hatfield herald spring 2014

HATFIELD HERALD Spring 2014 14

Hatfield Herald

Engaging Students, Alumni, and

Faculty of Hatfield Public

Administration Programs

d Herald

IN THIS ISSUE

A Conversation about Student Veterans: Succeeding and in Transition Page 2

Musings on Talent Attraction, Acquisition, and the Hatfield School’s Next Generation Initiative Page 4

Moving from Graduate School into Careers Page 6

Meet the New Public Administration Alumni Association Board Members

Page 7

PA Alumni Association’s Strategic Planning Initiative

Page 9

Getting Involved in the Alumni Association 1

Rural Radio Rocks Page 12

Interest in Federal Employment? Check out Pathways Page 13

Introducing: Your 2014-2015 PASA Board! Page 14

We are very excited to deliver this Spring 2014 Newsletter to the students, alumni, and faculty of the Public Administration Division of PSU! As you all are preparing for final exams or just beginning to enjoy the summer, we hope you enjoy this issue with content from a variety of students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

New Partnerships

This issue is the first of what we hope will be many newsletters brought by a new collaboration between the Public Administration Student Association (PASA) and the Public Administration Alumni Association. By collaborating, we have expanded our ability to serve the variety of students, alumni, and faculty that all have a stake in the PA Division.

In This Issue

Through this collaboration, we have been able to bring you a variety of new and interesting content. In this issue you will find articles to inform students and professionals, researchers and practitioners. Content includes advice on professional development and job seeking, student and faculty experiences, and an introduction to the new PASA Board as well as the new Alumni Board.

We hope you enjoy!

From the Editor

HATFIELD HERALD | Spring 2014 2

Following more than two decades of simultaneous wars, Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, a war weary nation struggles to assimilate and help return the lives of its citizen soldiers who served some sense of normalcy. However, for many such veterans, normalcy as a civilian will never be normal again. Consequently, much of the rhetoric and research of late about veterans lie in their pathology and so overly emphasize the ever present adjustment maladies that confront them. While this situation is indeed the reality for many veterans, other veterans are discovering ways to overcome but not forget these life altering experiences in the form of service before self that have changed them forever. This can do attitude and stiff upper lip mode of going about the business of the day that characterize veterans at large but for which many are blamed for not seeking assistance when they need to are the very traits that serve them well in the long run when they encounter insurmountable challenges. In higher education, as in other venues, veterans are making herculean strides to reclaim their existence by completing their education.

The Veterans Resource Center (VRC), for instance, has become one of the many resources to which student veterans at Portland State University (PSU) have come to rely on as a respite. The outgrowth of a fledgling idea by a concerned group of veterans at PSU, one of whom included this author who served

as its principal investigator, met multiple times and clandestinely so off campus to determine how to go about launching what was then framed as the Student Veterans Service Office (SVSO). The group, known as the Veterans Resource Center Task Force, produced data that eventually moved the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) to fund its SVSO as a pilot for the first year of its existence and hired an SVSO representative for outreach to student veterans on campus. With an additional push from then Governor Theodore “Ted” Kulongoski (D-OR), a similar task force was formed, this time at the state-wide level. Under Governor Kulongoski, PSU’s SVSO served as the model that facilitated the passing of House Bill (HB) 2178 during the 2009 legislative session (HB 2178, February 2009). The Bill, which became effective January 1, 2010, mandated that institutions of higher learning in Oregon or the 17 community colleges and seven regional state universities within the Oregon University System (OUS), must develop outreach educational services via veterans’ service officers at each institution. Additionally, a Veterans Program Manager by way of the ODVA must be employed to oversee the statewide program. On August 19, 2009, along with a cadre of state officials including Governor Kulongoski and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs General Eric Shinseki visited PSU to highlight the new federal G.I. Bill. Of note though for its founders was that PSU’s then SVSO served as the prototype

A Conversation about Student Veterans: Succeeding and in Transition

By Dr. G.L.A. Harris, Associate Professor Mark O. Hatfield School of Government


Come celebrate with us the end of the term!

