2022 Alumni Awards & A Celebration of 75 Years of Excellence

September 30, 2022

6:30-10:00 p.m.

University at Albany

1400 Washington Ave
Albany, NY 12222

2022 Alumni Award Honorees

Distinguished Service to the College

Michael Tobman, BA '95
Principal, Tobman Strategies

Distinguished Alumnus in Political Science

Scott de la Vega, BA '91
Associate Solicitor for General Law, Department of the Interior

Distinguished Alumnus in Public Administration

Joey Jackson, MPA '92
Principal and Founder, JOEY JACKSON LAW, PLLC

Distinguished Alumna in Criminal Justice

Leigh Bates, PhD '08
Deputy Commissioner, NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services

Young Alumnus in Political Science

Dave Salvant, BA '08
Co-Founder and President, Squire Technologies Inc.

Young Alumna in Public Administration

Saima Akhtar, MPP '08
Senior Attorney, National Center for Law and Economic Justice

Young Alumna in Criminal Justice

Camela Hughes, PhD '12
Assistant Director of Performance and Quality Improvement, LaSalle School

10 Under 10 Award

We are also happy to recognize our fourth annual group of 10 Under 10 alumni — a list of alumni who are less than 10 years out of school and who have made notable contributions to their industry. Every year we get an extraordinary number of nominations of young alumni for the distinguished award and presenting this group of notable young alumni is a way for us to promote our recent graduates.   

Thomas Bilach, MA '14
Officer, New York City Police Department

Michael Blaustein, BA '12
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Partnership for New York City

Amani Edwards, PhD '21
Managing Director of Equity and Impact, Everytown for Gun Safety

Kapil Gupta, MPA '17
Deputy Director of Public Policy, India Cellular & Electronics Association

Frazer Lonie, MIA '18
Policy & Program Analyst, New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services

Lauren Mannerberg, BA '17, MPA '19
Account Executive, Anat Gernstein

Cyndi Mellen, BA '10, MPA '12
Continuity of Operations Director, New York City Emergency Management

Sireeda Miller, MPA '14
Deputy Director of Finance, Natural Resources Defense Council

Debernee Privott, PhD '14 
Assistant Dean for Public Engagement, College of Arts and Sciences,
University at Albany and Director, University in the High School Program

JP Scullin, MPA '13 
Senior Manager, Ernst & Young

Thank you to our generous event sponsors:

Peter Brusoe, BA ’03, MA ’04
Happy on Wheels, LLC
Rochelle Haynes, BA ’02
Gary Striar, MPA ’79
Michael Tobman, BA ’95

Thank you to our $75,000 giving challengers:

Libby Post, BA ’82, MA ’84
Jonathan Doh, MA ’86
Joe Bonilla, BA ’11

Click here to learn more about the 2022 award winners and the history of Rockefeller College.