter: @LAPromiseFund
Media: Los Angeles Standard Newspaper, Los Angeles Sentinel, Annenberg Foundation, Ed Source, Fox6

2007 MPP Alumnus of the Year Andrew Von Ah, MPP 2000

Andrew Von Ah is currently a Director in the Physical Infrastructure team at GAO, responsible for portfolios of work on telecommunications and the internet, and public transit investment. Andrew leads multi-disciplinary teams in conducting audits and program evaluations in these areas, and testifies before congressional committees on the findings of GAO’s work.

Andrew joined GAO in 2000 and prior to becoming a Director, he led a broad range of engagements across several portfolios of work; notably a body of work on the Next Generation Air Transportation System, several engagements on multimodal policy options, governance reviews of the Smithsonian and the Federal Communications Commission, and engagements and testimonies touching on high-speed rail, maritime transportation, and aviation workforce issues.

Andrew graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in cultural anthropology, and holds a Master’s of Public Policy from UCLA. He also completed American University’s Key Executive Leadership program.

Employer: U.S. Government Accountability Office
Profile: linkedin.com/in/andrew-von-ah-17474b5
Twitter:
Media: C-SPAN, Apex

2008 MPP Alumna of the Year Jennifer White, MPP 2004

 Jennifer White is a true global citizen whose passion for Africa inspires her to create safe spaces for African and African-American women to connect, heal, and do business. She organizes annual healing and investment trips to Africa to connect Africans annually, on both sides of the ocean. Starting with the healing act of “Sharing Our Stories”, connections are made and trust is built, opening the door to business collaborations, economic empowerment and community development around the world.

As a lifelong learner, Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and master’s degree in Public Policy from UCLA, as well as a master’s degree in Educational Psychology from Howard University. As a student leader and community activist, she remained passionate about Africa. Her first journey to the Motherland in 2004 was a graduate student at the University of Ghana, where she initiated study groups in Development Studies, Gender Studies, and Political Science. She organized study groups to share Ghanaian and African American perspectives and hold thought-provoking discussions about Africa’s evolution, establishing strong bonds of friendship maintained to this day.

Jennifer’s experience as an educator spans from kindergarten to college, where she has worked as an instructor, counselor and grant writer at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. For the last 10 years she has organized healing and investment trips for African American professionals to Africa, including Ghana, Egypt, Togo, Benin, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana and Ethiopia. As founder and CEO of SISTERcircle, she is a staunch advocate for “Doing Business in Africa”, recently launching “SISTERcircle Fine Wines” a collective investment by African American women to import South African wine made by Black women, opening up the US market for Black winemakers.

Profile: linkedin.com/in/jennifer-white-1b976123
Media: GridAlternatives

2009 MPP Alumna of the Year Celeste Drake, MPP/JD 2002

Celeste Drake is the Directors Guild of America’s Executive in Charge of Government Affairs.

Drake is responsible for the Guild’s federal legislative and governmental work, serving as an advocate for the DGA and its members on key issues such as: intellectual property, copyright and anti-piracy protections; pension and health; and issues relating to the protection of DGA members’ creative and economic rights. Drake will also coordinate and manage the work of the DGA Political Action Committee (PAC) and DGA PAC Leadership Council.

Previously, Drake was the trade and globalization policy specialist at the AFL-CIO. In that role, she advocated for reforms to U.S. trade policy to create shared gains from trade on behalf of working families. Drake has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, various House subcommittees and the U.S. International Trade Commission, and made presentations before the European Union’s Economic and Social Committee. Prior to her work at the AFL-CIO, Drake served as legislative director for Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), legislative counsel for Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), and clerk for the Honorable David R. Thompson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Drake has a Juris Doctor, a Master of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Employer: Directors Guild of America
Profile: linkedin.com/in/celeste-drake-21a9083
Twitter: CDrakeFairTrade
Media: PodBean, YouTubeYouTube, YouTube, The Hill

2010 MPP Alumnus of the Year Manan Trivedi, MPP/MD 2007

Dr. Manan Trivedi is an internal medicine physician with over 20 years of experience in clinical medicine, health policy research, strategic communications and healthcare advocacy. He has held leadership roles in academic, military, political and public and private sector settings.

