Category: NonProfit

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Elisabeth Butler continues learning about community engagement and equity at her summer Professional Work Experience

Current UNC MPA student Elisabeth Butler writes about her summer work experience with Race for Equity. You can read her first blog post here.

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While conducting my Professional Work Experience (PWE) at RACE for Equity, I was recently introduced to a tool developed by RACE for Equity called the Community Engagement Continuum (CEC). The CEC outlines a process for engaging community members in an equitable manner. The CEC focuses on engagement from a racially aware vantage point, and it incorporates aspects of Results-Based Accountability (RBA) and the Groundwater Approach into its methodology. My task in relation to the CEC is to take the lengthy 44-page document explaining the CEC and boil it down to two pages. The two pages will serve as a more easily understandable and accessible handout for clients or partners who are interested in learning about the CEC.

I find the CEC interesting because I feel that it is trying to shed light on a question a lot of organizations are currently grappling with. How do you engage community members in an equitable manner? For decades, experts and those with resources and power have dictated the course and flow of development, but now there are many who have decided including those who are impacted but such decisions have knowledge and perspectives that should be included in the decision-making process. This idea of giving community members a voice seems easy in theory, but it has proved to be challenging to put into practice. One of my supervisors even noted that most clients who are interested in the CEC are only in the initial stages of the process, few organizations actually are or have made it to the later stages. Even though community engagement is easier in theory than practice, I look forward to seeing how organizations overcome current challenges in creating sustainable and equitable community engagement processes.

In addition to discussing the CEC, I also wanted to bring up my experience of working for a completely remote company. Before I accepted the PWE position with RACE for Equity, I thought a completely remote job was ideal. A remote job would allow you to work from any location and is more flexible in work hours in comparison to a typical 9-to-5 job. This is not a critique of RACE for Equity, but, instead, my own realization that in the future I would prefer an in-person or hybrid job. I enjoy the flexibility offered by RACE for Equity in terms of work hours and location, but I feel a completely remote experience hinders some of the comradery and bonding that occurs in in-person jobs. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy working from the comforts of my home, but it would be nice to see my coworkers in-person now and then. It would be nice to know you at least have the opportunity to stop by your coworker’s office or cubicle to socialize or bug then about an email you had sent earlier in the week. As I search for a job in the future, I will keep this realization of mine in mind.

Overall, I have enjoyed my experience with RACE for Equity so far. RACE for Equity has been very mindful about giving me enough work to meet the MPA hour requirement, and I have been introduced to new concepts that I have found interesting. This PWE experience has zoomed by, but I look forward to finishing up my PWE over the next couple of weeks and taking what I have learned from this experience to future jobs.

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UNC MPA Student Elisabeth Butler utilizes DEI theory in her summer work with RACE for Equity

This post was written by UNC MPA current student Elisabeth Butler.
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My name is Elisabeth Butler, I am from Charlotte, NC, and I studied environmental science at UNC Chapel Hill for undergrad. In undergrad, I gravitated toward urban planning, and I was particularly interested in transportation and sustainability. However, after taking a couple of planning classes, I wasn’t quite sure if it was the right fit for me. Later on, I learned more about local government, and I decided that the more general Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree better suited my interests than a Master of Urban Planning.



I still decided to work for a year because I wanted to have some time and space to think before I jumped right into graduate school. During the gap year, I discovered that an MPA degree was critical to my entry into local government and overall very helpful to getting a job in the public sector, so I decided to apply for graduate school. I ended up selecting the MPA program at UNC Chapel Hill because I was already familiar with the quality of education provided by the university, and I was impressed by the network of alumni and connections the program had in North Carolina. I am also particularly interested in community engagement, and the program had a variety of courses that would allow me to further explore this particular area of interest.

For my Professional Work Experience (PWE), I am working for a consulting company called RACE for Equity, LLC. The company’s name, RACE for Equity, stands for Results Achieved through Community Engagement for Equity. I decided to conduct my PWE with RACE for Equity because I would like to work in community engagement in the near future. I was also intrigued by the company’s focus on using an equity lens to approach community engagement. I am still fairly new to the world of community engagement, given that my background is in environmental science, so RACE for Equity seemed like a great way to gain experience in my field of interest.



