What a summer it has been! This will (unfortunately) be my last blog post of the summer. But rest assured, my work with Chatham County is not done!
The blueberries I picked while interviewing a producer from the Chatham agriculture community.
Over the last few weeks, I spent a lot of time deciphering and coding the information that I received from interviews. And let me tell you…I had quite the spread! After I coded them, checked them, re-coded, and re-coded, and re-coded…I finally had a clearer picture of what Chatham residents view as challenges to a more connected community and what they think we (the Chatham public administrators) could do to tackle those challenges. It was really interesting to see the similarities and differences of responses to my two standard interviews questions. After coding the responses, I wrapped it all up in the best public administrator package that I had — you guessed it, A MEMO!
Me working on coding and typing my memo
My beautiful memo outlined the findings of my interviews and research thus far. The top three challenges that Chatham residents mentioned fell into three broad categories – equity, division, and infrastructure. These broad categories were then broken up into corresponding subcategories such as race, geography, and broadband. (side note: Did you know that some Chatham residents do not have access to internet because the internet companies never placed fiber in their areas? Talk about a market failure…). And some of the suggestions I got were around building stronger community relationships and the opportunity to share stories across town lines. In addition, my memo outlined possible paths that the County Manager’s Office could take in working towards unifying Chatham County.
And then…I got to present to the County Manager…So on Wednesday of last week, I got to present my findings and ideas to Dan. Dan was super receptive and supportive. He provided me with some good feedback on what the County Commissioners would likely want to know. I left that meeting knowing that I had the support of the County Manager! So, in September I will be presenting my findings and recommendations to the County Commissioners at the Board of Commissioner’s meeting.
How I felt after my meeting with Dan
As I move forward, I will continue to map out how we can implement some community building events in Chatham County. Hopefully, in the next fiscal year a position can be funded to carry out this work!
It has been a pleasure sharing my experience with you all! I hope to continue doing this kind of work in the future so be on the look out for me! In the famous words of Tigger, “Ta ta for now!”
Meet Chatham County’s Human Resources Director, Carolyn Miller.
Carolyn Miller: our fun, lively Human Resources Director
On Thursday last week, I had the opportunity to shadow Carolyn. I learned more about how conflicts are managed, HR consultations, new employee orientation, and all the many things our HR department does and manages. But of course, I got to learn more about the little things that Chatham County’s HR department does that makes a big impact on employees.
Little things, Big impact
Thing 1: Promotions are celebrated by baked goods. Chatham County employs over 500 employees and HR makes sure to celebrate each promotion. Every time that there is a promotion in the County, the four HR staff make a basket of baked goods for that employee. This is definitely a nice touch that shows that HR cares and is proud of you!
Picture from new employee orientation of the beginning of the diversity, equity and inclusion portion
Thing 2: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are embedded into new employee orientation. Chatham County’s HR department makes sure that diversity, equity and inclusion is something that you hear from the beginning of your career with Chatham County. Carolyn reviews key definitions and how every individual’s culture impacts their reality, starting with her own story. Carolyn stresses the importance of these values and the continued work that everyone must engage in to overcome our implicit biases.
Thing 3: Desk chairs and colors were intentionally selected to impact organizational image. You are probably wondering what HR has to do with desk chairs and colors. Apparently, a good deal! Carolyn Miller told me that she and the previous County Manager intentionally picked a medium oak colored desk and cloth-backed chairs for their offices to promote a more welcoming space. She said that they steered clear of mahogany desks and leather chairs because that created a more ostentatious look. Moral of the story is that HR played an important role in being intentional in how they crafted the County Manager’s space.
Halloween 2018: HR staff dresses as the Wizard of Oz
Thing 4: HR + the County Manager judge an annual County-wide employee Halloween costume contest. First and foremost, the HR department does reverse trick-or-treating and goes to each department in the County to pass out candy on Halloween. In addition to that, the departments (as individuals or groups) can also enter the costume contests! I saw the pictures from years before…Chatham County employees go ALL OUT.
