Ruby DeBellis was a participant in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs' first ever PPIA JSI cohort in 2017.
Ruby is a graduate from the University of Minnesota, Morris, and obtained her Bachelor's degree in Political Science with a minor in Biochemistry in 2018. After graduation, Ruby joined U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Minneapolis office, and is currently serving as an Outreach Director handling housing, women’s issues, public safety and law enforcement, food security, and Asian-American community issues.
In May 2023, she earned her Master's degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (MS-STEP), with a focus on environmental justice and food, water, and energy systems. She is currently working as a co-author on a paper focused on race, urban nature, and redlining in the Midwest, and is a Board Member for the Cultural Society of Filipino-Americans.
9:00 am Meet at resident hall
10:00 am Capitol Tour
11:30 am Arrive at East Bank station (Green Line)
Ashwini is a PhD student at Humphrey School of Public Affairs in the Public Policy track. She is also a Population Studies trainee at the Minnesota Population Center. Prior to joining the Humphrey School, she has been involved in quantitative field research in topics of menstrual hygiene and impact evaluations of a renewable energy implementation project in Sierra Leone.
Her overarching research interests are in health and welfare of women and adolescent girls in Sub-Saharan Africa and in current perspectives on fertility and family formation in this region. She is currently working on projects using the American Time Use Survey, looking at racial/ethnic differences in social contact patterns in the US. In her free time, Ashwini enjoys watching movies, trying new recipes, and exploring the Twin Cities.
Donald Mark Ritchie is an American politician and a former Minnesota Secretary of State. Ritchie was elected the 21st Minnesota Secretary of State on November 7, 2006. He was re-elected in 2010.
He co-chairs the Minnesota USA Expo Bid Committee, serves as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Minnesota, and is the President of Global Minnesota. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
He was born in Georgia, lived in Pennsylvania, Florida, Maryland, Iowa, Alaska, and graduated from high school in Iowa. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1971 and from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota in 2013. He and his wife, Nancy Gaschott, have lived in Minnesota since 1980.
Basil Ajuo is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Minnesota Africans United, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization. Originally from the central African nation of Cameroon, Basil Ajuo has decades of experience in education, business development and nonprofit leadership management.
In 2016, Basil Ajuo was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to serve the 4th largest U.S. Boards of Higher Education, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees. Basil Ajuo’s graduate degree is in public policy and advocacy through Metropolitan State University.
Ajuo has served on many boards, including the Metropolitan Workforce Council, Center for Innovation and the Arts, and the Nellie Johnson Scholarship Foundation. A centerpiece of the MAU program has been serving Minnesota businesses that are interested in exporting and importing goods and services overseas with Africa.
In the course of his efforts, Basil Ajuo has organized and promoted many conferences and webinars to address key issues. Topics covered have been mining, agriculture, healthcare investment, educational exchanges, trade and investment in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, and other African Countries. He has promoted trade fairs and helped US companies understand the value of showcasing their products through these channels and advising African businesses who are interested in taking advantage of the US markets through the African Growth and Opportunity Act. These efforts have led to success for African diaspora companies willing to invest in their countries of origin and for midwestern companies as they expand their market into Africa.
Justine manages Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) training for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Learning Center. She is passionate about DEIA and has facilitated numerous DEIA sessions to help GAO, other government agencies, national associations, and universities recruit and retain a diverse talent pool and minimize the effects of unconscious bias.
She joined GAO’s headquarters in 2009 and is currently in the Oakland field office. She spent over a decade in the GAO’s Homeland Security and Justice and International Affairs and Trade teams. She successfully led multidisciplinary audit teams and made significant contributions to the GAO’s work on aid to conflict areas, democracy assistance, foreign investment, human trafficking, intelligence, and territorial economies.
Justine obtained a bachelor of arts in psychology and interdisciplinary studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow and a National Pacific American Leadership Institute Fellow.
Michelle is a senior analyst on GAO’s Natural Resources and Environment team, focusing on environmental protection and programs serving Tribes and their members. Her recent work has examined COVID-19 relief to tribal recipients, EPA enforcement of environmental laws, and the federal government’s fiscal exposure due to climate change. She serves as a mentor and adjunct faculty at GAO and has facilitated numerous DEIA discussions and sessions at GAO, local government, and universities. Michelle has also co-authored research papers and journal articles for the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. Prior to GAO, Michelle worked in higher education and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Michelle holds an MPA from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service, and BAs in sociology and the College Scholar Program (thesis on community-based art and ethnic enclaves) from Cornell University. She completed her Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at UC Berkeley. She is based in GAO’s Oakland office, although currently working in Philadelphia. Outside of GAO, she enjoys learning new things from her 4-year-old kid, running, and trying new food.
