By Colleen Toomey, MPA ’16
More than 70 alumni, family members, and Evans school faculty and staff joined together in August to celebrate the Class of 2016’s Ten-Year Reunion. Anchored by the theme “Meet Me at Parrington,” attendees from across the country gathered on the Parrington Lawn for an afternoon picnic with Paseo’s catering, lawn games, and an after-party at Ladd & Lass Brewing.
“Having a career in public service is a bit daunting right now,” says Christine Newman, MPA ’16, the reunion committee chair. “It felt important to come together as an Evans community and check in on all the impactful experiences we as a cohort have had over the past 10 years.”
Newman, who traveled from Philadelphia for the weekend, was joined by Corey Dahl, Mitch Abuan, Brian Taubeneck, Kylie Grader, Kimberly Ong, Phoebe Partch, Samantha Novak-Fitzgerald, and myself in organizing the weekend. Planning started in early 2026 with an initial callout for alumni interest that yielded more than 115 enthusiastic survey responses.
Reunion attendees included not only 2016 MPA graduates, but a diverse group of alumni whose studies began in Fall 2014, including part-time students from the Class of 2017, dual-degree alumni, and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. The weekend also included a Friday happy hour at the much-loved Stoup Brewing and a beach hang at Alki on Sunday.
I shared a reflection and toast from Parrington Lawn, shortly before rain clouds moved the party indoors.
“Without much certainty and a sense of security, this group has done the hard work in our own communities, our organizations, small towns, big cities, federally, and abroad. In humanitarian crises and on the front lines of conflict, you’ve built your own businesses, helped elect some of the most exciting candidates in our region, and you’ve become those candidates. You’ve built systems behind the scenes that most people will never see but that are instrumental to organizational success.”
I also noted that amid a dramatically changing professional landscape, my classmates had taken on significant family duties, made first forays into parenting, and faced personal health challenges, rising to every moment with tenacity.
For Lauren Broudy, MPA ‘16, the reunion reminded her why she chose the Evans School for her graduate studies. “It was such a delight to be back together. This group is smart, caring, and fundamentally rooted in service in everything they do.”
Amid current challenges in higher education for both students and institutions, the reunion weekend also served as a call to action to uphold academic freedom, federal research funding, and philanthropic support for student scholarships. The reunion picnic raised more than $1,000 for the Class of 2016 Fund, which students themselves established at graduation ten years ago. The reunion committee has set an annual campaign goal, titled “16 for 16,” asking each member of the Class of 2016 to commit to a monthly gift of $16, which will in turn cover annual tuition for an incoming MPA student.