After a decade of work and impacting so many students, Professor Marcie Paolinelli retired at the end of the fall 2025 semester.

She served as associate director of the McGeorge Public Policy programs from 2015-2017 and as director from 2024-2025. In addition she taught graduate classes in organizational behavior, leadership, analytics, strategy and implementation in a full-time and adjunct capacity from 2016-2025.

In 2015, the University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law established the Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Public Policy (MPP) degrees, making it the first public service degrees offered by an ABA-accredited law school in the country. That same year, Founding Director and Professor Emeritus John Kirlin recruited Paolinelli as the first associate director of the program.

“It was an absolutely amazing opportunity to join McGeorge,” Paolinelli said. “Professor Kirlin and former Dean Francis “Jay” Mootz had such an innovative vision for the program.”

Nearly 200 students have graduated with MPA or MPP degrees since the inception of the program. “I am so fortunate to have been part of this program from the beginning. I've had the opportunity to teach, mentor and advise every single one of them,” Paolinelli said. “With great pleasure, I've seen them grow, blossom, and progress toward their career goals; I can't wait to see what they and future McGeorge graduates do next and the impact they will make in public service.”

When she was appointed to serve as Director of the Public Policy program this past year, Paolinelli said that she worked to honor John and Jay’s original vision while adapting the curriculum to the evolving needs of public service graduate education. Paolinelli redesigned the MPA and MPP curriculum to offer a flexible, hybrid approach of online and in-person learning, which new graduate students are actively seeking.

“Dr. Paolinelli was the embodiment of the Pacific ethos of providing a student-centered-education. All her energies were devoted to creating the best student experience possible. She has made an immense contribution to the quality of the Public Policy Programs,” Dean Michael Colatrella said.

Paolinelli received the McGeorge MPA/MPP Faculty of the Year Award in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The annual awards are voted on by the graduating class each year.

“I am proud of the opportunity to have redesigned the curriculum to meet this evolving demand while still preserving meaningful opportunities for in-person engagement,” Paolinelli said. “We launched the revised curriculum this academic year, and the response from both current and prospective students has been very positive.”

According to former student Mat Olson ’18, it’s impossible not to think of Paolinelli when thinking of McGeorge’s public policy programs. “Her influence and support for the program has left a lasting impression on many of us working in the public administration sector,” Olson said.

She has provided management consulting services to public sector organizations for over 30 years and has led projects for government programs, including environmental protection, health, social services, transportation and emergency management. Paolinelli has a wide range of skills and expertise in strategic planning, management analysis, business process improvement, implementation and change management. 

Paolinelli started her consulting career at PriceWaterhouse LLP in 1988 and then joined the partnership of Synergy Consulting; eventually launching Paolinelli & Associates, where she continues to provide strategic and tactical consulting services.

One of her proudest accomplishments is serving as the first director of Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan’s Commission on management and productivity. She directed the activities of this collaborative, year-long effort between the executive branch, legislative branch and private sector to improve management as well as enhance customer service throughout Missouri state government.

Paolinelli earned a Doctor of Public Administration and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. In addition to teaching at McGeorge, Paolinelli has held teaching appointments at her alma mater, and served as the co-director of the USC California Leadership Institute, an executive leadership and management training program for California’s top-level managers at the career executive assignment level.

“She has made such a great impact on my time at McGeorge; Marcie has played a major role in laying the foundation and expanding the MPA and MPP programs at McGeorge and her tenure is one that will leave a noticeable imprint on the school and community,” Megan Nyce ’26 said. “Her former experience as a consultant and director of consulting bore many fruits as she continued to maintain her network with her former colleagues which would then become incredible guest speakers and career navigators for her McGeorge MPA and MPP students.”

Paolinelli said that due to the strong relationships with public-sector professionals that she developed through her consulting work and long-time association with American Society for Public Administration, she was successful in securing internship, externship, and permanent job placements for the students.

“Paolinelli balanced high expectations with genuine care, encouraging me and others in my cohort to grow while feeling supported,” Sally Ly ’19 said. “She was deeply committed to experiential learning and together we helped connect students with government work opportunities that prepared them for careers in public service.”

She was honored by the American Society for Public Administration, Sacramento Chapter in 2018 with the Ross Clayton Distinguished Public Service Award for meritorious service in the field of public administration over the course of a lifetime.

“Thank you, Marcie, for everything you have done and will continue to do to support our program,” Olson said.

Destiny Easter ’21 said “thank you” for her former professor’s support just doesn’t seem like enough for everything she has done for McGeorge and its students.

“I hope you know that I am forever grateful to have had you as a professor, mentor and ally,” Easter said.