Harris Reunion Weekend Recognizes Achievements of Distinguished Alumni

On May 5, the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy acknowledged four accomplished alumni for significant achievement in their fields. At the Alumni Awards dinner at the David Rubinstein Forum, Molly Murray, AM’20 and a member of the Alumni Awards Committee, joined Heather George, EMP’19 and Alumni Awards Chair, to recognize the awardees. Harris honored Ana Aguilera, MPP’13, with the Rising Star Award; Kate Tomford, SM’07, with the CC DuBois Alumni Service Award; and Sylvia Puente, AM’90, with the Career Achievement Award.

Surge Sen, MPP’98 and president of the Alumni Council, welcomed the audience to the celebration and introduced Ethan Bueno de Mesquita, interim dean and Sydney Stein Professor.

“The work that you all are doing has never been more important in our society,” said Interim Dean Bueno de Mesquita, in his opening remarks. “We face existential policy challenges. We face profound challenges of what it even means to live in a society together, to have a sense of common purpose and to try and achieve things together. It's wonderful to have an event where we can celebrate people who've made a difference on that front.”

The first honoree, Aguilera, accepted the Rising Star Award which acknowledges the distinguished achievements of a recent alumnus making a positive impact through their work in public policy. With over 11 years of experience in international development, Aguilera’s leadership and innovation on migration, forced displacement, and local resilience were recognized by the award.

“My own migrant experience actually started here in Chicago when my husband and I came to study at Harris,” she shared in her acceptance speech. “It’s part of the stories of over seven million people now who have left Venezuela in search of hope.”

Aguilera manages The World Bank’s portfolio on migration, refugee, and social inclusion agenda in Central America, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Her goals in this line of work expand beyond just providing migrant communities with necessary resources and support: “We want to shift the policy dialogue from migration as a problem to migration as an opportunity and a force of development.”

She encouraged those working in this policy area to come prepared not only with a skillset to handle the data and economics perspective of this issue, but with the empathy and compassion necessary to foster meaningful discussions that will lead to greater positive change. She credits Harris with giving her the ability to have an impact in this crucial area.

Later, Tomford accepted the CC DuBois Alumni Service Award, which honors an alumnus committed to enhancing the lives of current students, fellow alumni, and uplifting the school’s mission through service. While working at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) as a senior analyst for energy in the finance department, Tomford has also dedicated countless hours to mentoring current Harris students with interest in energy and environmental policy. She has remained connected with the Harris alumni community in Chicago, always looking for opportunities to expand that community with current students.

“Throughout the past 16 years since getting my degree, I’ve been most fortunate to receive invaluable advice, guidance, and a lot of reassurance from an incredible network of Harris alums,” she explained in her acceptance speech. “Each of these influential people illustrated for me what service means, and what a difference an encouraging mentor or role model can make.”

She said she aspires to do the same for other students and young Harris alumni starting out their own careers, especially considering how reciprocal she has found the program to be.

“I’m extremely grateful to all of my Harris mentees for the insight and inspiration they’ve shared with me during many coffees, lunches, Zooms, and panel Q&A sessions,” Tomford said.

The award is named for Cynthia “CC” DuBois, MPP’10, a committed alumnus and friend of Harris who served as president of the Harris Alumni Council from June to November 2017, when a battle with brain cancer forced her to step down from the position. DuBois passed away in 2018, leaving behind a lasting legacy of service to Harris.

For the final award of the evening, Harris honored Sylvia Puente with the Career Achievement Award, bestowed in recognition of an alumnus serving as a leader who has had a meaningful positive impact in their field. This award recognized her work as the President and CEO of the Latino Policy Forum, helping to build foundations of equity, justice, and economic prosperity for the Latino community through advocacy and analysis.

Reflecting upon her career and what led her to this achievement, Puente told the audience about the first picket line her mother took her to at 13 years old and the lifetime of activism that followed.

“I have always been an activist. I have always been about what we can do to make the world better,” she said in her acceptance speech.

In this role, Puente realized that while marches and mobilization were critical to enacting change, she wanted to be able to use data and information to further these causes as well. An education in public policy, she said, would help her understand the inequality and disparity in the issues she cared about.

As she continues her journey as an activist, she noted that her motivation to help her community has shifted as she has matured.

“I was motivated in my younger years by the anger of wanting to remedy injustice. Today, I’m motivated by hope, and dare I say love. Hope and love for a society of justice and equality, where all have the opportunity to fulfill and live their dreams.”

That hope and love was evident in the room – from the families of the awardees to the fellow alumni making an impact in their own communities – as the audience gave the honorees a standing ovation, moved by their powerful stories and inspired by their achievements.

Minorities in Public Policy Studies honored Barbara Barreno-Paschall, MPP’17, in a separate ceremony the night before at the Penthouse Hyde Park.