Harris Names 2024 Alumni Award Winners

Four accomplished alumni of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy will be recognized Friday, May 4 at the Alumni Awards Dinner at The Study, part of Harris Reunion Weekend 2024. Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, dean and Sydney Stein Professor, and the Harris Alumni Council Awards Chair Heather George, AM’19, will present Chen Wen, AM’91, with the CC DuBois Alumni Service Award; Iván Rivas Rodriguez, MPP’08, with the Career Achievement Award; and Janet de Luna Jiménez, MPP’12, with the Rising Star Award. At a separate event, Minorities in Public Policy (MIPPS) will honor Daniel O. Ash, AM’94.

CC Dubois Alumni Service Award

Chen Wen, AM’91

This distinction is awarded to an alumnus who has demonstrated a strong commitment to the school through their service and work to enhance the life of students, fellow alumni, and the welfare of the school, and it is named for the late Cynthia “CC” DuBois, MPP’10. For more information about CC DuBois and the legacy she leaves behind, click here.

Throughout his career, Chen Wen has led or participated in multiple projects that promote pollution prevention in innovative ways, currently serving as an Environmental Protection Specialist in the United States Environmental Protection Unit’s Pollution Prevention Grants Branch. Following his education at Harris, Chen joined the EPA as a Presidential Management Intern in 1991. Chen currently runs the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards program, which–in partnership with the American Chemical Society—recognizes chemical technologies that incorporate the principles of green chemistry into chemical design, manufacture, and use through prestigious annual awards.

Chen has had a robust career selling residential real estate while participating in various investment projects with a former Harris classmate. For three decades, he has been an active member of the Harris alumni community, serving on the Harris Alumni Council, co-chair of several reunion committees, and at one time the chair of the Alumni Council Awards Committee. Chen prioritizes connecting with students, serving as a resource for those interested in environmental issues, and helping remove financial barriers by providing robust scholarship support.

Rising Star Award

Janet de Luna Jiménez, MPP’12

The Rising Star Award acknowledges a recent alumnus (within 15 years of graduation) who distinguished themselves early in their career, creating a positive impact in the execution of public policy.

Janet de Luna Jiménez is a public servant who has made a substantial impact on Mexico's sustainable development and public capacity building. She began her career in the Strategic Planning Office at the Presidency of the Republic and, after graduating from Harris, she assumed the role of Chief of Staff to the Federal Vice-minister of Urban Development and Housing, representing Mexico in United Nations forums aimed at shaping global development agendas. Her collaboration in the redesign of the largest federal housing program was pivotal to helping reduce the pace of urban expansion in Mexican cities.

In various capacities, she has spearheaded transformative initiatives in her hometown. At the time when her team was deploying local development strategies such as the regeneration of a decadent industrial area, the COVID pandemic hit. She then turned to the design and implementation of several social programs deployed to alleviate COVID’s impact on the local economy, such as vouchers tendered to the poorest population which could only be traded at local businesses, cash transfers to self-employed women, and temporary jobs in public services.

Janet served as Chief Financial Officer of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary in Mexico, where she increased transparency and efficiency in managing an annual budget of over 3 billion pesos. She currently serves as an Advisor at the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary in Mexico.

Career Achievement Award

Iván Rivas Rodriguez, MPP’08

The Career Achievement Award is presented to an alumnus who has served as a significant leader in the public, private, or nonprofit sector, creating meaningful positive change within their institution and society.

Iván Rivas Rodriguez has had a varied career, including being Deputy Administrator of Research and Strategic Planning of the Tax Administration Service in Mexico; serving as Commercial Coordinator of Diconsa, a network of government-owned stores that provide basic food, clothing, and other essential goods to rural populations; working in the Federal Ministry of the Economy and serving as Chief of Advisors to the Undersecretary of Small and Medium Enterprises; working in the private sector at Cemex and also as the Director of the Mexican Competitiveness Center (part of the Mexican Business Council); and being a professor of political science and public administration at the Universidad Iberoamericana – before serving as General Director of Economic Analysis and Relations in the Office of the Mexican Presidency and working in the Ministry of the Economy in the Government of Nuevo Leôn.

Iván’s career of service has increased investment in the state of Nuevo Leôn, infused the Mexican economy with new ideas and new partnerships, and served as an inspiration to many who seek to improve the lives of the people of Mexico through the expansion of opportunity, the distribution of items to take care of basic needs, and through education.