Migration Brewing 2828 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97232

Friday June 13, 2014 starting at 7:00 pm

Continued from page 2

is scheduled to be held on Thursday, May 22, 2014 in the College and Public Affairs, Distance Learning Center, Room 204 ITC, second floor and is being sponsored by various student groups including the public administration student association (PASA) and the PSU student chapter of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), the VRC and financing from the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government. The primary purpose of this event is to dispel the often attributed messages of pathology about veterans who are indeed succeeding in many ways as they transition into civilian life, one of which includes as students at PSU.

References:

Oregon Legislative Assembly. Summary of Legislation 2009. House Bill (HB) 2178. Portland State University, Veterans Certification Office

for the federal government’s new G.I. Bill which also required institutions around the country that received federal funding to establish veterans service centers to serve student veterans.

Today, the VRC at PSU stands as the beneficiary of this cumulative effort over the years to specifically address the educational needs of some 965 veterans who are matriculated as students throughout the University (PSU Veterans Certification Office). PSU is therefore poised to regain its legacy as an institution for returning veterans in Oregon. The upcoming panel entitled A Conversation for Student Veterans: Succeeding and in Transition is one such event that will feature an all military veterans panel that includes former Governor Kulongoski; faculty Dr. Rita Finn Sumner; Ph.D. student and graduate assistant at the VRC Maria Gonzalez-Prats; PSU alumnus Pamela Campos who has a B.A. in Political Science; and Waylan Munson, an undergraduate student within the Division of Political Science; with this author, who will serve as the event’s moderator. The event

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Reports/2009SummaryofLegislation.pdf

https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Reports/2009SummaryofLegislation.pdf


Musings on Talent Attraction, Acquisition, and the Hatfield School’s Next Generation Initiative

By George Beard, Center for Public Service Mark O. Hatfield School of Government

I had the privilege of earning my MPA from PSU back in the Pleistocene Era (re: the late 1970s). It was before there was a Hatfield School or Urban Center or the University’s well-crafted motto “Let Knowledge Serve the City.”

Upon graduation in 1980 I had the good fortune to be selected as a Presidential Management Intern (PMI) and packed off to Washington, D.C. to begin my governmental career at the U.S. Department of Justice. During my 5-years of federal service, I was impressed by the fact that the PMI program was a deliberate and well-crafted strategy aimed at attracting, capturing, developing, and managing a portfolio of diverse talent over time. I never experienced this feeling again in my subsequent work with state and local government, and in the technology sector. Instead, hiring seemed far more episodic and random, more about filling a job vacancy than attracting a high performance contributor to the team. I strongly suspect this

remains the norm today.

Approximately 20-years later I found myself working for Oracle Corporation as their global account manager to Nike. At the time, Nike was in the midst of rolling out its global supply change strategy that would allow the footwear apparel behemoth to develop, produce, and distribute its products in the right mix of color, style, and size to the right markets faster than its German competitors. Part of that strategy focused on developing strategic sourcing relationships with key suppliers. This notion of strategic sourcing went way beyond simply contracting on a one-off basis for the best leather for the uppers of shoes, or the best materials for jackets, shirts and shorts. It meant qualifying suppliers and sharing plans, production schedules, payment systems, just-in-time fulfillment, and building long-term, mutually beneficial, relationships.

When I finished my days with Oracle and Nike, I found myself back at PSU at what had become

the Hatfield School of Government. I was lucky to pick up a project in its inaugural season that was then called the Oregon Performance Internship. Reflecting on my own experience as a Presidential Management Intern and as an observer to the Nike strategic sourcing initiatives, I came to grow and evolve the Internship program into the Oregon Summer Fellowship. Over the last dozen years, the Fellowship has mirrored some of Nike’s strategic sourcing attributes. We have established sourcing relationships with many of the nation’s leading schools of public affairs, public policy and public administration. Think Harvard, North Carolina, Duke, Syracuse, Michigan, Chicago, Wisconsin, UC Berkeley, USC, and Texas (to name a few).

Now at this point dear reader, you are no doubt asking why PSU would bring invite competing students from outside universities to Oregon to vie for the limited number of intern and employment opportunities in our


fair state. There are three reasons. First, we wanted to create a return path for Oregonians who had opted to matriculate outside of Oregon.

