Our Candidates

W. Alex Wesaw received his Bachelors of Science Communication with concentration in Organizational Communication and Public Advocacy from Ohio University-Lancaster in 2012. He currently holds the position of Commissioner of Minority Affairs for Graduate Student Senate. He is heavily involved in tribal affairs where he holds many leadership positions. 3 Currently, he is a graduate student in the Masters of Public Administration program in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs concentrating in policy innovation and strategic leadership. He holds a graduate assistantship with the Planning, Evaluation, Education, Research Team.

Liz Volpe graduated from Ohio University in 2008 where she received a Bachelors of Specialized Studies in Communications and Management.  After graduation, she moved to Columbus, Ohio where she worked for a large financial institution and wrote procedures, trained employees and actively worked mortgage cases. Volpe is currently a graduate student in the Masters of Public Administration program in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. She is actively working with a number of nonprofits in the Athens community on projects such as environmental scan, grants assessment and event planning. This summer, she will travel to Port Elizabeth, South Africa to work alongside an NGO and learn how they are dealing with the AIDS pandemic.

Jennifer Smolowitz, originally form Plainsboro, NJ, graduated from West Chester University in 2010 with a Bachelors of Professional Studies concentrating in Sociology and Health. After graduation, she worked for Public Allies Delaware as part of AmeriCorps. During this time, she worked with various organizations including: Meals on Wheels, Healthy Kids Running Series, The Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, and The Girl Scouts. Smolowitz was served as a Youth Educator for University of Delaware Cooperative Extension – 4H where she implemented drug prevention community events for at-risk youth. Currently, she is a graduate student in the Masters of Public Administration program in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs where she is working with the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.

Andrea Harless received her Bachelors of Arts in Political Science from Ohio University in 2012. During her time at Ohio University, she was involved in The New Political, the Public Relations Student Society of America and ImPRessions, OU’s student run public relations firm. She earned a certificate from the Global Leadership Center where she worked on projects with universities and embassies across the world. Harless worked for Organizing for America in 2012 where she acted as a fellow for the Obama campaign. During this time, she has the opportunity to meet both President Obama and Vice President Biden. Currently, she is a graduate student in the Masters of Public Administration program in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs where she focuses on politics and campaign management.