Category: IPA
Biden School Scholars Honored at 2026 ASPA Conference
April 07, 2026 Written by Sophonie Milord | Photos by Meghan Keating
Several members of the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration received awards and recognition at the 2026 American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) annual conference, held March 20-24, 2026, in Hollywood, California. This is the profession’s largest gathering, bringing together public administrators, including public servants, nonprofit professionals, researchers, scholars, students and more nationwide to discuss relevant topics. This year’s theme was resilience and renewal, working toward building the bridge needed to take their work from today’s environment to what comes next.
Recognized were:
- Jessica Sowa, Professor in the Biden School and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Public Administration (IPA), who served as the 2026 ASPA Conference co-chair and received both the Chester A. Newland Presidential Citation of Merit and the Mary Guy Lifetime Impact Award for ASPA Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations;
- Maria P. Aristigueta, Former Dean and Professor Emeritus at the Biden School as well as IPA Senior Fellow, received the 2026 Distinguished Service Award from the ASPA Section on Hispanic, Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Public Administration;
- Calaia Jackson Franco, a doctoral candidate in the public policy and administration program and research assistant at the Biden School who was recognized as a 2026 ASPA Founders Fellow;
- Alisa Moldavanova, Director of Master's Studies and Associate Professor in the Biden School who won the 2026 ASPA Section on Public Administration Research Book Award for The Overlooked Pillar: Making a Case for Cultural Sustainability;
- Reidel Vichot, a doctoral candidate in the public policy and administration program who won the 2026 Student Travel Award and the 2026 Service to the Section Award from the ASPA Section on Nonprofits; and
- Daniel Zorrilla, a doctoral candidate in the public policy and administration program who was honored as a 2026 David Gould Scholar from the ASPA Section on International and Comparative Administration.
Originally published in UDaily's For the Record.
