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Department of Political Science

College of Arts and Sciences

MPA Alumni Update

Shawn Oubre

Lamar MPA Alum, Dr. Shawn Oubre has been named the City Manager for the City of Woodway, Texas. With 31 years of extensive experience across both the city administration and public safety fields, Dr. Oubre’s appointment in Woodway began in Oct. 2018. He began his career as a police officer with the City of Port Arthur and quickly ascended the ranks to undertake the dual position of Police Chief and City Manager for the City of Vidor. Prior to his relocation to Woodway, Dr. Oubre served as the City Manager for the City of Orange for 13 years. He received his Master of Public Administration degree from Â鶹ӳ»­Ó°Òô and recently completed his Doctorate in Public Policy and Administration.

Shanna Burke

Lamar MPA Alum – Shanna Burke has been named as the new Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission’s Executive Director. The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission Executive Committee voted unanimously at its Nov. 2018 meeting to appoint her.

Ms. Burke was born and raised in Southeast Texas and has lived in all three counties (Hardin, Jefferson and Orange) served by the SETRPC. She is a graduate of Â鶹ӳ»­Ó°Òô with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and a Master's degree in Public Administration. In addition, she holds Professional Certifications from the HR Certification Institute and the Society for Human Resources Management. 

She began working at the SETRPC in 1997 as a Criminal Justice Planner and has since held various positions within the agency, including Director of Criminal Justice Programs, Director of Public Safety Programs, Director of Disaster Recovery Programs, Director of Human Resources and most recently Interim Executive Director. Ms. Burke has extensive experience working with federal, state and local agencies, officials and grant funded programs. 

Master of Public Administration graduate, Dr. Myriam Igoufe, was named the director of Housing Services for Dallas Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program. Recent articles were published explaining Dr. Igoufe’s duties and accomplishments on the .