2020 Staff
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Kevin Campos is a second-year MPA student with an emphasis in local government. He is originally from Los Angeles, California, but has been studying at BYU for the majority of the last 10 years. He assists with Dr. Christensen’s local government class. He is also helping the lab write a local government book by interviewing local government employees from around the country. He likes eating food, watching movies, and soccer.
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Adrainna Carter is an Undergrad student at BYU pursuing a degree in Global Supply Chain Management and a minor in Nonprofit Management. She grew up living in 5 different countries & visiting 35 others, which sparked a love for travel and service. Despite not always knowing how to direct her efforts, she is passionate about helping underserved groups and has been involved in several initiatives to help refugees. After graduating, Adrianna hopes to work with non-profits & other NGOs on the operations and logistics side of things. In her free time, she likes to read, bake, explore, and plan her next adventure.
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Marylis Fantoni is a Brazilian international relations consultant and researcher currently pursuing her Master of Public Administration (MPA) at the Marriott School of Business, Brigham Young University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. In the Fall of 2021, she will start her PhD program in Public Affairs at Indiana University with emphasis in Public Policy.
Marylis moved to Rio de Janeiro in 2014, where she fell in love with such global city filled with opportunities. In Rio she had the experience to work as international relations coordinator for local and national chambers of commerce, as well as an advisor at the Mayor’s office with the role of fostering economic development. It was in Rio where her interests about economic inequality, welfare state and public policies started to rise. After working at the Public Service Lab at BYU for one year, Marylis decided that she wanted to further her career by studying the roles of government, nonprofits and other entities in service provision worldwide. |
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Christina Hedgepeth is from Dallas, TX, and is pursuing a career in program and policy analysis in the federal sector. She decided to pursue her MPA degree to address the significant lack of representation in policymaking and government administrative bodies. Christina believes policies that address issues in our society have to include people of all cultural groups to create effective solutions. Her goal is to be in the most critical decision-making spaces to offer a new perspective and collaborate with other leaders to develop policies and solutions that will effectively improve lives. During her free time, Christina listens to podcasts. Some of her favorite podcasts include various shows from NPR, The Economist, National Geographic, and The Wall Street Journal stations. She also likes to read free New York Times Newsletters on business, policy, cooking, and lifestyle.
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Sophie McDonnell is an MPA candidate of the class of 2021. She comes from a public health background, with an emphasis in epidemiology and statistics. She is passionate about building community by promoting dialogue and improving programs to meet community needs by using good data. She currently works for the Lab as a teaching assistant in the Local Government 1 class. Her favorite part of assisting is seeing the “a-ha” moment students have when a discussion opens their perspective to something new. When she’s not at school, Sophie enjoys skiing, hiking, camping, and reading.
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Eveline Miranda is a Ph.D. candidate at BYU University (EIME Program). She graduated from the MPA program in 2020. In her master’s, she had many classes in HR, organizational behavior, team management, and data analysis. As a research assistant, she has worked on different projects related to gender disparity, burnout, and public service motivation. She loves working on data analysis and statistical models. She is passionate about gender studies, minorities, leadership, and motivation. In her free time, she loves spending time with family members, working on her genealogy, and running.
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Patricia Saavedra is a graduate student in the MPA program, with an emphasis in local government and nonprofit management. She is currently working as a research assistant at BYU’s Public Service Lab. She is gathering information from local government officials throughout the U.S. The goal of this project is to create a book, that can help future students and others, interested in local government management. Patricia enjoys working in social projects, project management, program evaluation, and finance. She is pursuing a career in the public sector where she can contribute to the organization’s goals to serve the community. Patricia enjoys finding ways to encourage people to pursue formal education. In her free time, she likes volunteering in social projects in her community, hiking, baking, and spend time with friends and family.
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Teneia Segi has always wanted to serve those around her but haven’t been able to figure out how exactly. As a research and teaching assistant in the lab, she has learned how impactful research can be for her peers and fellow citizens. Her favorite thing to do is surf, but living in Utah that’s not really a thing so instead playing with her son, Poseidon, will do!
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Bhavana Venjimuri is a BYU MPA graduate and is learning a lot about research being a research assistant. She graduated in 2019 and works for state government. Before joining BYU, she has had Civil engineering and a Master’s degree in construction management from India. She worked as a planning engineer at international airport projects for a couple of years before joining the BYU MPA program. BYU has changed her life for the better, she has said, and has helped her identify, nurture, and develop her passion for public service. In her free time she loves to spend time with her 20-month old who never misses to amaze her with his innocence and cuteness. She loves traveling and exploring new places. She has visited more than 30 countries and hopes to visit a few more in the years to come. Cheers to life, service and happiness!!
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Sarah M. Wright is an MPA student studying local government with an emphasis in management. She is currently leading a project dedicated to writing a book about local government employees and what it looks like today to be a local government employee. This research will help to inform and guide the next generation of local government workers and will give current and future MPA students a look into what choosing a career in public service is all about. Her personal goals for working in local government include being a community development director and serving a community that she loves to live in with people who she loves to work with.
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