Thing 4: An employee-generated policy idea became HR policy & it is the only one of its kind in the STATE. In the County, there is a Personnel Committee where employees are selected to represent employees to HR staff. The Personnel Committee presented HR with the idea of a “Tobacco Free Petty Leave Policy.” Petty leave for those who don’t know is “free time off” granted by your employer to use for running errands or whatever you want. Chatham County does grant each employee an allotted amount of petty leave, but if you are a non-tobacco user (verified from your medical provider) then you are granted additional petty leave known as tobacco free petty leave. If you are a tobacco user that enrolls in a cessation program, you are granted some tobacco free petty leave as well. This is the only policy like it in the state and it was completely generated by employees and accepted by HR. This shows HR’s commitment to employee health.
2017 Employee Appreciation Day
Thing 6: HR marks “Employee Appreciation Day” and visits every department with small gifts. On this day in March, the HR department and the County Manager go to every department and office to pass out goodies and talk with folks to show their appreciation. This is a great way for people to interact with the County Manager.
Thing 7: Annual Salsa and Chili Contests for employees. Every year in the fall, County employees can also compete in the annual salsa and chili contests. The chili that won last year had an unexpected twist – CHOCOLATE. Apparently, it was a mole (Mexican dish)-inspired chili recipe.
Needless to say, I learned a lot about how Chatham County’s Human Resources Department gets creative to make employees happy and proud to work for the County.
**DIsclaimer: if you recently finished year 1 of the mpa program, it may be too soon to see another memo. if this post is triggering, please click the small ‘x’ in the upper right hand corner. Other than that – welcome to this week’s blog. Surprise! It’s written in memo format. every MPA-er knows that memos are life. So, here ya go!
TO: MPA Matters Readers
FROM: Courtney Cooper-Lewter, MSW/MPA Intern
DATE: 10 July 2019
SUBJECT: Chatham County Manager’s Office Organizational Culture & Quirks
The purpose of this memo is to outline some of the organizational quirks of the Chatham County Manager’s Office, from an intern’s perspective.
BACKGROUND
HAPPY TWO MONTH-IVERSARY to me and the Chatham County Manager’s Office! I have spent the last two months really diving deep into understanding Chatham culture and the Manager’s Office, in general. I am very grateful to be working in an office that embraces me as part of the team, not just an intern. Plus, this office is quirky and eclectic and awesome! So in this memo, I will discuss some of the key things that make this office’s culture different.
DISCUSSION
According to Management Study Guide, a healthy organizational culture increases motivation, unifies, and brings out the best in employees. So far, there are three aspects of the Chatham County Manager’s Office that make it stand out as a great place to work.
Christmas in July: Yep, that happened. Our awesome Safety and Risk Manager, Marilyn Grant, surprised everyone in the office with a gift + Christmas card on July 1st. The gifts were thoughtful and pretty spot on! For my gift, I got a pretty scarf! I have no idea how she knew I loved scarves. A heavy coffee drinker in our office, who shall remain unnamed, got a cute monogrammed coffee tumbler. After some further investigation, I found out that this is her yearly tradition in the office. I was pleasantly surprised and it was a great mid-summer pick me up!
Eclectic Knowledge: You would be surprised to know that the majority of the folks working in Chatham County Manager’s Office don’t have an MPA or even a government educational background. Our Budget Director has a PhD in psychology. Our Human Resources Director has a history background. And, our County Manager has an environmental engineering degree from NC State! We also have folks that are experienced in furniture sales, pharmaceutical companies, and have basic law enforcement training (BLET) all in one office. This shows that Chatham County Manager’s Office is a place for everybody (and where just about any question can be answered).
