MPA Alumni Success Stories

Julayne Austin MPA ’07
As a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California, Julayne Austin has attended class with some of the nation’s most promising students under the guidance of instructors who are leaders in their fields. Through her current position as Managing Director for Education Pioneers, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving the schooling of thousands of students, she works to ensure that others are given the same opportunities.
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David Kuehn MPA ’96
Drawing on his training at USC Price, alumnus David Kuehn conducts research to address the critical need for long-term improvements to transportation systems nationwide. Kuehn manages the Federal Highway Administration’s Exploratory Advanced Research Program in Washington, D.C.
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Erika Martin MPA ’08
Erika Martin has seen Long Beach change over the years. Martin grew up in the city and is currently working on facilitating change there as a development analyst for the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency. At USC Price, she studied urban planning at the city level and aimed to bring sustainable change to the built environment in areas of cities that need it most.
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Hilda Solis MPA ’81
During a Dec. 19 press conference in Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama nominated Rep. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte) for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. Solis is an alumna of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, graduating with a master’s degree in public administration in 1981.
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Erroll Southers MPA ’98
How many students at USC can say their professor was a former FBI special agent? USC Price alumnus Erroll Southers has returned to USC with three new identities: professor on counter-terrorism, founding member of the USC Price Alumni Association, and associate director of the USC Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE).
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Lupe Valdez BA Psychology ’83, MPA ’85
Lupe Valdez recently traveled to Washington, D.C. for two reasons. As director of public policy and community affairs for Union Pacific Railroad, she was on Capitol Hill with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce to urge federal investment in Southern California. She was also at the nation’s capital to speak at a special reception for alumni and friends of USC Price as the incoming president of the school’s alumni association.
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