RACE for Equity is a fairly small and completely remote company, so I have been spending a fair amount of time in Zoom meetings and corresponding with my teammates via email. The company’s unique selling point is that it specializes in Results-Based Accountability (RBA), a framework based on data-driven practices. In my mind, RBA attempts to combine systems thinking and performance measurement into one framework. I see the value of RBA, but I have yet to be convinced that this loosely described framework should be considered a best practice in the consulting world.

In addition to the RBA framework, RACE for Equity uses the Groundwater Approach as a foundational theory of practice. The groundwater metaphor is designed to help people internalize and gain awareness of the racially structured society we currently live in. I found the groundwater metaphor as a very helpful and easy to understand metaphor in terms of how racially created structures leads to inequities and injustices along racial divides. I see how the systems thinking component of the RBA framework connects to the groundwater metaphor, but I sometimes wonder if the RBA model is sufficient. I wonder, how do you know if you are truly transforming the groundwater?

So far, I have enjoyed my work at RACE for Equity. I have been assigned to four projects to work on this summer. The first project involves collecting documentation, the second project is about storytelling for maternal health equity, the third project involves expanding upon past training materials, and the fourth project is researching different workspace platforms for the company. I have started working on the first and fourth project and will begin working on the second and third project in June. The RACE for Equity members have been very friendly and welcoming, but the one drawback is that I do not particularly enjoy the completely remote aspect of the job. Overall, I think RACE for Equity is doing good work, and I look forward to learning more about the company as I continue this PWE throughout the rest of this summer.

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Tax Exempt Churches and the Competing Values of Public Service

This post was written by current MPA student Stephen Thompson

Keeping up with the local news is something that’s always been important to me, and my time in the MPA program has only solidified that commitment.  The values and concepts in the program are helping me to see the news within my community through different lens and from new perspectives.  Using concepts taught in the program such as the competing values of public service and the public private dichotomy, I’m starting to ponder questions, which I hadn’t considered before.  For example: 

There is a new church opening on the northside of downtown Durham this winter called Pioneer Church.  Taking a somewhat unique approach to sanctuary this church will function as a community space/store/coffee shop during the week and transform its storefront area to a place of worship on the weekends.  This new organization is getting a lot of attention for its choice of “up and coming” neighborhood, and its stance on LGBTQ+ rights (Indyweek released a very informative article last week HERE).  The church has announced that the storefront portion of the business will be separate from the religious organization, and only the church will be tax free (presumably responding to community grumblings) but this actually raises a recurring, but still very important question for public servants: Should churches still be tax-exempt in 2021? 

Public Service is a multi-faceted discipline (just ask Dr. Stenberg, shoutout to PUBA 709) but one of the basic concepts is that of the competing values of Liberty, Community, Prosperity, and Equality.  These values are two sets of diametrically opposed values which are fundamental frames through which public issues are viewed.  Liberty—freedom, choice, and individuality; Community—safety, security, and social order; Prosperity—Efficiency, Economy, and productivity and Equality—equity, fairness, and justice.  These competing values exist on opposite ends of two spectrums.  The further you move toward community, the further you move away from Liberty.  The more regulation that is put in place to protect equality, the less prosperity (on an individual level) is felt.  Any given public issue does not necessarily engage all four values; however, every public issue does involve at least two opposing values.  Whether its speed limits on highways, or food safety regulations on prepackaged food, these values are battled out from small, townhall meetings to the floor of the capital building in Washington, DC.  