HR on the Ground: Chatham County’s Human Resources department is awesome and housed in the County Manager’s Office! It seems like the HR staff individually knows every 500+ employees in the County. It is obvious that they make an effort to learn about new employees and be approachable. My office is right across the hall from the Benefits Manager’s office and people pop in all of the time to ask her questions and just talk. I am convinced she has magical powers because she remembers tons of details about people’s lives, like where their kid goes to school or a vacation someone took recently. A few weeks ago, the HR Director cleaned my office as part of job shadowing of the one of the maintenance workers. HR invites folks out for lunch for check-ins. The HR Director even bought us lunch on July 5th as a celebration of being at work the day after the holiday. Later this week, I will be shadowing the HR Director, so tune in next week to see what I learn!
FINAL VERDICT
This final verdict is in….Chatham County Manager’s Office is a warm, welcoming, and fun place to work. 10 out of 10, would recommend!
Over the past few weeks, I have conducted 26 interviews and attended eleven community meetings in an attempt to gather important information needed to push the human relations initiative forward. The surprising thing is that my interviews have yielded slightly different information than expected. Which, for the record, has not been a bad thing. It just creates more alternative pathways for a human relations initiative.
I’ve spent the past week, catching up and recovering from the many meetings and interviews. I have been reviewing notes, inputting notes, updating spreadsheets, and creating more spreadsheets. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a spreadsheet with all of my interview questions and notes so that responses are easy to locate. After attending some sessions at, what I like to call, YouTube University (regular YouTube), I figured out the best and most straightforward way to begin coding my interviews. As I am digging through my research…it feels a little something like this…
Obviously, there are some clear connections between the results of the interviews and feedback from community meetings. The challenge is that there are so many different ways to connect and present the results. In addition to the results, I asked each interviewee if they knew of any community members that may be able to support my research. Thanks to a little bit of snowball sampling, I now have a list of secondary contacts which will provide me with more findings. So, I’ve got spreadsheets on spreadsheets on spreadsheets.
Me…looking at all of my spreadsheets
Even though it feels slightly overwhelming, I know that as I continue to dig deeper it will get better! Plus, since I already have a spreadsheet system in place, it’ll be easier moving forward with my results.
I am glad that I finally have a documentation system that I feel comfortable with. But now, I am also making a slight transition…I will begin looking into the research. I have tons of topics that I want to review to see how they apply to human relations, public interactions with local government, and diversity initiatives. To start, I will begin with digging deeper into Chatham County history by:
renting DVDs from the Chatham County Public Library on the County’s History
talking with historical associations, churches, and families about Chatham County
reading up on the History of Chatham through existing reports
Even though things are shifting, I will still have interviews and meetings to attend. I will also be shadowing a department head for a day too! So, things should be getting pretty interesting this month.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion have become standard vocabulary for many organizations to include in their missions, presentations, and conversations around their organizational work. As public servants, these should be organizational values. In our work, we serve a wide range of people with varying backgrounds and cultures. But, the struggle comes from moving beyond the use of the words and building them into organizational action and culture.So this week, I got to experience some of the ways that Chatham County is working towards building diversity, equity, and inclusion into organizational action and culture.
The first event that I attended was the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) training for the Chatham Public Health Department. The training was conducted by the NC Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities. The training was a good combination of self-reflection about our backgrounds, activities to push us out of our comfort zone, and discussion to apply this knowledge to our work moving forward. Below is a slide from the training that mentions the drivers and determinants of health, meaning the things that impact health disparities. What stood out to me most was how the trainers pushed us to think about how these drivers and determinants impact the people we serve in Chatham County.