Second, and more importantly, we wanted to attract best of class national talent to work in Oregon’s public and nonprofit sectors. The underlying belief is that doing the public’s business is important and doing it well is imperative. Top flight talent is key to achieving these aims. Third, we wanted to benchmark our best PSU talent against the best of the rest.

Over the years, I have had a hand in placing nearly 400 Fellows in Oregon and beyond. They have come to us from nearly 50 national universities as well as PSU, OSU, UO and Willamette. We always had a small number of PSU students in the cohorts from the early years of the Fellowship program. But (and begging your pardon for saying so) we also learned that PSU’s students were “uneven” relative to those we were recruiting from elsewhere. I am pleased to report that this imbalance is beginning to moderate; PSU students are winning more placements these

days. They are competitive. They are contributors. That’s all to the good.

To the extent I continue working with the Oregon Summer Fellowship program and its newer brethren offering, the Hatfield Residency Fellowship (a lite version of the Presidential Management Fellowship) I am struck by the fact that so much recruiting today is like it was 30 or 40 years ago when I was beginning my career. Fill a job opening by recruiting from the local gene pool. This is the rational and customary thing to do. Figure out the job specifications, the minimum qualifications. The required knowledge, skills, and abilities. All very formulaic. But likely the worst way to attract and capture high performance talent. When I am evaluating applicants I look for competencies and aspirations—forward leaning tendencies—not rear view mirror experience.

We now live in an era of tremendous challenges and exciting possibilities. The bad news is that public and nonprofit enterprises are essentially broke. We can’t budget our way to

success. Compounding that bad news is growing evidence that the confidence of our citizens is fragile and eroding. It seems to me there is only one way out (and this is good news for those who are prepared). We have to continuously create and lever innovative technologies, work practices, and partnerships to address the mission, to achieve results, to recapture a belief in the Common Good. This starts and ends by building an organization of individuals recruited for focused competencies — innovation, for instance! — from superior talent sources. It’s time to innovate the talent attraction and capture process in our public and nonprofit institutions.

For more information:

Visit the Oregon Summer Fellowship and Hatfield Resident Fellowship programs website: http://www.pdx.edu/cps/next-generation-initiative-oregon-and-hatfieldresident-fellowships


http://www.pdx.edu/cps/next-generation-initiative-oregon-and-hatfieldresident-fellowships





Moving from Graduate School into Careers By Karen Popp, MA, Student Services Coordinator, Office of Graduate Studies

According to the Council of Graduate Schools, (CGS), and Educational Testing Services’ (ETS), Report from the Commission on Pathways through Graduate School and into Careers, about 2.6 new and replacement jobs will require an advance degree, and in turn these positions are associated with higher salaries and lower unemployment. That being said, it is important to know as a graduate, what you will do when you graduate, how your work life progresses, and if the education you received prepared you for the career you wish to pursue. Pathways through Graduate School and into Careers examined the view of groups that directly experienced this transitional moment – students, universities, and employers. As graduate students, the following facts will give you a lens to begin looking through as you earn your degree.

The report asked how effectively graduate schools and employers are working together to ensure graduates are prepared after they earn their degree for the positions that are needed in our society. A high level of competencies employers look for when interviewing prospective employees include, leadership, communication, project management, and problem-solving. Graduate schools, faculty, and academic staff work to ensure that our graduates are prepared with not only these skills, but also a wide array of expertise across the disciplines. While you are ultimately responsible for your career, we as a university play a role in making career pathways transparent.

Classes in research skill development, communication skills, professionalism, leadership and management can be as important to your education as conducting responsible research. Employers also indicated in this report in particular, that skills related to working in a team environment, creating and delivering presentations, and the ability to discuss technical issues with non-technical individuals were needed regardless of their sector, or organization size. Employers interviewed in this report stated they felt graduate students needed to understand how knowledge in one area could be applied to solve problems in another.

Our faculty, and academic staff work to ensure that our graduates are prepared with not only these skills, but also a wide array of expertise across the disciplines. While you are ultimately responsible for your career, we as a university play a role in making career pathways transparent. Classes in research skill development, communication skills, professionalism, leadership and management can be as important to your education as conducting responsible research. Employers also indicated in this report in particular, that skills related to working in a team environment, creating and delivering presentations, and the ability to discuss technical issues with non-technical individuals were needed regardless of their sector, or organization size. Employers interviewed in this report stated

they felt graduate students needed to understand how knowledge in one area could be applied to solve problems in another.

