Young Alumnus Award

The Young Alumnus Award is presented annually to an individual who was a Blue Key member while a student at UGA, and whose early professional and personal contributions indicate a special level of service to the state and nation. Past recipients are shown here along with their titles at the time of their selection.


Past Recipients

RecipientAffiliationYear Awarded
Robert L. IzlarExecutive Vice President, Mississippi Forestry Association1986
C. Randall NuckollsCounsel to Kilpatrick & Cody, Washington Office1987
Deborah NorvilleAnchor, NBC News at Sunrise1988
Lewis A. MasseyChief of Staff & Campaign Manager for Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard1989
Diane Brown VaughnExecutive Director, Children’s Miracle Network Television1990
Keith MasonExecutive Secretary to Georgia Governor Zell Miller1991
Tammy Tate GillandCoordinator of Alumni Relations and Development, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia1992
James B. EllingtonLaw Partner, Hull, Towill, Norman and Barrett1993
Kathy Rogers PharrDirector of Communications and Public Relations, School of Law, University of Georgia1996
Mark LewisVice President and General Counsel for Meridian Management1997
Stacy Bishop JonesDirector of Public Affairs, Communications and Tourism, City of Commerce, Georgia1998
Robert Ray, Jr.Assistant Secretary of State1999
Anne Proffit DepreeUGA Associate Professor of Law, University of Georgia2000
Frank J. Hanna, IIICEO, HBR Capital, Ltd.2001
Heath GarrettChief of Staff to U.S. Representative Johnny Isakson2002
Robyn Andree PainterSenior Writing Fellow for the Georgetown Law Writing Center, and Former Peace Corps Volunteer2003
Andrew DeVooghtVisiting Professor, University of Illinois College of Law2004
Christopher CarrDeputy Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson2005
Natalie D. SchweersGroup Vice President, SunTrust Bank2006
Bart NewmanAssociate, Law Firm of Arnall Golden Gregory2007
Scott HershovitzAssistant Professor, University of Michigan Law School2008
Amy Mulkey McGowanSenior Associate, McKinsey & Company2009
Beth A. ShapiroShaffer Career Development Assistant Professor, Penn State University2010
Charles J. BethelSenator, State of Georgia, District 542011
Tobin R. CarrDirector of Planning, Georgia Department of Transportation2012
Jessica Langston McClellanAviation and Admiralty Litigation and Deepwater Horizon Trial Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice2013
Holly C. GoodingSpecialist in Adolescent Medicine and Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School2014
Tricia L. ChastainPresident, Georgia Student Finance Commission2015
Jane OkpalaLead Product Specialist on Social Good and Goodwill Products, Facebook2016
Matt CrimCardiologist, Piedmont Heart Institute and Assistant Professor of Medicine, AU/UGA Medical Partnership2017
Latham Saddler, IIIU.S. Navy SEAL Officer - Director of Intelligence Programs on the National Security Council2018
Chloe KelleySenior Vice President and Account Manager, PIMCO 2019
Award Not Given2020
David B. DoveExecutive Counsel to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp2021
Grant R. ThomasDirector, Georgia Governor's Office of Health Strategy and Coordination2022
J. Wells EllenbergDirector, Governmental Affairs for Southern Company2023