Having worked in the world of admissions, recruiting, and college access for nearly a decade, Michael has been at the Humphrey School for 2 years and currently serves as Director of Admissions. Immediately prior to joining the Humphrey School, he earned his masters degree at Vanderbilt in Higher Education Administration and despite being a student during the pandemic, enjoyed his time in Nashville greatly. Prior to Vanderbilt, he enjoyed stints working in the admissions offices at his alma mater Carleton College (Northfield, MN) and Southwestern University (Georgetown, TX) and spent his first year out of undergrad doing a year of AmeriCorps service with the college access non-profit College Forward (Austin, TX). While originally from Austin, Texas and a Texan at heart, Michael now considers Minnesota his home. When not working, much of his free time is spent in one of two ways: either coaching the ultimate frisbee team he used to play for at Carleton or hanging out with his wife, Katin, and their two dogs, an anxious but adorable corgi named Winston and a cute, cuddle-loving frenchie named Harriet.
Simone Gbolo joined PPIA as the national director in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2016. The Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota was selected as the new host institution for the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Program National Office and moved in the spring of 2016. In this capacity, she is responsible for overseeing organizational operations and supporting our alumni and consortium members. In all of her work, Simone has demonstrated a deep commitment to developing meaningful initiatives that cultivate and engage students as they pursue careers that impact social change and transformation and providing service to others in addressing the social challenges in the world.
Amber Bieneck Thom is the assistant director of the Office of Career and Student Success Prior to joining the Humphrey School, she was a career counselor and educator at the University of St. Thomas for nine years.
She has experience as a career counselor, program manager, and adjunct faculty member. Her areas of expertise include exploring the intersection of global experiences and career development, working with first-generation college students, and facilitating meaningful connections among students, alumni, and university constituents.
Thom is active in many professional associations, and has held numerous leadership positions over the past five years. She has presented at a variety of conferences, including NACE and the Career Integration Conference.
Thom earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Superior, and her master’s degree in counseling psychology from St. Thomas.
1:00-2:00 pm Travel to the Sculpture Garden
2:00-3:00 pm Explore the Sculpture Garden
3:00-4:30 pm Explore the Walker Art Center
5:30 pm Arrive at the Resident hall
9:00 am - 11:00 am
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
20th Annual PPIA Public Service Expo: A Virtual Graduate School and Career Fair
Gabe Chan is an associate professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) area. Chan's research examines policies to stimulate innovation in energy technologies and mitigate global climate change in the United States, China, and internationally. Gabe's research blends economic methods and theory with a broader set of social science and technical knowledge.
12:30-1:30 pm Travel to the Science Museum
1:30-3:00 pm Explore the Science Museum
3:00-4:00 pm Q&A about the exhibition
5:00 pm Arrive at the Resident hall
2:45-3:00 pm Arrive at the Student Union
3:00-3:30 pm Introductions
3:45-5:00 pm Hangout, questions, and food.
Joe Soss is the inaugural Cowles Chair for the Study of Public Service at the University of Minnesota, where he holds faculty positions in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the Department of Political Science, and the Department of Sociology. His research and teaching explore the interplay of democratic politics, societal inequalities, and public policy. He is particularly interested in the political sources and consequences of policies that govern social marginality and shape life conditions for socially marginal groups. His coauthored book, Disciplining the Poor: Neoliberal Paternalism and the Persistent Power of Race (2011), was selected for the 2012 Michael Harrington Award (APSA, New Political Science) and the 2012 Oliver Cromwell Cox Award (ASA, Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities), the 2012 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award (American Library Association), and the 2015 Herbert Simon Award (APSA, Section on Public Administration). In 2010, he received the campus-wide Outstanding Faculty Award from the University of Minnesota's Council of Graduate Students (COGS). In 2013-14, he served as Dale T. Mortensen Senior Fellow at the Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark. In 2016, Professor Soss was honored with the University's campus-wide award for outstanding contributions to graduate education, named a Distinguished University Teaching Professor, and inducted into the UMN Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Outside his academic work, Soss is an active musician and recently released an album, The Sound of Sweet Ruin.
We will have global lunch before JSI Global Policy Showcase Seminar!
June 14: Pizza Lucé
June 21: Brasa Premium Rotisserie
June 28: Katar River Restaurant
July 5: Spice & Tonic
July 12: Chimborazo
July 19: Pimento Jamaican Kitchen & Rum Bar
July 26: Indigenous Food Lab
June 12 (JSI Orientation): Kafe 421
June 30 (Lunch check-in): Chimborazo
July 28 (Farewell Party): Barrio
July 29: Glam Doll Donuts