A former Navy Officer, Dr. Trivedi served as the medical team commander for the first ground troops to enter Iraq in 2003. He oversaw the care of over 1,500 forward deployed Marine Corps and Naval forces as well as civilians and enemy prisoners of war and treated over 300 trauma injuries as the first physician on scene. For his service, Manan earned the Combat Action Ribbon and his unit was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.

As a VA health services researcher in 2006, Dr. Trivedi drew attention to PTSD and other mental health issues among OEF and OIF veterans via qualitative studies that helped shape Veteransʼ mental health policy.

And while serving with the Navy Surgeon General as the Department Head of Emerging Health Policy, he focused on cost containment in the Military Healthcare System (MHS) and led the $2.5 million evaluation of the medical home primary care system and all clinical aspects of the development of the $18 million operational injury and treatment model used for Navy casualty prediction and vulnerability testing.

He was the Democratic Nominee for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 6th district for 3 consecutive cycles. In his campaigns, he fought for strong healthcare and social justice platforms and led the charge in advocating for evidence-based policy solutions.

Dr. Trivedi also has extensive experience in clinical hospital medicine in academic and tertiary medical centers and with larger healthcare systems including Kaiser Permanente. In addition to his role as President of the National Physician’s Alliance, Dr. Drivedi currently works as a hospitalist in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area and lives with his wife, Surekha, and his two daughters, Sonia and Ashmi.

Employer: National Physician’s Alliance
Profile: linkedin.com/in/manan-trivedi-75aba13
Twitter: @MananTrivedi
Media: NPR, Business Insider, Council for a Livable World, Politico
Wikipedia: Manan Trivedi

2011 MPP Alumnus of the Year Greg Spotts, MPP 2008

Gregory Spotts received his Master of Public Policy degree with a concentration in environmental policy and completed a Leaders in Sustainability certificate.

As a Bohnett Fellow with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, he staffed the Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff, and contributed to the city’s first Climate Change Action Plan.

After a year working in Washington, D.C. as a consultant in the organization practice at McKinsey & Company, he rejoined the Mayor’s Office as Director of the Performance Management Unit.  In 2011 he created a new office of Transportation Project Delivery, and served as the Mayor’s lead on a $10b portfolio of mega-projects including the Purple Line Extension, Orange Line Extension, Regional Connector, and Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail.

Since 2015, Greg has served Angelenos as Assistant Director and Chief Sustainability Officer for the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services, focusing on making the city more bike, pedestrian and transit friendly, increasing tree canopy, and reducing the environmental impact of the Bureau’s construction and maintenance operations.

Employer: Bureau of Street Services at City of Los Angeles
Profile: linkedin.com/in/greg-spotts-5333904
Twitter: @Spottnik
Media: NPR, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Washington Post, City Lab, Developing Urban ResilienceCBS Los Angeles, People’s World
Website: postcarboncity.wordpress.com

2012 MPP Alumna of the Year Kathryn Phillips, MPP 2001

Kathryn Phillips leads lobbying and regulatory advocacy and overall administration of Sierra Club California. She began this role in August 2011.

She previously directed transportation and air pollution work in California for Environmental Defense Fund, where she worked on regional, state and federal policy, and gained experience in agriculture policy and water policy. Before joining EDF, she was a senior policy advisor at the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies, where she focused on air quality and transportation issues. Kathryn has been based in Sacramento since 2001.

Kathryn holds a B.A in history from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a Master of Public Policy degree, with a dual focus on natural resources and transportation, from the University of California, Los Angeles. A former journalist, she is the author of two books about environmental issues.

Employer: Sierra Club California
Profile: linkedin.com/in/kathryn-phillips-37653113
Twitter: @KPatSierraClub
Media: Sierra Club California, CapRadio, KCRW, Cal Matters, Earth Justice