Our federal and state governments are large employers in your college. Several initiatives at the federal level are underway to create opportunities for graduate students to gain experience working in the government sector and examine future workforce needs. The Report from the Commission on Pathways through Graduate School and into Careers says one such program is the NIH Graduate Partnerships Program (GPP), by facilitating professional opportunities that intertwine the graduate academic experience with participating in research. PSU’s Career Department along with your college identifies internships available to you to begin building the skills needed to be successful as you move out into the job market. Collaborative relationships within our urban community give you the chance to work in a nonacademic environment that can broaden your view and understanding of the careers for which your program qualifies you for. Being exposed to a wide variety of career options allows you to be better prepared in your chosen field. As always, I am here to support you throughout your journey here at Portland State University. Anyone wishing to read the entire report can find it at:

http://pathwaysreport.org/

http://pathwaysreport.org/


Meet the New Public Administration Alumni

Association Board Members

Amanda Lamb moved to Portland from Montana in 2004 and immediately fell for the people, green space, and civic mindedness of the culture. After graduating in 2010 with her MPA, Amanda had a strong desire to maintain her connection to the Public Administration Division, and established the Public Administration Alumni Association. She is very excited to now see the Association taking off with an established Board, strategic plan, and high hopes for the future. Amanda is currently a Performance Auditor for the Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division, and has previously held positions in performance auditing and policy analysis at Multnomah and Clackamas Counties in Oregon and the City of San Diego in California. In addition to her Master’s Degree, Amanda holds a Bachelor’s in Philosophy from Lewis & Clark College.

Connor McDonnell is excited to engage more alumni of the program. After finishing his undergraduate at Virginia Tech, he worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer with at-risk children and then as a substitute teacher. He moved to Oregon in 2006, after working as a deckhand on an adventure cruise boat in Alaska and on the Columbia River. Connor worked for more than four years in social services in Portland helping men transition into permanent housing. He graduated from the MPA program in 2012 and works for a federal agency that supports community development, affordable housing, and homeless services. While in graduate school he worked as an Oregon Fellow at the Portland Housing Bureau and spent a term in Hanoi, Vietnam with Dr. Ingle.

Laura Kutner was born and raised in Portland, OR. After receiving her BA in Anthropology and Spanish from UCSB, she joined the Peace Corps as a youth development volunteer in Guatemala. Her three years spent there were the inspiration for starting Trash for Peace, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, when she returned to the U.S. in 2010. Wanting to further her career focused on public service and sustainability, she went back to school to pursue her Master’s in Public Administration with a specialization in sustainable development at PSU, graduating in 2013. She currently works as the Executive Director of Trash for Peace, as well as an Outreach and Community Relations Representative for TriMet.

Bonnie Crawford hails from rural Eastern Oregon and made her way to the Portland area by way of a circuitous route, pit stopping at Southern Oregon University to pick up a degree in Theater Arts, becoming a wwoofer (Willing Worker On Organic Farms) in New Zealand for a year, and running a branch of the Boys and Girls Club in Taos, NM before landing in the Willamette Valley. Along the way she discovered that her passion for personal expression embraced human rights, rural and employment issues, and public service. Bonnie graduated from the PSU Hatfield School Masters of Public Administration program in 2014. In her time there

Amanda Lamb, President

Connor McDonnell, Vice

President

Laura Kutner, Secretary

Bonnie Crawford,

Treasurer


she worked as a Research Assistant for the Center for Public Service on projects related to cost of compensation in the public sector and diversity enhancement in the workplace, among other things. She now works as a Staff Auditor in the Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division.

Though she grew up mostly in Las Vegas, NV, Deborah Scroggin is a Portland native who always longed to return to Oregon. After receiving her degree in Political Science at the University of Oregon in 2006, Deborah discovered an interest in public service during a year-long stint with AmeriCorps, focusing on disaster relief projects in the southeastern U.S. Deborah began the MPA program at PSU in 2009 and developed her perspective on local government while working at a U.S. Senate District Office and as a management intern for the city of Fairview, OR. Soon after graduating in 2012, Deborah joined the City of Portland Auditor's Office as Elections Officer/Management Analyst. There, she focuses on the coordination of city elections, manages the city's lobbying regulation program, and assists with bureau-wide projects such as budget monitoring and development.