The question of whether or not churches should be given tax-exempt status, actually touches on all four of these competing values.  At one end you have the equality aspect.  This country was founded on and continues to defend religious freedom, and separation of church and state.  Therefore, if you give one church/religious order tax exempt status, you have to give it to all churches.  If you turn the other check though, church coffers represent an enormous amount of untaxed revenue which could be quite prosperous for American citizens though public services.  Certainly, no member of any church wants Uncle Sam to skim off a portion of their sacred offering/donation, however collectively speaking this is a large source of income which is off limits to state and federal governments.  This “godsend” (so to speak) could be used to fund public services enjoyed by members of all faiths (or even non-practicing individuals all together).  Looking at it from the secondary perspective, individuals do have the right to worship how and wherever they please in this county.  That’s a God-given liberty (I’m full of puns), but with so many forms and denominations of religion in this country, perhaps social order might dictate that since no one church has special privileges over others, maybe no churches shouldn’t get special privileges, at all. 

I’m not necessarily arguing that churches shouldn’t receive tax-exemptions; many of them do contribute to the public good by funding homeless services or operating food pantries, etc.  After all, secular nonprofit organization such as the Arts Council I work for are afforded tax-exemption for the public good they serve.  These are examples of the public-private dichotomy, organizations which are privately run but provide services which support the public good.  Regardless of the conclusions, I do think that decisions for and by the public should be reconsidered every few years.  As citizens, we have a duty of conservatorship of our county, and routinely checking in on our traditions and long running practices is a chore we often forget.  Our law books are bloated with outdated codes, and long since irrelevant laws, however many of these wouldn’t have the significant effects on public services which reconsidering the tax-exempt status of churches would on our communities, both locally and nationally.  So, whether it’s a new spot in the neighborhood, or mega church in the Midwest, it’s worth a discussion about how we as a community of citizens want to allocation our limited resources.  Not a sermon, just thought (from an MPA student).  

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Student Spotlight: Mallory Verez

This post was written by current MPA student Stephen Thompson.

Current student Stephen Thompson interviews current student Mallory Verez

In my last post I started to explore one of the unique things about MPA students; that we’re all so diverse, but with some very strong through lines. Continuing down the rabbit hole, I had the pleasure of talking with 2nd year, dual degree (MPA and Law) student Mallory Verez. I’ll have to get around talking with another MPA@UNCer (online student) one of these days, but this week I was thrilled to talk to Mallory about why she chose the MPA program, how public administration fits into a law degree (or the other way around), and how to get past the devil that lurks in the details.  

Mallory is originally from Pittsburgh, PA, but completed her undergrade degree at High Point University in December of 2017. After graduation she returned to the Steel City, eager for some real-world experience, which she found in a service year position with Public Allies where she was placed in an afterschool program focused on youth development. Mallory had finished her undergrad degree knowing that she wanted to continue her studies with the eventual goal of working in neighborhood legal services, but her experiences in the afterschool programs widened her perspective and inspired her to look for a public administration program, as well. Much like Valerie Sauer (see my previous blog post), Mallory began to see the siloed systems of public service worked more as barriers than channels for underserved demographics. After her year was up, she decided to look for a dual degree program.  

Looking for a dual master’s programs in public administration and law certainly narrowed the pool of schools, but after some research Mallory found herself enrolled in UNC. She acknowledged that her aunt used to work for UNC when Mallory was growing up, so she had some familiarity with the area and the school from family visits. But, as any grad student will tell you, after finding the program and getting accepted, the real work begins. Mallory and I commiserated over the loss of our once delightfully open evening schedules, now filled with readings, papers, and classes. Still, in that conversation I found another common thread with her and Valerie, as Mallory talked about the community of the MPA program and dedication of the School of Government faculty.  

Mallory is a full time, on campus student, so her program is divided into four years; a year of the MPA program, two years of the Law program, and the final year with a mixture of MPA and Law classes. In the fall of 2020, amidst a global pandemic, Mallory moved to Chapel Hill and started as a first year MPA student. She relayed the general air of uncertainty which permeated the campus that first semester, but more than that she felt an overwhelming sense of community and understanding which her professors extended to her and her fellow cohort members. “Dr. Berner’s willingness to talk to me about,” she paused, “anything!” and be “someone who was in my corner the whole time,” was really a lifeline. Mallory confessed that she was glad she started with the MPA program, because the Law cohort is much larger, and there are more students to contend with for professor attention.   