NCDHHS, NC OMHHD CLAS Training Slide
This past Saturday, Chatham Organizing for Racial Equity (CORE) and the Chatham County Library hosted an event celebrating Juneteenth. For those who do not know, Juneteenth is an important holiday for many people in the African American community. It stems from the end of the Civil War. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery (as we traditionally define it). However, African Americans in Texas remained enslaved for an additional two and a half years. On June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers made their way to Texas declaring the freedom of African Americans. For many in the African American community, Juneteenth is a day of remembrance, reflection, and celebration of the actual end of slavery. The event hosted by CORE and the library was titled a celebration of African American Culture and Resilience. It was an amazing space to share history and create community. The event hosted speakers that talked about “African Civilation before Slavery” (Dr. Charles Johnson, NCCU), Human Trafficking in the Historical Context of U.S. Slavery” (Robin Colbert & Christy Croft, NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault) and “Native Americans, Africans & Slavery in NC” (Dr. Arwin Smallwood, NC A&T University). I am thankful that the community was able to have access to such rich knowledge.
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Watkins-Cruz of the Juneteenth Event
And to top it all off, I attended a session from the Chatham County Leadership Academy. There were attendees from all different departments in the County like emergency personnel, officers, nurse supervisors, and a nutritionist. This particular session was Cultural Competency Part II taught by our Human Resources Director, Carolyn Miller. It was a two-hour session that discussed privilege, institutional racism, and implicit bias (system I vs system II thinking). Most importantly, Carolyn Miller talked about how we have to dig deeper when we incorporate diversity into our workforce. She described that it has to go beyond just representative bureaucracy (though important), but that we need to begin to ask the WHY questions. It was a really insightful session that incorporated a lot of great information around racial diversity, equity, and inclusion to push those working in the County to create a more inclusive workplace.
Chatham County definitely has room to grow, as do many other institutions. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the commitment of different folks in the community working towards making diversity, equity, and inclusion not only espoused values, but also enacted values in the County.
From left to right: Me, Stephanie Watkins-Cruz (Chatham County Policy Analyst), and Darrell Butts (Chatham County Budget Analyst) at lunch after the Cultural Competency Part II session.
P.S. I have found my favorite lunch spot! It’s Mi Cancun, where this lovely photo was taken. We can get a good, hearty and YUMMY lunch for under $7. (Also, do you spot any UNC-Chapel Hill MPA alums???)
Anyways, I look forward to updating you again next week!
In my role at the Chatham County Manager’s Office, I am learning about the different challenges that the community faces. One of the key challenges that I have heard is the issue of affordable housing in the County. Since then, I have attended two housing meetings in the last few weeks, the Housing Implementation Group meeting and the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meeting. They both provided me with a clearer picture of how local government and community agencies make plans to move projects forward to address housing equity challenges in the County. But before all of that exciting stuff, let’s provide some context for Chatham County’s affordable housing crisis.
According to a 2017 study conducted by the Triangle J Council of Governments, Chatham’s housing issue boils down to three core issues: supply, quality, and affordability. There is a 2,000 unit gap in affordable units in the County. Of those 2,000, about 1,400 are needed for individuals earning 0-30% of the area’s median income. The naturally occurring affordable housing is mostly aging mobile homes or other housing stock that is in need of repairs. Because of this large need, a substantial portion of Chatham County households are cost-burdened, meaning that they are paying over 30% of their monthly income on housing.
These issues impact various Chatham communities in different ways. Hence, the equity issue.
The Aging Population
Like in many other counties, there is a lack of housing for our lowest earning residents. Chatham County is unique in that it has a large aging population. In our county, older adult households have a lower median income than the general population. Those that earn below 30% often cannot find housing that is decent or affordable so they may be forced to leave their homes or stay in unhealthy and unsafe living conditions.The aging population may have mobility restrictions, health needs, and limited or no active income to ensure they age in their homes affordably.So those serving aging populations and working on affordable housing have to create different strategies targeted for this population.
From the Council on Aging’s Senior Center
The Housing Implementation Plan meeting was focused on the Aging Plan to support the aging population. There are other implementation plan meetings, that focus on the other issues that impact the larger aging population in Chatham. This meeting had key players representing and serving the aging community in the County. They discussed how they could reach the greater aging community and gather information about their needs. It was pretty cool watching them brainstorm. I also got to see them evaluate and re-evaluate their strategic goals and deadlines. I could also tell their commitment to the work.