Fate, like bureaucracy, is amenable to interpersonal connections. This fact was lost on Chris Chambers when he started school at age 6 to "get a job." His blue collar parents drilled into him the deterministic belief that education equals employment and formal mechanisms are tightly machined. Yet every day inside the bureaucracy there are a hundred human decisions. The people who know how to grease the joint at these decision points are more successful than those who believe the lever is the only moving part. Unfortunately, a lifetime of strategy games made Chris an expert at operating levers, so when he graduated with a degree in history but no career in sight he was frustrated and tried unplugging and plugging in the machine several times. Then, he waited. Eventually his network of stubbornly helpful friends made Chris quit camping all the time and sign up for graduate school to study energy policy. And thanks to the National Policy Process and pints at Rogue he discovered what they already knew: soft knowledge is key. With the PA Alumni Association he is eager to build a community that makes formal systems less opaque for the next generation of public servants.

Stephanie Hinkle was born in Oregon and spent her childhood moving around the state. She graduated with a BS from PSU in General Studies (she could never decide what she wanted to do), a minor in Speech/Communication and an Urban Studies Certificate. Spending years as a child advocate and the single parent of two girls, Stephanie eventually founded and directed Trillium Charter School where she was able to indulge in her interests in democratic education, social justice, and global studies. She left Trillium in 2010 to de-stress her life, support other organizations, and pursue other interests. She is currently working on an MPA, with a certificate in Nonprofit Management. She is serving this school year as a student board member to PASA as well as being the liaison between PASA and the MPA Alumni Association. As for career endeavors Stephanie is now working with PCC to promote women and girls pursuing nontraditional careers, along with several other interesting projects and programs, mostly related to education.

Deborah Scroggin, Events

and Programming

Committee

Chris Chambers,

Partnerships and

Mentoring Committee

Stephanie Hinkle, PASA

Liaison


PA Alumni Association’s Strategic Planning Initiative

Did you ever wonder if the projects you developed in graduate school would ever amount to anything really useful? Sometimes they actually do play a role in what happens in the outside world. Last spring, Kevin Kecskes’ Strategic Planning class took on planning for our fledgling Public Administration Alumni Association. Students worked in one of four different teams to develop plans for our young, under-resourced organization and presented them to faculty and some alumni at the end of the term.

I was in the class and expressed interest in bringing some of the work students did to a useful conclusion. I was invited to work with the PA AA to make that happen. The PA Alumni Association worked over the fall at meetings and at a planning retreat to review the student work and to bring the most useful tools and suggestions into the organization’s domain.

Leading up to the retreat, the leadership reviewed all of the plans, including the SWOTs, stakeholder analyses, and mission and vision development. We looked at suggestions and possible action items. We discussed how the Association should be organized. Should it be part of the University or its own nonprofit? What type of nonprofit should it be? What should the mission and vision be of the organization? Who could be a member?

At the retreat, we hashed out many of these issues. We finalized a mission and vision statement. We decided to be a nonprofit separate from the University. We discussed the Association’s role in the Public Administration Division. We had the help of Dr. Gelles and Dr. Kecskes for our retreat. They both brought really useful perspectives both historical and organizational.

If any of you have participated in strategic planning,

you know it can be a waste of time or an energizing and clarifying experience. For the association, it was a legitimizing experience that identified next steps, clarified roles and capacity, and spread responsibility to a wider group than the two hard-working founders. I believe the planning process has contributed a great deal to the sustainability of the organization, which given its history, is significant in itself.

We took care of some basic foundational elements of the organization at the retreat, including developing a mission and vision statement and identifying committees of the board.

As we found, and as most experts may tell you, the most useful part of strategic planning is not the plan, but the organizational work you do while creating and implementing it. Whether or not a document exists that is called a strategic plan is not ultimately what is important. What is important is the investment in discovering what the organization is, does, and strives to become.