Last summer Mallory completed her Professional Work Experience (a requirement and rite of passage for us MPA students), at the Triangle J Council of Government, as the housing intern, where she “did lots of legal research,” as she put it. Research heavy as it was, the experience also introduced her to the wide range of nonprofits in the Triangle Area. She’s even planning on sticking around the area after she graduates to gain more experience at the myriad of interesting and distinctive nonprofits in our area.  

As our conversation drew to an end, I asked Mallory if she had any advice for prospective MPA students (as I am wont to do), and she had some sage advice: “Know why you want to be doing [the program]. It is so easy to get lost in the complexities. Don’t let [all the details] pull you [away] from what you want to do.” I have to say, if I had to distill down the message of the MPA program into one sentence, that about hits the nail on the head. Know why you want to be doing what you’re doing. As I wrap up my 3rd semester in the program, through the details of the course work, and field specific knowledge I’m gaining, I’m starting to see this greater message. The complexities of public administration (of which there are many!) can easily become tree after tree, after tree, which prevents us public servants from seeing the greater forest of our efforts, however I think I’m starting to learn how to navigate this jungle of policy. And with that piece of wisdom from Mallory, I’ll sign off for this week. Remember to keep it all in focus, and drink plenty of water—after all, finals are coming up!  

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UNC MPA Alumni Spotlight: Lyman Collins, Arts Evangelist, Class of 1986,

This post was written by Stephen Thompson, MPA Current Student

In 1986, Lyman Collins was finishing his Master of Public Administration degree from UNC. In 1986, I was but a twinkle in my mother’s eye. In the years that followed Lyman would go on to work in and for the arts at nationally recognized schools such as the University of Virginia, Western Illinois University, and UNC-Greensboro. I, myself would go on to be born, eventually learning to walk and talk. In August of this year I was introduced to Lyman through my UNC mentor (another MPA alum); Lyman was my mentor’s mentor. I was excited to talk with my grand-mentor about how the MPA program shaped his approach to public administration, how he’s seen the program evolve over the years, and what advice he has for scrappy young 1st years like myself. Ever an insightful figure, Lyman shed some light on how connections are made in the public sector, emphasized that hard data is what wins over public officials, and to always keep an eye out for opportunities.

What drew you to want to be a mentor/what keeps you coming back?

When I entered the MPA program (back in the stone age….) I was the only one in my class looking for a career in the arts – and, while the faculty was supportive of my direction, it was a rare one. Serendipitously, the NC Center for Public Policy Research was focusing on arts policy in state government and had a graduate assistantship opportunity available. I wrote three articles for their publication NC Arts Insight: “The North Carolina Arts Council”, “Baskets & Ballet: Making Arts Policy in North Carolina” and “Federal Budget Cuts to Culture: How Keen the Axe?”. A few years later an MPA student reached out to me as she had used info from the articles in her research. It was great to know there were others in the program with a goal of arts administration. Since then, as there have been more and more such students, I have been happy to provide perspectives and encouragement. I firmly believe the arts to be an important part of government services at all levels and am glad to continue to help graduates spread that message.

How have you seen the program change over the years?

The most obvious change, of course, was going to a full two-year curriculum. […] It does seem like the program is broader now and accommodates more and more students who are not necessarily looking to just become city managers.

What trends do you see continuing in the future for Arts Advocacy/Public Admin?

Overall, I have seen more and more municipal governments come to understand the role the arts can play as part of expected levels of service. More and more you can see that parks and recreation departments have added “cultural resources” (or something similar) to their titles. Or sometimes cities have established stand-alone cultural services departments. Also, it has become much more common for there to be a wider array of government grants (at all levels) available to support cultural programs.

One of the most visible trends has been the growing number of public art programs across the country. This aspect has become more and more associated with good planning and effective ways to create a sense of place. In some places (Cary is one example) having a municipal public art program has encouraged private developers to incorporate public art pieces into their developments. Probably the most publicized trend is the emphasis on the arts as an engine of economic development. … [T]he most recent [American’s For The Arts] survey … was released in 2016 and showed that for North Carolina the non-profit arts industry employed almost 72,000 people with a total spending of $2.1 billion which generated almost $107,000,000 in state government revenue and an additional $94,500,000 in local government revenue. Obviously, the pandemic has had an effect […] but I think it is safe to say that the arts will be back as an important economic driver.