Emergency Housing
Bellemont Pointe Apartments, one of the few affordable housing developments in Chatham
The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meeting was focused on the Chatham County Housing Trust Fund. These folks are committed to creating affordable housing opportunities in the County. From our County Manager’s staff, we had our Policy Analyst, Stephanie Watkins-Cruz. (You may remember her from my celebrity post a few weeks ago.) In addition, we had folks representing various fields such as realtors, community members, non-profit leaders, etc.
Random fun fact about me – I am really interested in policy! So, this meeting was really cool because the Committee was working on the Chatham County Housing Trust Fund & Location policy. Stephanie proposed a modification to the policy to address the County’s new role in providing some emergency housing funding. The best part was watching all of these key players in housing in Chatham County discuss the emergency fund’s location, the reasons for access, the protections, and policy.
Chatham Affordable Housing WINS
First and foremost, the fact that the County now has a Housing Trust Fund is a huge win! With this fund in existence, nonprofits who are creating or preserving affordable housing for families and individuals in need have a source of funding.Additionally, there is now a small allotment for emergency housing needs such as emergency shelter or displacement.
Even more excitingly, the Housing Trust Fund has OFFICIALLY deployed its first low-interest loan to the developer of the historic Henry Siler School to create more affordable housing. The plan is to have 44 new units on this property with shared community space. So, the inside scoop is that the core of the Historic Henry Siler School will be preserved and potentially turned into a shared community space. This project aims to both respect the history and meaning of the school and addresses an important community need. In Chatham, there aren’t many smaller units (1-2 bedrooms). Less than 1% of the housing stock in Chatham county is a 1 bedroom or studio. So this development will include 22 1-bedroom rental units priced at $355-$575, and 22 2-bedroom rental units priced at $423-$675.
I know that I came into the Chatham County affordable housing game a little late, but I am really excited to see these projects moving forward. Shout out to all the awesome folks working hard to improve housing equity.
Last week was a fairly short week for me given Memorial Day and being out of town on Friday, so I figured I would take a different spin on this week’s blog post. Let’s talk about the nitty gritty of PWEs as a dual-degree student with the School of Social Work.
First things first, my experience as a dual-degree student has been challenging, but rewarding! Both degrees open doors to many different opportunities. Generally, I think the public is often confused about what social workers (outside of therapists and CPS caseworkers) and public administrators really do. But that confusion provides me with an opportunity to engage with folks about my career goals and the versatility and flexibility of both social work and public administration. For me, the best part of studying in both fields is that it provides me with complementary skills that are necessary for a macro social worker dealing with systems and a public administrator working with people. It is definitely the best of both worlds.
In addition to gaining those extra skills, you also gain some extra experience as a dual-degree student with social work. To ensure that my PWE counts towards both degrees, I have to put in a little extra work. So, I put together a list of some of the key differences that I have noticed thus far in:
A social worker interested in local government?!
Most people’s reaction when I tell them my career goals
As a social worker, people expect that you will want to do non-profit work or work in a Department of Social Services, both of which are great experiences. However, that just wasn’t what I wanted from my PWE. Also, it didn’t really align with my career goals of working in an equity department in a local government. So, I kept my fingers crossed hoping that I would hear of a PWE that could utilize my social work skills in a local government setting. (Shout out to Chatham County!) I was very fortunate that Chatham was looking for someone with a social justice background. Going a non-traditional route challenges me in many ways. I have a lot to learn about navigating local governments, but it also gives me a unique opportunity to share my academic knowledge and skills around working with diverse populations, disparities, and community engagement.