For the future, we are working on a variety of issues. Some of these include

Speed networking for alumni and students

Improving our database

Connecting with alumni out in the field and

finding ways to provide support as well as an

access point for them to contribute back to

the school and students

Finalizing our organizational documents and

infrastructure

Hosting social events like happy hours

Think about what you can bring to the Alumni

By Stephanie Hinkle



Alumni Association Quick Facts

Mission: The PSU PA Alumni Association seeks to foster a strong collaborative network among current students, alumni, and faculty to promote the division, create a cohesive identity, and enhance opportunities for social and professional relationships in the public service community.

Vision: A strong network of students, alumni, and faculty that join together under a shared identity to promote public service for a thriving community.

Alumni Board

The Alumni Association has a Board comprised of approximately seven members who serve two-year terms. Board officers include the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

The Alumni Association established the following committees and assigned board members to each one:

Events/Programming

Communication and Outreach

Partnerships and Mentoring

Legal, Admin, Finance

Fundraising

Volunteers

The Alumni Association encourages alumni to volunteer for any of the above committees! If you are interested in volunteering, contact [email protected].

Association. It will be what we make it. Graduating students, please send us your contact information so you can be added to our database.

References:

Council of Graduate Schools and Educational Testing Service. (2012),

Report from the Commission on Pathways through Graduate School

and into Careers. Report from the Commission on Pathways through

Graduate School and into Careers. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing

mailto:[email protected]


Getting Involved in the Alumni

Association

With over 1,900 alumni of the Public Administration program, we have an enormous network. Since the program’s inception at Lewis and Clark College in 1977, we are alumni of Baby Boomers, Generation X, and of Millennial. Some alumni grew up watching black and white television and others created an e-mail address in elementary school.

We’ve got alumni who work for arts non-profits with insufficient budgets, in human resources for statewide foundations, in Hospitals, program analysts for international NGOs, for Congressmen, in the Governor’s office, contractors who work for themselves, and alumni who run their own business. We’ve got alumni with Wikipedia pages, did you have any idea?

Imagine what the collective impact is of all 1,900 alumni? Imagine that you knew more of these alumni and not just the ones you had classes with. Imagine that as alumni, we were more coordinated, collaborative, and were truly harnessing the power of our network. What would this look like for you?

For me, it looks like a current student is meeting with a newly retired program officer from a major state-wide foundation for an informational interview. A policy analyst for Trimet is mentoring a recent graduate of the program who is looking to get their foot in the door with Metro. It looks like a minority student just got a $1,000 scholarship from the PA Alumni Association to take a non-profit management course.

As an alumni association, we are getting more organized, more involved, and engaged. In October

By Connor McDonnell

2013, we had our first strategic planning session and developed a mission, vision, and are developing an organizational structure. We are going to be more purposeful and strategic with our events. This October, we will have our first networking event that will feature droves of alumni and organizations that are doing great work.

How can you be more engaged? Can you participate and represent your organization at the networking event? Or even become involved and be on the planning committee? Or you could even just reach out and take a current student out to coffee? Do you want to take an idea and run with it? Or be on the Alumni Board or just attend a meeting. Big or small, it is time to get engaged.


Rural Radio Rocks

By Mandy Elder, MPA Student

In rural Mexico community radio stations have traditionally fulfilled the need for locally sourced and culturally appropriate programming that promotes regional culture. Inspired by this Oaxacan tradition and a recent visit facilitated by Dr. Jack Corbett to PSU’s student led radio station, a team of faculty and students at the Universidad Tecnologica de los Valles Centrales de Oaxaca (UTVCO) have begun to transmit music, news, and interviews to the university and surrounding communities.

Based in San Pablo Huixtepec, a community located an hour’s drive outside of Oaxaca’s capital city, the radio reaches communities within about a 30 kilometer radius. Interviews with local government officials, visiting professors, and community leaders help connect surrounding communities with the university, incorporating the

educational institution into community life and local culture into the institution. Building on my own work as a Fulbright researcher and visiting faculty member at the UTVCO, I am beginning a collaborative project with the communications department to include a gender focused informational radio series.

