The LBJ School Alumni Board is accepting nominations for two alumni recognition awards — the Distinguished Public Service Award and the Rising Leader Award.
NOMINATE SOMEONE by June 9, 2023 at 5pm CDT to be considered for the 2023 Awards! Tap this link to nominate.
LBJ School and LBJ Alumni Board:
Distinguished Public Service Award
Established in 1989, the Distinguished Public Service Award is presented each year to an LBJ alum whose career and public service record best represents the values on which the LBJ School was founded.
Selection Criteria
All graduates of the LBJ School are eligible to be nominated. Nominees must have made significant contributions to public policy, such as the following: promoted the advancement of the public affairs vocation; been engaged in community service and/or volunteerism; shown commitment to the LBJ School and its mission; and demonstrated leadership, the ability to work well with diverse groups, and other attributes (honors/awards, etc.).
Anyone may submit nominations/self-nominations. To reactivate a nomination that was submitted within the past two years, the nominator must submit a new cover letter and, if needed, provide updated information.
Selection Committee
The selection committee includes members of the Alumni Board Recognition Committee, the Alumni Board faculty representative, the Alumni Board GPAC representative, and the previous year's Distinguished Public Service Award winner.
Past Distinguished Public Servant Award Recipients
| 2022: Bird Runningwater, President & Executive Producer CloudWoman Media, MPAff 1996 | 2005: Jorge C. Garcés (MPAff '77), deputy managing director, North American Development Bank |
| 2021: Shamina Singh (MPAff '97), Founder and President of Center for Inclusive Growth, Mastercard | 2003: Michael Reyna (MPAff '82), chair and chief executive officer, Board of Directors, Farm Credit Administration |
| 2020: Alejandra Castillo (MPAff '98), Former CEO of YWCA | 2002: Dana DeBeauvoir (MPAff '81), Travis County Clerk |
| 2019: Stacey Abrams (MPAff '98), Former Democratic nominee for Georgia governor | 2001: Albert Hawkins (MPAff '78), assistant to the U.S. president and Cabinet secretary |
| 2018: Nancy La Vigne (MPAff '91), vice president for justice policy, Urban Institute | 2000: Bill Owens (MPAff '75), Colorado governor |
| 2017: Mark Zion (MPAff '80), executive director, Texas Public Power Association (retired) | 1999: Craig Pedersen (MPAff '81), executive administrator, Texas Water Development Board |
| 2016: Laura Huffman (MPAff '91), state director, The Nature Conservancy in Texas | 1998: Tim Delaney (MPAff '83), chief deputy attorney general, State of Arizona |
| 2014: Mike Naeve (MPAff '72), partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP & Affiliates | 1997: Ken Apfel (MPAff '78), U.S. Social Security commissioner |
| 2013: David Berteau (MPAff '81), senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies | 1996: Steve Spinner (MPAff '84), job training adviser, U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee (posthumous recognition) |
| 2012: Robert N. Campbell, III (MPAff '73), vice chairman and U.S. public sector leader, Deloitte LLP | 1995: Jesus Garza (MPAff '77), Austin city manager |
| 2011: John O'Brien (MPAff '81), director, Texas Legislative Budget Board | 1994: Susan Rieff (MPAff '80), Governor's Policy Council director and chief environmental policy adviser, Texas Governor's Office |
| 2010: Courtney Brown (MPAff '83), former director, LBJ School Office of Student and Alumni Programs | 1993: John Hall (MPAff '78), chair, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission |
| 2009: Edward E. Emmett (MPAff '74), Harris County judge | 1992: DeAnn Friedholm (MPAff '79), state (Texas) Medicaid director; deputy commissioner of Medicaid, Texas Health and Human Services Commission |
| 2008: Anne Dunkelberg (MPAff '88), associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities | 1991: Rodney Ellis (MPAff '77), Texas state senator |
| 2007: Rafael Fernández de Castro (MPAff '86), chair and full-time professor, Department of International Studies, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México | 1990: Jan Hart Black (MPAff '75), Dallas city manager |
| 2006: Sheila Wilson Beckett (MPAff '77), resident budget adviser, U.S. Treasury Department | 1989: Billy Hamilton (MPAff '75), director of state and local services, KPMG Peat Marwick |
Rising Leader Award
The Rising Leader Award recognizes the efforts of our more recent alumni who exemplify the LBJ mission of "improving the quality of public service in the United States and abroad at all levels of governance and civic engagement."
Selection Criteria
All graduates of the LBJ School under the age of 40, or within the first 10 years of their graduation from the LBJ School, are eligible to be nominated. The award honors alumni who have stood out as leaders, catalysts for change and for making a meaningful difference to individuals, organizations or governments.
Selection Committee
The selection committee includes members of the Alumni Board Recognition Committee, the Alumni Board faculty representative, the Alumni Board GPAC representative; and the previous year's Rising Leader Award winner.
Past Rising Leader Recipients
| 2022: Chris Rodriguez, President & CEO at Ability360, MPAff 2012 | 2018: Rachel Hoff (MGPS '14), communications director and policy adviser, Senate Armed Services Committee |
| 2021: Erol Yayboke (MPAff '06), director of the Project on Fragility and Mobility at CSIS | 2017: Matthew Randazzo (MPAff '03), chief executive officer, The National Math + Science Initiative |
| 2020: Lauren Rose (MPAff '10), Public Policy Director, Texas Network of Youth Services | 2017: Vanessa Stotts (MPAff '13), foreign service officer, U.S. Department of State |
| 2019: Rudy Metayer (EMPL '16), Pflugerville City Councilmember |