A couple extra hours
Another key difference is that I am required to work a few extra hours. Ok, I think a few might be an understatement. I am actually required to work a little over 600 hours to complete program requirements. My hours count towards both degrees, but the School of Social Work actually requires more hours. Normally, social work students have their PWE (or field placement as we call it in the social work world) throughout the school year, so they are working a significant amount of hours 1 to 3 days a week. Since I am doing my PWE (field placement) during the summer, I am still required to work the same amount of hours. So, I will work quite a bit more hours during the summer compared to my fellow cohort members and blogging buddies…AKA I get to spend more time at Chatham County.
My excitement for being with Chatham County an extra few weeks.
Double SUPPORT
Aside from being able to spend more time working with Chatham County, I also get to the support of TWO supervisors in Chatham County and TWO faculty members at UNC-Chapel Hill. I regularly meet with my immediate supervisor in the Manager’s Office and have once a week meetings with my social work supervisor in the Department of Social Services. With both supervisors, I get to talk about how I see both of my degree fields interacting and supporting each other. I also get the support of Susan Austin in the School of Government and Robin Sansing in the School of Social Work. They both help me frame experiences and reflections to support my academic progress. Honestly, it’s a pretty cool set-up.
I am one lucky person!
Even though dual-degree with social work requires a little extra work, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love my degrees and how perfectly they interact to support me during my PWE with Chatham County and my career goals.
Thanks for sticking around! I look forward to updating you more next week!
It’s week three and I am hitting the ground running! I found my two favorite Pittsboro coffee shops and a restaurant that sells an amazing strawberry red velvet cake. So, I think it’s safe to say that I finally feel like I am getting into the swing of things out here in good ol’ Pittsboro, NC.
Davenport’s Cafe Diem: they have my favorite matcha latte’s and serve as an amazing place to meet and chat with community members
Before I dive deep into what I’ve been up to over the last few weeks, I figure I should provide some context to the Human Relations initiative that I am working on with Chatham County. So, prior to starting my internship the County Commissioners expressed a desire for wanting a Human Relations entity. The County then created a Human Relations Task Force to establish a framework for the entity, which they are now hoping will be a community-led Human Relations collaborative.
One of my key tasks for the summer is to learn about the County through engaging with community members. The hope is that I will be able to identify some challenges that the Human Relations Collaborative will be able to rally around and tackle. Two weeks ago, I started meeting with Chatham County community members to get a better understanding of the community. So far, I have completed 14 interviews. Each interview is semi-structured with four main areas of exploration:
the interviewee’s connection to the community
the challenges the County is facing
how the interviewee envisions a human relations body addressing those challenges
additional contacts that may be interested in participating in this work
So far, I have been handwriting notes during interviews and then transcribing them into an excel document so that I can code them to find key themes. I am very excited to see the outcome!
My weeks haven’t been filled only with interviews…I have also attended some community meetings as well. I’ve met with the Public Health Department, Better Angels, faith communities, and I can’t wait to do more! Last week, I went to a community lunch hosted by St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. Their mission is to provide a healthy, appetizing meal at no cost to all who come to us hungry. The community lunch had a great turn out with even better food! I was able to talk with people involved at the church as well as a local artist and a farmer. This lunch gave me the opportunity to meet people from all over the County.
St. Bart’s Community Lunch Logo: another great meeting place
If there is anything I know about community engagement, it is that you first must listen to and learn from the community. While at the community meetings, I am often just listening and taking notes of comments and concerns and looking for key themes.
Through the interviews and meetings, I have learned quite a bit about the history of the County and some of the challenges it faces. For me, the best part about this process has been making new connections to community members.
Ok, so maybe this blog title had a little bit of click bait, but I definitely consider these folks celebrities…public servant celebrities!
Kid President supports my click bait title to talk about public servant celebrities!
Merriam-Webster defines public servant as “a government official or employee.” Personally, I think this definition doesn’t give public servants enough credit! So, to do us some justice, I would like to highlight some key people that I’ve met over the last week that add to that bare-bones definition of public servant.