The intention of the radio program is to provide the student body and community members with accessible, unbiased practical information about issues women have expressed a need for. Topics include reproductive health and how to address concerns with a partner, how to identify gender based violence in our own lives, students’ perspectives on their university education, and challenges women face upon entering the working world. By connecting with a rural public through a medium that has

Around Oaxaca

Pictured above: San Pablo Huixtepec, Oaxaca San Pablo Huixtepec, Oaxaca Universidad Tecnologica de los Valles Centrales de Oaxaca (UTVCO)

traditionally reached segments of the population who may otherwise face barriers in accessing information, this project has the potential to improve community-university relations while providing women and their families with useful information. I look forward to incorporating this work into my 509 organizational experience and using perspectives gained from collaborative work in Mexico in my coursework as a student in the MPA program in the coming year.

For more information about the UTVCO, current podcasts, and outreach efforts to date, see their website at

http://www.utvco.edu.mx.

If you’re interested in visiting Oaxaca for yourself, be sure to check out Dr. Jack Corbett’s Fall 2014 Oaxaca Field Studies course, PA 529!

http://www.utvco.edu.mx/


Interest in Federal Employment? Check out Pathways

By Spencer Narron, MPA Student

Even before I started the MPA program, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the federal government. Prior to attending PSU I had applied to a variety of federal positions only to get an impersonal rejection letter several months after I had forgotten I had applied. The outlook was not good. I intended to obtain my degree and try again reasoning that a Master’s degree in Public Administration would certainly make me stand out. As it happened, I did not have to wait that long. I discovered the Pathways Internship program.

Pathways is a program that targets students and recent graduates with an interest in a career in federal service. The internships provided through Pathways are of particular interest. The majority of these internships are paid and provide great flexibility in terms of scheduling around school allowing for full or part time work. Each Pathways internship also contains the provision that if you satisfactorily complete at least 640 hours and finish your degree, the agency may roll you into permanent employment within 120 days of graduation. Additionally, some internships include benefits such as health insurance, retirement, and other perks like transit passes, however those details can vary widely depending on the agency’s needs and resources so read each advertisement carefully.

To find yourself a Pathways Internship, simply go to USAJobs.gov and click on “students and recent graduates” under the search bar, and then click on “internships”, and begin your search. Some agencies offer local internships (like mine) and others offer summer opportunities at other locations. Possibly the best part? These opportunities are only open to current students and therefore the applicant pool is somewhat smaller.

Federal service may not be for everyone. Some of the stereotypes about large bureaucracy are accurate, and sometimes the wheels of the federal system move slowly. Nevertheless, for individuals with an interest in federal service, the Pathways program is great avenue to get your proverbial foot in the door.

Apart from being an MPA student and PASA board member, Spencer is a Pathways Intern at Army Corps of Engineers at the Portland District Office.


Introducing: Your 2014-2015 PASA Board!

Danielle Brown - MPA:HA

Hi everyone! I’m a first year student in the MPA:HA program. I am excited to be on the PASA board because I think it will be a great way to get more involved with my program, the PSU community, and the Public Administration community. After I received my B.S. in Public Health at OSU, I volunteered for a year with AmeriCorps. During my year of service with AmeriCorps I worked at the Clackamas and Washington County Public Health Departments in Emergency Preparedness. It was during this time I realized I wanted to learn more about serving the public in a capacity similar to public health but more on the administrative side, which led me to the MPA:HA program. As I am nearing the end of Spring Term of my first year, I am at the point where I am ready to start looking for internships and other opportunities in which I can gain more experience, network, and build my resume.

Danielle Brown - MPA:Health Administration

Mandy Elder - MPA:Global Leadership

Hi everyone! I’m Mandy. I graduated from PSU with my BA in Child and Family Studies, Women’s Studies, and Spanish in 2012. After spending a year with a Fulbright in Mexico, I’m finding myself back in Portland to start the MPA and MA in Anthropology programs this Fall. My specialization will be in Diversity and Community Leadership, focusing on how to best support diverse students in institutions of higher education. I’ve focused most of my academic and community work in the US, Mexico, and Canada on rural women and processes of identity negotiation as they pursue educational opportunities. I’ve come to realize that I’m a typical Oregonian – camping, hiking, fishing, good music, good food, and good people is where it’s at. I’m looking forward to working with PASA so that I can improve my leadership skills, meet interesting people, and provide other PA students with some cool experiences!


