TFAS presented alumni awards to two alumni and one chapter for their distinguished accomplishments and dedication to TFAS. The Alumni Achievement, the Young Alumnus and the Chapter of the Year Awards were presented at a luncheon held during alumni weekend in Washington, D.C. The Kevin Burket Alumni Service Award will be presented during the TFAS Leadership Summit conference this fall in Colorado Springs, Colo.
TFAS thanks the many alumni who submitted nominations as well as the Alumni Council Awards Committee who chose the winners. Members of the selection committee include Lindsey Parke (IBGA 05), Michael Kelley(CSF 03), Cori Meyer (IPVS 06), Betsy Bryant (IBGA 05), Will Tomlinson (IPJ 97) and Neil Vigdor (IPJ 98) who serves as Vice Chairman of the Awards Committee.
2012 Alumni Award Winners
2012 Alumni Achievement Award
Christopher Hull (E 91)
Chris Hull (E 91) is the chief executive officer of BlastRoots, Inc., a Washington-based technology startup that is building a free social networking advocacy platform. Hull has spent the last decade working in public affairs. He was most recently executive vice president at Baron Public Affairs, a corporate public policy strategy firm. Hull graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in government and went on to receive a Ph.D. in government from Georgetown University.
Hull has served on the ICPES Board of Visitors since 2003 and has taught the ICPES public affairs internship seminar. In the summers, Hull has hosted ICPES students for small group meetings, giving them insight to the world of public affairs in Washington, D.C.
2012 Young Alumnus Award
Jessica Taylor (J 05)
Jessica Taylor (J 05) is a senior analyst and reporter at The Rothenberg Political Reportwhere she covers House, Senate and gubernatorial elections as well as the 2012 presidential contest. Previously, Taylor was editor of National Journal’s “House Race Hotline,” a comprehensive summary of news, polls and political data on all 435 congressional races, and wrote a twice-monthly column for National Journal Daily. Taylor has also served as assistant editor for POLITICO’s 2010 page and worked for National Journal as a staff writer and online producer.
A native of Elizabethton, Tenn., Taylor graduated magna cum laude with a degree in political science from Furman University in Greenville, S.C. She is a member of the IPJ Board of Visitors and frequently serves as a speaker and panelist at TFAS journalism conferences as well as for the summer and semester programs. Additionally, Taylor served as a TFAS program advisor in 2007 and was also a TFAS Freedom Scholar.
2012 Chapter of the Year Award
TFAS Atlanta
The Atlanta Chapter is one of the most active alumni chapters worldwide. Under the leadership of Andrea Huels (E 86), the chapter has held numerous successful events, including a tour of Delta Airlines in August 2011. The chapter also organized a joint fundraising challenge in conjunction with the TFAS Money Bomb in December 2011 that generated several gifts. In 2012, the chapter will hold a pre-election discussion panel, featuring local alumni as well as a wine tasting or salsa-dancing event.
Huels has made it a central mission of her presidency to revamp the chapter’s social media presence, making extensive improvements to the chapter’s Facebook page. In addition, Huels is enthusiastic to try new initiatives and plan interesting and fun events for her chapter – always relaying helpful tips from her experiences back to her fellow chapter presidents. Through her risk taking, investment and execution, the Atlanta Chapter has benefited, as have all other alumni chapters.