Celebrity Sighting #1:
On Monday, I attended my first ever Board of Commissioners meeting. Honestly, I was in awe because I got to see topics from my MPA coursework in action, like public hearings and budget proposal presentations. I also got to witness a new commissioner being sworn in!
Fire Marshall Bender and Commissioner Chairman Mike Dasher
However, most importantly, I got to see a truly dedicated public servant be honored for his service to the community. Fire Marshall Thomas Bender received special recognition for his 26+ years of service to Chatham County. Even during a public hearing for a zoning request, the person making the request said that he remembered Fire Marshall Bender making presentations at his elementary and middle school. Even though this community member’s request to the Commissioners was completely unrelated to Fire Marshall Bender, he still took the time to acknowledge how Fire Marshall Bender had an impact on the community – a true public servant and community celebrity.
Celebrity Sighting #2:
So…this next celebrity is fairly new to the scene (compared to Fire Marshall Bender) and is one of our very own – Stephanie Watkins-Cruz! She has been working with Chatham County for about a year now as their policy analyst. Last week, I attended a really cool “town hall-type community conversation” sponsored by Our Chatham and Chatham News + Record. It was mostly a Q&A on housing and inequity with a panel of community leaders. Stephanie, of course, was on that panel.
Stephanie Watkins-Cruz
I will say, I am quite fortune because I get to talk with Stephanie quite regularly in the office. But, on this day, I got to see Stephanie in full public service mode! Stephanie presented data, shared stories, and answered questions without breaking a sweat! She was honest, poised and responsive to community members. Even when she was hit with hard questions, her responses were authentic and showed her dedication to serving the County to her best ability! I was, and continue to be, in awe at her ability to be so open, authentic, and committed. I am glad to have such a great role model right here in the Chatham County Manager’s Office with me.
Celebrity Sighting #3:
Kirsten Wyatt at #ELGL19
So this last celebrity was not spotted in Chatham County, but rather in Durham! Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) conference, #ELGL19. And with that, I got to meet Kirsten Wyatt!
#ELGL19 was amazing, to say the least! Not only were there great conference goodies and thought-provoking conversations, but there were great opportunities to network and meet people across the country doing great work! I even got to meet some people that do the type of work that I would love to do in the future. The cool thing is that the co-founders of ELGL are Kirsten and Kent Wyatt, who also happen to be graduates of the UNC-Chapel Hill MPA program! And yes, I did get to shake Kirsten’s hand! She’s as innovative, intelligent and lovely as she seems online. So, if you get the chance…attend next year’s conference in Oregon! I know I’ll be there.
Service is what led me to pursue degrees in social work and public administration. I am so grateful for all of the amazing homegrown “celebrities” that are adding to the Merriam-Webster definition of public servant through dedication, authenticity and innovation. Thank you for all that you do!
Welcome to my blog post! My name is Courtney Cooper-Lewter. I am a dual-degree student with the Public Administration and Social Work programs. I just finished my first year of the MPA program, but technically this is year two of graduate school. Two down, one to go! More than anything, I am really excited for my professional work experience this summer with Chatham County!
Historic Chatham County Court House, the County Manager’s Office is behind this building
This summer, I will be serving as an intern in the Chatham County Manager’s Office in Pittsboro, NC. I will be working on helping the County create a community-led Human Relations collaborative to address some of the economic and racial inequities in the County by:
Researching and identifying effective tools for outreach and engagement of the community around social justice
Studying existing effective collaborative efforts around social justice
Interviewing community leaders to assess what they view as important for the collaborative to be successful
Developing recommendations for the collaborative to move forward
So far, everything has started off great! Everyone is so supportive! And I realize, I am pretty spoiled with my office space. I have my own office and a window (see below)! I have already interviewed quite a few community leaders and feel like I am getting a better understanding of the community dynamics.
I can’t wait to continue exploring Chatham County. For now, check out this beautiful video of Pittsboro and maybe you will notice why it is called Circle City.
I look forward to talking with you more next week about what I am learning! See you then.