Matt Glazewski - MPA:Natural Resources

My name is Matt Glazewski, and I'm in the Natural Resources specialization here in the MPA program. I came to Portland specifically for the program from Washington, DC in order to apply my accumulated public administration experience and knowledge to the frame and theory so well taught here at PSU. As I've completed more than half of my program here, I've gained a great appreciation for the knowledge I've attained thus far, but also for the relationships I've formed with the faculty, students, and professional connections that the university has facilitated for me. I'd love to be able to share this wisdom and enable the rest of the students in the program, both new and experienced, to ensure that they have the most enriching experience possible. Sitting on PASA's board is a great privilege and the best way to accomplish that goal.

Danielle Moreau - MPA:Global Leadership

Hi! My name is Danielle Moreau. I am a full-time student. Additionally, I work part-time at Catholic Charities in the Refugee Resettlement Department. I love working with diverse cultures from all over the world, which is in part, why I am in the Global Leadership and Management track. To date, I have learned how to navigate PSU as well as connected with local professionals via my friendships with PASA Board members and by attending the PASA Happy Hour. Without these connections I don’t know where I would be right now—they have truly opened doors. Since PASA has made such a positive impact on my grad school experience, I would love to pass on the good vibes and knowledge I have learned by being a PASA Board Member. Sharing resources is something, no matter about what, is extremely important to me and I would be honored to do that as a board member. Also, I am excited for the opportunity to make more local connections and expand my professional skills.


Daniel Schira, MPA: Nonprofit Management

Hi All! I am excited for my stint on PASA's board. I have been active in leadership roles since I was 9 when my sisters and I would nominate each other as officers in our 4-H clubs as an interesting joke. I arrived in Portland after living and working at a small, national nonprofit in Washington D.C. My background and experience is driven mostly from a mission driven personality and a thirst for adventure and knowledge. I've lived in Michigan, Florence, Italy, and D.C. I received my Bachelors in Political Science from Michigan State, and am now pursuing my MPA with a specialization in Nonprofit Management. D.C. Is an amazing city, that I decided was a little too professional, and wasn't ready for me. I decided to pack all my possession in a car and drive across country. I love Portland, its people and the

Coordinator for Students for Unity, a volunteer for the Women's Resource Center, Chair of the Campus Pacific Green Party chapter and the Ralph Nader Campus Coordinator. I've sat on many Boards, from non-profits to local newspapers. I understand the commitment involved and I'm eager to get started. I am a great organizer and believe I will contribute by starting new programs/projects within PASA as well as securing amazing guest speakers for both the weekly socials and special events. I look forward to talking with current board members on the challenges, needs and most importantly, the FUN that will be had in 2014-2015!

experiences I have gained in the year I have been here. As a member of the PASA board, I hope to engage with even more students and leaders. I look forward to start working with the other PASA board members in networking Oregon's future leaders.

Barbara Payne - MPA

I am Barb Payne, into my 2nd grad term in Public Admin here at PSU. Already gaining traction in the department with faculty/staff, being a Board member for PASA would increase my interaction with my fellow students and going's on around campus and CUPA. While an undergraduate at PSU (98-2000) I was Vice-Chair of OSPIRG, Communications Director of ASPSU, Event


Daniel Schira, MPA: Nonprofit Management

My name is Priscilla Wagner and I am currently a MPA student on the local government track. I graduated from University of Oregon in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science. After graduation, I spent two years running political nonprofit campaigns in Oregon. I worked on behalf of groups like OSPIRG, Environment Oregon and the Human Rights Campaign and was in charge of recruiting, training, and managing a team of campaign staff to raise money and build membership for these advocacy groups. I started the program in January 2014 and am interested in local policy analysis. I would like to be a PASA Board Member because I want to get more involved with the Public Administration community here at Portland State in an influential way. As a former organizer, I believe I can bring my organizing skills to the position to help continue on the legacy of the current board of making PASA an amazing resource for Public Administration students on campus. I also would like to meet more students within the program out of the classroom and continue building a network of bright and interesting individuals and this seems like a great way to do so!

Thank you for a great year! Your 2013-2014 Board:

Chris Chambers

Samantha Cooper

Stephanie Hinkle

Spencer Narron

Cynthia Alamillo


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hatfield herald spring 2014

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