Susan Richard - President
Susan Richard is a second year student in the MPA program, she started the program Fall 2014 and will graduate May 2016. Her concentrations within the program are Public Management and Information and Performance Systems. She attended Northern Illinois University, where she received a Bachelor’s of Science, and majored in political science. Before serving as the president of PASA she was the professional chair. Also, she currently serves as the vice president of the Graduate Student Council and the treasurer of ICMA. She is interested in continuing her education after graduation, specifically within a higher education doctoral program.
Sam Barghi - Vice President
Sam Barghi is a first year MPA student with intended concentrations in Public Management and Local Government Management, and received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He serves as the PASA VP/Treasurer as well as on the Illinois Association of Municipal Management Assistants (IAMMA) Board of Directors Intern Representative.
Sam has spent time working as the Legislative Research Director for the Office of State Senator Melinda Bush, a Field Organizer on a U.S. Congressional Campaign, and, currently, the Administrative Intern for the Village of Deerfield.
In his free time, Sam prefers to wallow in the agony that is Fighting Illini basketball and football. He keeps his sanity because Illinois is, surprisingly, a powerhouse in Golf. Whenever he brings this up in conversation, however, his friends always give him the Jay Cutler, “Don’t CAAARE” reaction, for reasons beyond Sam’s comprehension.
Sam hopes to promote the local government profession and educate his peers about the wonderful opportunities a career in this field possesses. He also seeks to be your advocate within the MPA program- along with the rest of the Executive Board. Please contact him at [email protected] with questions about local government administration, comments and/or concerns about the MPA program and department, your feedback on how PASA can better represent you, and your insight on who should be the next Illini football coach.
Sam has spent time working as the Legislative Research Director for the Office of State Senator Melinda Bush, a Field Organizer on a U.S. Congressional Campaign, and, currently, the Administrative Intern for the Village of Deerfield.
In his free time, Sam prefers to wallow in the agony that is Fighting Illini basketball and football. He keeps his sanity because Illinois is, surprisingly, a powerhouse in Golf. Whenever he brings this up in conversation, however, his friends always give him the Jay Cutler, “Don’t CAAARE” reaction, for reasons beyond Sam’s comprehension.
Sam hopes to promote the local government profession and educate his peers about the wonderful opportunities a career in this field possesses. He also seeks to be your advocate within the MPA program- along with the rest of the Executive Board. Please contact him at [email protected] with questions about local government administration, comments and/or concerns about the MPA program and department, your feedback on how PASA can better represent you, and your insight on who should be the next Illini football coach.
Qeshawnda "Q" Haynes- Communications Chair
Qeshawnda Haynes (better known as “Q”) is a first year MPA student with a concentration in Information and Performance Management. She completed her undergrad degree at UIC, with a major in Communications and a minor in Sociology. Q works fulltime at Academic Communications Computing Center (ACCC) at UIC. Q is obsessed with technology and communication and its impact on society; as well as society’s impact on both. She has been certified in: ITIL (Infrastructure Technology Information Library), Lean Six Sigma (LSS), and pending LSS Green belt. However, her proudest accomplishment is being “mom” to her wonderful, smart, and handsome son, Khai. She enjoys balancing her professional, and academic life with spending quality time with her son, and being an active member of her son’s school technology committee and parent council.