What is some advice you’d give current MPA students looking to get into arts advocacy?

Make sure to understand the growing role the arts are continuing to play in local government. Be prepared to articulate how the arts really are a vital (and increasingly expected) part of governmental responsibilities. To that end, make sure to do the research with arts professionals and artists in your communities. Also understand the national picture – and Americans for the Arts is an excellent resource in that regard: www.americansforthearts.org

What is your next personal/professional goal for 2022?

Upon my retirement, I acquired the moniker “arts evangelist” which is an apt description of how I hope my post-career career pans out. I have always believed in the inherent power of the arts and have been exploring projects to keep my focus on spreading this gospel. To that end I have continued to be involved in a variety of arts related activities and organizations and use that involvement to help others find their voices. I hope I can continue to be a resource for young professionals and others looking to keep motivated in their careers. My most recent examples include service on the board of directors for Triangle ArtWorks, service on the planning committee for Arts North Carolina’s Arts Day next March and volunteer coordinator of the North Carolina Presenters Consortium’s Art Market in November.

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A Professional Work Experience in a Nonprofit Supporting Economic Development

Current MPA student Francesco Tassi writes about his Professional Work Experience this summer.  Francesco is a current student in the oncampus format of the MPA at UNC.  He is originally from Florence, Italy and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. Francesco’s main interest is supporting public organizations that promote the development of distressed regions and workers.

This post was written by Francesco Tassi.

I first heard of my PWE, the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC), from Dr. Dabson, a Research Fellow at the School of Government, and in Prof. Morgan’s elective Managing Economic Development. Having researched economic development strategies of North Carolina regional councils for our MPA Research Methods class, I actually ran into CREC’s consulting work for regional councils early on in my MPA. CREC is a nonprofit based in Washington D.C. that develops data products, conferences, policy academies, and consults for states and federal agencies on economic and workforce development. As I write this blog post, I find myself in D.C. about to embark on a new project with CREC to assist the U.S. Economic Development Administration in aligning the state and regional economic development strategies of several states—a far (but related) cry from my MPA research. This summer I helped develop an economic empowerment index to improve the economic mobility of frontline workers in Colorado, modeled the economic impact of Department of Defense (DoD) spending in Louisiana, updated CREC’s state business incentives database for fifteen states (including North Carolina), interviewed Appalachian Regional Commission grantees on best practices for recovery-to-work ecosystems, drafted a weekly newsletter for an association of federal statistical agencies, helped plan and run a federal data conference sponsored by Facebook, and mapped DoD appropriations to strengthen the pipeline between university research and military applications in Texas.
Asides from vastly increasing my knowledge of labor market data (a highlight was informing a successful collaboration on data with Brookings) and related software (IMPLAN, Tableau), CREC’s projects exposed me intimately to a fundamental question every practitioner in the public sector must face—how do we best use and communicate data to inform public organizations? Whether it’s the baseline year for military retiree spending I chose to input into a complex software to inform Louisiana’s legislature, or demographic industry variables debated with colleagues for Colorado’s index—what I cherished was that every decision had input and process. Despite working for a nonprofit, I realized that bureaucratic process, or feedback loops and reviews with clients and colleagues regarding data use and inclusion, is the backbone of all that is good and useful. For both my Texas and Colorado projects I pushed for certain data that took more time to collect. Despite possibly making me the ‘annoying’ intern, I believe this led to slightly more accurate tools for the public sector—which brings me joy.

