Valerie Rossi MPA '12 is currently enrolled in the MPA program with a concentration in health care policy and management. She received her undergraduate degree from American University with a B.A. in Public Communication and a minor in marketing. During college, she was a member of the Alpha Phi Omega community service fraternity (Eta Phi chapter). Currently, Valerie works for the New York City Department of Health, Bureau of Chronic Disease department. Upon completion of her degree, she plans to work for either a hospital or non-profit organization as a patient advocate.
Janelle LoBello, M.P.A. ’13 graduated Cum Laude from Montclair State
University with a B.A. in Communications Studies and a minor in Journalism. Now
studying in the MPA program with a concentration in nonprofit management,
Janelle began her career as an intern at the Christopher & Dana Reeve
Foundation in Short Hills, NJ. Several months later, the Foundation hired
Janelle as Communications Coordinator. In this role, she manages a range of
communications department projects including media relations, public outreach,
website development, collateral content development and design, and she helps to
raise awareness of the Reeve Foundation’s mission and goals. Janelle intends to
use her hands-on experience and education from Seton Hall to advocate for and
advance efforts to eradicate animal cruelty, with a particular focus on
abolishing dog fighting.
Smijai Peter M.P.A./M.A. '12 is a dual degree graduate student in the M.P.A
and MA in Diplomacy and International Relations program. He is concentrating in
Nonprofit Management in the Public Administration program and Global Health and
Human Security in the Diplomacy program. He is also working concurrently on a
graduate certificate in Epidemiology from the University of Texas School of
Public Health. He received his BA in History and a minor in Global Business
Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. Smijai has completed
internships with the City of Austin, Amnesty International USA, and the World
Affairs Council of Dallas/Ft. Worth. The skills and knowledge that he is gaining
from this program will prepare him to enter the international nonprofit health
sector. Smijai hopes to pursue a career with the Center for Disease Control or
an international health-based nonprofit organization after graduation from this
program.
James Rowland, M.P.A. '12 is pursuing his MPA in Nonprofit Management. After
a 20-year career in the advertising agency business working with such clients as
IBM, American Express, Shell, Chase and Verizon Wireless, James discovered that
his true calling was working in the nonprofit sector. He has applied his
marketing, project management and relationship management skills to the benefit
of the Plainfield Symphony, New Jersey's oldest community symphony. Under his
volunteer leadership, the symphony has nearly doubled its budget over the past
five years and continues to prosper in a challenging economic environment. He
also is on the Board of Directors of the duCret School of Art and serves as a
commissioner on the City of Plainfield Cultural and Heritage Commission.
Currently James is a marketing consultant for nonprofit and for-profit
organizations "but my goal is to work full-time for a worthy nonprofit. I like
the idea of utilizing my experience and skills for the benefit of a
mission-driven organization. At this point in my career, I realize that I need
both business success and emotional fulfillment and that is what working in the
nonprofit sector means to me. That is why I chose the MPA program at Seton Hall.
It provides a great foundation from which I can build my ideal future."
Paige Fetzer, M.P.A/M.A. '12 is a student in the dual degree program
(M.P.A./M.A. Diplomacy and International Relations). She graduated from Boise
State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and a publication under
the department of Political Science in December 2009. After graduating she moved
to Colombia and taught English for 5 months. She then moved from Colombia to
Brazil where she worked at the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, under a fellowship she
received from the U.S. Department of State.
Now that Paige has finished
her first year at Seton Hall, she has an internship at VIVAT international, a
grassroots human rights advocacy NGO. This internship is taking her to India
this summer to train the 150 representatives of the organization in India, Sri
Lanka and Bangledesh. She is also a part of a trip to Kurdistan through the MPA
program to assist in the teaching of a curriculum in Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO) management through a Civil Society Initiative. When she
graduates she plans to pursue a Fulbright scholarship for research and continue
her work in the NGO sector until eventually returning to school for her PhD.
Neema Okal, M.P.A. '12 is currently enrolled in the MPA program with a
concentration in health care policy and management. Originally from Kenya, she
received her undergraduate degree from United States International
University-Nairobi with a B.A. in Journalism. She also did part of her education
as a study abroad student at Lincoln University of PA. Currently, she works for
Alcatel-Lucent as a Marketing Specialist. Upon completion of her degree, she
plans to work for Center for Disease and Control as a Health Informatics
Specialist. She also hopes to use the knowledge she receives from Seton Hall to
change the lives of women and Health Care System back in Kenya.
Timothy Walsh ,M.P.A. ’12 graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts
in Political Science in December of 2008. After gaining a year of work
experience, Timothy enrolled in the Master’s of Public Administration program.
Currently, he is the Deputy Director of the Nonprofit Sector Resource Institute
here at Seton Hall University, works for a City Councilman in Hoboken, and also
as a Billing Clerk for a law firm in Brooklyn, N.Y. Timothy hopes to eventually
be the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization.
Paul Bezerra, M.P.A./M.A. ’12 received his bachelor’s degree from San Diego
State and served in Fresno, California as an AmeriCorps VISTA before spending
time in Texas and coming to Seton Hall in August 2010. He now interns with the
New York City Mayor’s Commission to the United Nations, Consular Corps and
Protocol. During June and July of 2011 he will be participating in a State
Department-funded project that finds Seton Hall partnering with the University
of Duhok in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to teach Nongovernmental Organization
Management to business leaders before returning to finish his final year in the
program. Upon graduation, Paul is hoping to continue the life of a student and
pursue a PhD in public administration.
Nicholas Frimpong, M.P.A. `12 graduated from Seton Hall in May 2011 with a
B.A. in Business Management and a certificate in Entrepreneurship. He is
currently an intern with PricewaterouseCoopers LLC and has his own non profit
organization called Witness HOPE, which has the mission to promote and sustain
academic excellence, sportsmanship and healthcare for youth worldwide. He joined
the M.P.A. program with a concentration in Non Profit Management in order to
gain a deeper insight and understanding of how the Non Profit industry operates.
Nick's future goals include working for the welfare of others and expanding his
organization to operate in all seven continents of the world.
