Nearly 30 Alfred University students and a group of faculty and staff traveled to the nation’s capital March 18-20 for the fourth annual DC Purple City Student Leadership Forum. The event, themed “Leading With a Purpose,” was supported by Washington, D.C.-area alumni and featured 16 alumni panelists and speakers.
The DC Purple City Student Leadership Forum is a student experience designed to educate, engage, and inspire. By traveling to the Washington, D.C., area, current students network and learn from alumni and friends of Alfred University who have cultivated careers in the nation’s capital—among them civil servants, elected officials, lobbyists, business and not-for-profit leaders, consultants, and others across industries and government.
The goal is to provide an experience focused on leadership and public policy. Students have a unique opportunity to network with, and learn from, representatives of the Alfred family across the government, non-profit, and private sector.
Twenty-nine students attended, representing all four of the University academic units—College of Business, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, and School of Art & Design. The group included students from six states— Hawaii, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Vermont— and also included 10 international students from seven countries: Brazil, Botswana, Ecuador, Ethiopia, India, Tanzania, and Uzbekistan.
The event was sponsored by the Division of University Advancement and supported by several alumni donors. It was organized by Diana Maguire, professor of management and adviser for the Leadership Minor in Alfred University’s College of Business, alumna Danielle Johnson-Kutch ’03 (B.A., political science, minor in sociology), Melissa Van Winkle ’03 MBA, director of Alumni and Constituent Development, and alumni Enid Borden ’72 (B.A., political science), David Bachrach, ’94 (B.A. social science), and Maribeth Bersani ’76 (B.S., psychology).
Johnson-Kutch, co-founder of the DC Purple City alumni group, is director of Global Government Affairs at Docusign and is an active member of the Alfred University community. In addition to leading the DC Purple City group, she serves as president of the Alfred University Alumni Council and is a member of the Judson Leadership Center Advisory Board.
The three-day event began Wednesday, March 18, with a reception at the Georgetown home of Tanya and Alejandro Mayorkas, parents of third-year Alfred University student Amelia (Mimi) Mayorkas. Alejandro Mayorkas served as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under President Joe Biden.
On Thursday, March 19, the full-day Student Leadership Summit was held at the offices of KPMG accounting firm, where Alfred University alumna and Board of Trustees member Patty St. George ’89 (B.S., accounting) is a senior partner. Maguire facilitated an ice-breaking discussion connecting speakers and panelists with students.
Steve Heine ’83 (B.S., management and health care administration), chairman of the Alfred University Board of Trustees and retired CEO and director of Woodsboro Bank, Frederick County, Maryland, was Thursday’s keynote speaker. His talk was titled “Filling Your Plate – Professional and Personal Success.”
Thursday’s Student Leadership Forum included speaker presentations and panel discussions titled “Influencers vs. Mentors” and “Leadership and Mentorship Stories.”
Panelists for the “Influencers vs. Mentors” discussion were Casey Curran ’23 (B.S., finance) ’25 MBA, Riley Strayer ’22 (B.S., health planning and management), and Amber Schlink ’15 (B.S., accounting) ’16 MBA. Curran leads the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority’s (FCEDA) Higher Education Program, with the aim of connecting students and graduates to the thousands of job opportunities available in Fairfax County. Strayer is Management and Program Analyst at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid. Schlink is a senior accountant at Integra Connect; a business which specializes in using AI and data software to help doctors, health insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies compile patient treatment plans custom to each patient's needs.
Following the “Influencers vs. Mentors” panel, Bachrach led a reflection discussion. Bachrach is a human resources consultant, working with such agencies as the U.S. Agriculture Department, the Smithsonian, the Pentagon, and the Justice Department to manage their human resources more effectively.
Panelists for the “Leadership and Mentorship Stories” discussion were St. George, Bryan Hill ’90 (B.A., public administration), Fairfax County (VA) executive and a member of Alfred University’s Board of Trustees; Russ Cesari ’67 (B.A., business and economics), retired principal and financial consultant for Northwest Financial Advisors and a former executive with IBM; and Christie Swarts ’96 (B.S., mechanical engineering), facility chief, Center Operations Directorate, NASA Langley Research Center.
The “Leadership and Mentorship Stories” panel was moderated by Meredith Field, assistant professor of sociology at Alfred University. Following the panel, entrepreneur Mark O’Meara, ’74 (B.A. mathematics), MSEd ’78 led a reflection session.
A discussion exercise, titled “Mock Sessions on the Hill, Advocating for Your Cause,” featured speakers Arnie Podgorsky ’72 (B.A., political science), principal, CDL Management Consulting, LLC; Jamall Lewis ’23 (B.A., communication studies), and Tim Hulley ’08 (B.A., political science), assistant director of research for the American Staffing Association. Bersani, a consultant offering expertise in aging and senior living, served as moderator, while Kutch-Johnson led the discussion among students reflecting on the exercise.
“The networking opportunities were exceptional,” said Gabrielle Hargrove, a junior marketing major from the Bronx, who listed among her highlights from the trip the group’s visit to Mayorkas’ home, and participation in Thursday’s Student Leadership Summit.
“Students had the chance to personally connect with alumni and members of the Board of Trustees, gaining insight into career paths, internship possibilities, and mentorship. We also built strong connections with one another across class years and majors, allowing us to continue supporting each other back on campus.”
Other alumni participants included Borden, CEO of the National Foundation to End World Hunger. Borden hosted a tour on Friday of the Capital Area Food Bank, where students were able to volunteer packing food items for distribution.
Maguire said Alfred students worked together in the food bank warehouse to uncrate and box 3,322 gallons of milk which was prepared for distribution to some of the more than 400 nonprofits and food pantries in the DC area. “The experience at the food bank helped students appreciate that they can be the difference in someone’s life,” Maguire commented.
Students participated in a Face Hunger Workshop, led by directors of the Capital Area Food Bank. The workshop, according to the Face Hunger website, “offers a glimpse into the daily realities and impossible choices of someone confronting food insecurity.” Maguire said Alfred students role-played the challenges faced by those with food insecurity. “That experience also raised students’ understanding with new perspective.”
Hargrove called the experience at the Capital Area Food Bank “truly meaningful” and something for which she was grateful for having the chance to participate.
“We learned what food insecurity looks like, who it affects, and how we can play a role in addressing it,” she said. “I appreciated leaving the experience physically tired because it reminded me that my efforts made a real difference for someone.”
Maguire, who has helped organize the DC Purple City Student Leadership Forum since its inception in 2023, noted the growth the event has achieved over the last four years and the benefits it has provided to participating students.
“The DC Purple City Student Leadership Summit is much more than a student trip. It creates an intersection of Alfred University students, alumni, and family where successful leaders share their experiences and develop meaningful relationships with students,” she said. “Over the four years of running this event we have grown the number of alumni and student participants and added the fantastic component of leadership in action.”
Hargrove said the experience was beneficial to her for being able to meet and interact with Alfred alumni who are successful in their careers. She said it also give her insight into how to deal with adversity.
“This trip taught me far more than I expected,” she explained. “I strengthened my leadership and networking skills, but I also learned how to navigate challenges that cannot always be prevented. I have had moments where I invested time, effort, and passion into a project and still was not satisfied with the outcome. Hearing established D.C. professionals share their own setbacks was incredibly valuable because it reminded me that failure isn’t final. You only truly fail when you stop trying.”
Maguire noted that two of the alumni panelists from this year’s event—Jamall Lewis in 2023 and Casey Curran in 2024—attended previous DC Purple City Student Leadership events. “This was a heartwarming, full-circle moment in our message to students on paying it forward,” she said.