I’m thankful for Prof. Szypszak teaching us Nexis-Lexis; it came in handy for updating statutes on states’ business incentives. It’s also easy for an MPA student to underestimate their first-year communications class. But when you’re building a 40-variable index for 64 counties and county commissioners, state-level workforce development and higher education departments, as well as industry sector partnerships across Colorado, you fully appreciate that everything needs to be simplified and communicate stories to be useful, despite being complex at its core. Seeing that the work I am helping to create is impacting public agencies, and at the forefront of innovatively tackling economic development challenges across the U.S., is immensely rewarding. Experiencing our nation’s capital despite the lingering presence of COVID-19 has also been a blessing. Commuting every day on the metro is a highlight, something I never thought possible in the age of remote work. I enjoyed my PWE so much that I will continue working with CREC part-time going into my second year as an MPA-MCRP dual degree candidate. I look forward to dive deeper into labor market data, continuously learning from (and deeply thankful for) dedicated colleagues and supervisors at CREC—two of which happen to be Tarheels. Even in D.C. you can’t be too far from UNC!

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Navigating Different Roles in the Nonprofit World

Current oncampus student Carly Lappas writes about her PWE this summer with Rural Forward NC, a nonprofit ogranization that works to provide healthier, more sustainable rural communities within NC with an increased capacity to solve their own health problems.  Carly Lappas is from Maine and attended undergrad at Bowdoin College.

This post was written by Carly Lappas.

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Non-profit organizations have always interested me because of their ability to fill the gaps between services offered by the public and private sectors. Prior to beginning my MPA degree, I worked for a large and well-established workforce development non-profit in Boston, Massachusetts. When looking for my professional work experience (PWE) I knew I wanted to stay in the non-profit sector, but was interested in learning more about small, grassroots organizations and how they interact with their communities. With guidance from the MPA career services team I found a job posting for Rural Forward North Carolina (RFNC) and knew I wanted to apply. RFNC in a non-profit that supports leaders and organizations in rural communities across the state to help them build capacity and identify opportunities for community collaboration. Many of the programs RFNC assists are start-up, grassroot organizations with deep connections to the communities they serve.

My role at RFNC is focused on Beaufort County, located in the eastern region of the state. Alongside my manager, Andy Shoenig, a UNC MPA alumnus, I help to facilitate two county-wide coalitions dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of the county. I also recently started supporting Andy in his work with the North Carolina Inclusive Disaster Recovery Network. These coalitions bring together nonprofit directors, government representatives, church leaders, health care providers, and community organizers so that they can learn from and bolster each other’s work. Supporting these coalitions allows me to better understand different types of organizations and how they can work together, while building my skills as a facilitator and consultant.

 

As I enter into my final weeks with RFNC before classes start up again at UNC, I am so appreciative of the experiences I have had and the community leaders I have met. With COVID restrictions slowly easing, I have been able to travel to Beaufort County to meet with community partners in person and observe their organizations in action. The work they do is reshaping their county and the resources available within their communities, and I am glad RFNC can be thought partners in their work. While I was, and still am, certain I want to build my career in the non-profit sector, my PWE experience has opened my eyes to the multiple avenues I can take, both in terms of the size and scope of organizations, as well as my role, whether it be direct service or consultation.

 

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Welcoming our NEW MPA students!

A couple of weeks ago, we had 22 bright and eager students begin our online MPA program, and we couldn’t be more excited to introduce them to you. With most of them averaging 10 years or more of work experience and 27% of them holding advanced degrees, we are proud to be the next step in their personal and professional journeys.

As always, we like to showcase the breadth and diversity of our cohort in terms of backgrounds, interest areas, diversity, and interests. Here are a few of their noteworthy mentions:

1 international student joining us all the way from Jakarta, India
1 Superior Court Judge from California
1 Police Lieutenant from the City of Portland, OR
4 practicing attorneys
4 health care administrators (UNC Health Care and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Indian Health Service, and United Network for Organ Sharing)
1 Local Government Employee Match Scholarship Recipient
5 currently working for the federal governemnt
2 Active Military
1 Marine Biology Educator

Obviously, this list is not exhaustive. We are so excited to have all 22 of you, and we promise you’re going to gain so much from this program.

Applying to grad school is a big decision in and of itself, but doing so in the midst of a pandemic and the state of our world brings a whole new level of commitment. While some might find themselves with more time to research graduate school and apply, I suspect many of us are still having a hard time focusing on a big thing amidst all of the chaos and uncertainty.

