National Academy of Public Administration Announces 2026 Class of Academy Fellows

Smithsonian Secretary, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, former U.S. Chief Data Scientist, and a former Member of Congress among public servants elected.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, September 28, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On Friday, Sept. 25, the Academy Board approved an incoming class of 64 highly accomplished public servants to join the National Academy of Public Administration Fellowship. The incoming class of Fellows includes AI pioneers, statisticians, historians, educators, and public service practitioners from the local, state, and federal levels.

The 2026 Class joins more than 1,000 current Fellows, including former cabinet officers, members of Congress, governors, mayors, and state legislators, as well as prominent scholars, executives, nonprofit leaders, and more.

“The Academy helps leaders achieve a more effective, efficient, transparent, and accountable government. This group of incoming Fellows represent excellence in public service from around the country, and will help us achieve our mission,” said James-Christian Blockwood, President & CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration. “As our country's management challenges grow, the Academy continues to build the capacity to tackle those pressing issues. I look forward to working with all our new Fellows, and providing a positive vision of what we can achieve together in the years to come.”

Induction of the new Fellows will occur during the Academy’s 2026 National Conference, November 8-10 at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, DC.

Selection of new Fellows follows a rigorous review of the individual’s contributions to the fields of public administration and policy. A Nominating Committee, selected by the Academy’s Board Chair, reviews hundreds of applicants and makes its recommendations to the full Fellowship, which then votes on each nominee. The 2026 Nominating Committee was co-chaired by Fellows Kerry Neal and Jeanette Takamura.

The full list of incoming 2026 Academy Fellows is:

Whitney Afonso
Professor
University of North Carolina
North Carolina

Michelle Amante
Senior Vice President of Government Programs
Partnership for Public Service
Virginia

Derrick Anderson
Vice President
University of Utah
Utah

Tanya Ange
County Administrator
Washington County
Oregon

Alyssa Ayres
Dean and Professor of History and International Affairs
The George Washington University
District of Columbia

Hillary Batjer Johnson
Principal & Strategic Advisor
HBJ Global Solutions, LLC
California

Melody Bell
Deputy Director
Department of Energy
Ohio

Vonda Bell
Chief Human Capital Officer & Director of Agency Services
Farm Credit Administration
Virginia

Gloria Billingsley
Department Chair
Jackson State University
Mississippi

Scott Blackburn
Senior Partner
McKinsey & Company
Maryland

Sharonne Bonardi
Executive Director
Federation of Tax Administrators
Maryland

Byron W. Brooks
County Administrator
Orange County Government
Florida

Lonnie Bunch
Secretary of the Smithsonian
Smithsonian Institute
Maryland

Kelli Burriesci
President & Founder
KAB Consulting
District of Columbia

Mark Bussow
Senior Advisor for Government Reform
United States Congress
Maryland

Holly Canevari
Vice President & General Manager
General Dynamics Information Technology
Virginia

Jerrell Coggburn
Department Chair
North Carolina State University
North Carolina

Margot Conrad
Senior Director
The Volcker Alliance
International

Ann Cotten
Executive Director
University of Baltimore
Maryland

Phil Dean
Research Director and Chief Economist
University of Utah
Utah

Charlene Dukes
Co-Principal Investigator
Prince George's Community College
Maryland

William Gates
Director, Professor of Practice
ASU Mechanics of Democracy Laboratory
Arizona

Christy Goldsmith Romero
Distinguished Visitor from Practice
Georgetown University Law Center
Virginia

Robert Gordon
Director
University of Georgia
Georgia

David Guston
Associate Vice Provost
Arizona State University
Arizona

Dustin Haisler
Chief AI Officer & U.S. General Manager
Darwin AI
Texas

Shahidul Hassan
Professor (Milton and Roslyn Wolf Chair)
Ohio State University
Ohio

Deneen Hatmaker
Professor
University of Connecticut
Connecticut

Jason Jakubowski
President & CEO
Connecticut Foodshare
Connecticut

Jacqueline Jones
Deputy Assistant Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
Maryland

Andrew Kurtzman
Director
US Government Accountability Office
Virginia

Michael Land
City Manager
City of Coppell
Texas

Karen Lee
Founder and Executive Director
FedsForward
Virginia

Keon-Hyung Lee
School Director
Florida State University
Florida

Allison Lerner
Inspector General
National Science Foundation
Maryland

Doug Linkhart
President
National Civic League
Colorado

Amy Liu
Acting CEO and Board Member
Equal Measure
Virginia

Michele Mark Levine
Director, Technical Services
Government Finance Officers Association
New York

Mercedes Márquez
President
Marquez Community Strategy, Inc.
California

D. Paul Monteiro Jr.
Vice President
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Maryland

James Moore III
Assistant Director (IPA)
U.S. National Science Foundation
Virginia

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Executive Director/Program Director
George Washington University
Florida

Ghida Neukirch
City Manager
City of Highland Park
Illinois

Sasha O'Connell
Head of Security Strategy
CoreWeave
Maryland

Malcolm Oliver
Dean
Thomas Edison State University
New York

Jaclyn Piatak
Professor
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
North Carolina

Daniel Ragsdale
Advisor
CyberStar
Texas

William Resh
Professor and Chair
Georgia State University
California

Denice Ross
former U.S. Chief Data Scientist
Director
Federation of American Scientists
Virginia

Alka Sapat
Director (Chair)
Florida Atlantic University
Florida

David Shive
Vice Chair, CIO
US Executive Office of the President, US General Services Administration
Maryland

Saba Siddiki
Professor
Syracuse University
New York

Lauren Stocker
Former Deputy Associate Director
Office of Management and Budget
Singapore

Joseph Trainor
Dean
University of Delaware
Pennsylvania

Jeffrey Van Wagenen
County Executive Officer
County of Riverside
California

Ann Veneman
Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Board member, Sun World, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the Gallo Center for the Arts, BEAM Circular, and Public Policy Institute of California
California

Peter Warren
Senior Advisor
U.S. House of Representatives
Virginia

Chuck Wemple
Chief Operating Officer
Houston-Galveston Area Council
Texas

Kevin Werner
Executive Director
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Washington

Lee Worsley
Executive Director
Central Pines Regional Council
North Carolina

Carey Wright
State Superintendent
MD State Department of Education
Maryland

Hongtao Yi
Editor
Public Administration Review
Florida

Eric Zeemering
Professor and MPA Director
University of Georgia
Georgia

Teryn Zmuda
Executive Director
Harvard University, Bloomberg Center for Cities
Massachusetts

About the National Academy of Public Administration
Chartered by Congress to provide nonpartisan expert advice, the Academy is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1967 to assist government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations. www.napawash.org

Matt Hampton
National Academy of Public Administration
mhampton@napawash.org
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