Voinovich School alumni event spotlights graduates’ successes, ongoing connections

A recent gathering of George V. Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service alumni in Columbus lived up to its billing.

The “Celebrate Impact: Voinovich School Alumni and Friends Networking Reception,” held at Jackie O’s on Fourth, was an opportunity to share professional experiences and memories of OHIO, where many attendees earned Master of Public Administration degrees and Master of Sustainability, Security, and Resilience degrees they leveraged into top government and private sector jobs.

For Luke Stedke, policy and economic development advisor for ZHF Consulting, LLC, a top tax policy firm in Columbus, the event was a continuation of a valuable aspect of his time in the Executive MPA program.

“It was fantastic. It’s a network you can plug into,” he said.

Stedke’s career path included stints as spokesman for the Ohio Statehouse, communications director for DriveOhio, and assistant chief of the Community Services Division at the Ohio Department of Development.

He had been named deputy director of communications and marketing for the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, which manages the Statehouse, when he pursued his Executive MPA from OHIO in 2013.

“The beauty of the program was not only the class activities – project-based case studies by taking an issue and going through it – it was also the networking,” Stedke said. “People from all walks of life would come back and teach. It was a network of practitioners they could call on with real-world experience.”

Ellen French was the senior human resources administrator for the Franklin County Board of Commissioners when she pursued her Executive MPA from OHIO. Just before graduating in 2022, she was encouraged to apply and was hired as director of human resources and training at the Franklin County Clerk of Courts.

“Every single class was immediately applicable to my day-to-day. The fact that I had that Master’s in Public Administration and being in a public entity they valued that really highly,” she said. “I can still remember things that my professors said to me that I can use,” particularly as it related to policy and its effects.

French said the MPA courses also provided a solid foundation for her next challenge: seeking a law degree from Capital University.

“I feel like I’m so far ahead. It has really benefitted me exponentially,” she said. “I feel like I have an excellent base that not everybody has.”

Matthew Martin, chief administrative officer for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, has deep connections in southeast Ohio, where his mother was employed at the Athens Messenger for 47 years. He grew up with the sons of founding Voinovich School Dean Mark Weinberg, who he said “cajoled” him into seeking an MPA degree from OHIO.

Martin, who also holds two undergraduate degrees from the University and worked at OHIO’s Edison Biotechnical Institute, entered the MPA program in 2003.

Just before graduating in 2005, he was encouraged to apply for and was hired as an analyst at the state Office of Budget and Management.

“Two weeks before I finished, I had a job offer,” he recalled.

His MPA courses dovetailed into his work as a budget analyst, being a mix of financial data and policy, he said.

“You have to synthesize huge amounts of information from disparate sources” – a skill he said was polished during his time in the program. “We had to do a lot of writing and it was those things that really paid off.”

Over the years he would climb the ladder to chief of the General Government Section at OBM before joining ODPS as chief financial officer in 2016. He has served in his current post since 2024.

Keith Wilbur, was a student member on the OHIO Board of Trustees for a year while earning his undergraduate degree. He went on to earn an MBA from OHIO and is considering seeking an MPA degree as well.

Wilbur said his experiences at OHIO “nourished a desire to serve in the nonprofit sector,” which he has done in various posts since graduating.

“I’ve been able to serve on nonprofit boards to give some strategic input into decision-making - especially through these very difficult financial times like COVID” and amidst reductions in federal funding,” he said. “That experience is going to be key to helping me build my career. It’s going to be key to leading the nonprofit community into the future.”

Wilbur said he is currently considering working in the development sphere.

Dr. Hashim Pashtun, who earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in Environmental Engineering from OHIO's Russ College of Engineering and Technology, went on to work at the Voinovich School after graduating as an infrastructure planning and development analyst measuring the impacts of nonprofit project funding.

He is currently program administrator for the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority.

“I had a great experience at the Voinovich School. I feel like the team was very diverse and had positive energy with all of us working together to serve the state, serving the communities around us. It was a great environment,” Pashtun said.

“It was a good learning experience for me. I got to learn more about the state, all the 88 counties we have and especially Appalachia,” where he worked on various projects throughout the region, he said.

Voinovich School Dean Tracy Plouck said the event was a great opportunity for alumni to reconnect, build new relationships and celebrate shared impacts.

“It’s really inspiring to see Voinovich School alumni making significant contributions in so many ways,” she said. “I appreciate the willingness to reconnect at events like these and share how they're doing, personally and professionally.”

Alumni who could not attend the event may still support the Voinovich School through this link.

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