One thing is for certain, never has there been a more critical time for good public administrators and for people to believe in the power of good public administration. Over the last year, we have seen this at the state and federal levels of government with respect to the pandemic and a public health crisis and economic shutdown. And we have seen it at the local level of government with the focus on fair and equitable law enforcement and public safety issues.

So, we are thankful for all the public administrators out there doing their job well. And we are thankful to our newest MPA students for their drive, tenacity, and interest in making better communities! Good luck and welcome to the Carolina family!

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A New Student Blogger!

Hi everyone!

My name is Clay Fleming and I am a second-year student in the residential MPA program here at the UNC School of Government. As we continue these blogs, I hope to provide a closer look at the student experience within the program, as well as offer some insight into the incredible work others with a MPA degree are accomplishing in their communities. In my first blog, I am going to share a little about myself and the path I took to arrive here at UNC.

 

My journey to the MPA program was different but not too out of the ordinary. While pursuing my bachelor’s degree at Appalachian State University, I was heavily involved in a community service organization called Appalachian & the Community Together (ACT). In this organization, I helped provide community volunteer opportunities to students at Appalachian State as well as lead service trips to different communities across the country. Through my involvement, I began to realize I have a passion for serving communities.

 

This realization was made even clearer during my senior year, when I had the opportunity to lead a community service trip to San Francisco. The group I was leading worked with three non-profits in the Bay Area, all of which discussed working with local government to create ordinances that were mutually beneficial for the non-profit and San Francisco residents. Through witnessing the direct impact these partnerships had on the community, I realized I wanted this to be my career. The next day, I found UNC’s MPA website, read about the program’s focus on both non-profits and local government and I was sold!

 

Once I started the residential program last fall, I began to see all of the different avenues this degree could take me. Prior to starting the MPA degree, I never gave much thought to working in local government as a career, as I was set on working for a non-profit. However, with local government being the strong point of the program, my interests were ignited. Over the summer, I had my first authentic exposure to life working in a municipality through my Professional Work Experience (PWE) with the Town of Holly Springs. While interning there, it was incredible to see the inner workings of the government body to support residents, especially during COVID-19.

 

Ultimately with my MPA degree, I hope to create positive social change in the world that includes an emphasis on social equity. Whether my career leads me to local government or the non-profit sphere, I want to continue my passion for strengthening communities and serving people. I am very thankful for the opportunity to pursue this career and the support this program offers to me and my peers. I look forward to regularly updating you on various topics and happenings within public administration.

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Celebrating Work and Managing Endings

On Day 1, the public forum, things went forward nearly seamlessly in our virtual environment. SOG faculty and staff presented on collective impact, summarized two-year project, and facilitated excellent break-out sessions with team members who had expertise on topics like transportation, housing, and employment and recovery courts. There were some hiccups with the keynote speaker, Sam Quinones, the author of the highly acclaimed book Dreamland. As a journalist, he had a specific perspective of the opioid crisis, which did not always mesh with the experience and expertise of these community teams. For example, he spent over five minutes talking about how the word “addict” should be used to describe people who use drugs or who have Substance Use Disorder (SUD), despite the fact that community members in the chat attested that it was stigmatizing language. Despite these issues, the first day was a great spotlight of the project as a whole.

The second day of the forum was a teams-only event, summarizing the results of their efforts in 5-minute presentations, as well as workshops to focus on their sustainability and further work moving forward. Although there were some minor technical problems with showing some of the first presentations, these were ironed out as the day went on. Teams praised each other’s accomplishments and videos, which allowed them to make even more connections among communities using similar strategies. The teams were also able to use breakout rooms to discuss public values, collective impact, sustainability, and more, and then debrief with SOG faculty as facilitators. It was not the ending that partners may have wanted; their work, and the forum itself, were greatly complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it seemed like a fitting celebration of the teams themselves, one of the ways that ncIMPACT is managing the end of such a momentous and publicly-involved project.