ASPA Announces 2014 Candidates for National Council

Beginning Nov. 1, ASPA will hold elections for vacancies on its National Council, the governing body of the association.  The National Council is made up of District Representatives who serve three year terms, a Student Representative that serves a one-year term and an International Representative that serves a three year term.

Below are a list of the candidates who have been nominated for Vice President, District Representative as well as Student Representative and International Representative. Eligible ASPA members will vote on the candidates starting Nov. 1 through Nov. 15.

Vice President – Susan T. Gooden

Susan T. Gooden, PhD, is a Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and Executive Director of the Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  She is a nationally-recognized scholar in the areas of social equity and social policy. She is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration; a current District II National Council member of ASPA and an elected member of the national policy council of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM). She is a member of the Commission of Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA)) and a former executive council member of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). She earned an A.S. in Natural Science from Patrick Henry Community College, a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Political Science from Virginia Tech. She received her PhD from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

 

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

Equipped with a strong record of excellence and remarkable accomplishments, I am eager to promote the public service values of public administration by Building Powerful ASPA Partnerships both within ASPA and across our public affairs communities.  Building strong partnerships within ASPA requires capitalizing upon and enhancing the visibility of our exemplary sections, journals, chapters, and districts. As an active, energetic, and dedicated member of ASPA since 1995, I am committed to strengthening partnerships between academics and practitioners to guide the vital work we do in our classes, in our trainings, through our research and in our communities to achieve public sector excellence at the state, local, national, and international levels. Serving the public in an equitable, effective, and efficient manner requires ASPA to build even stronger partnerships within the public affairs community, including the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA). As the common connector, ASPA is ideally situated to advance these powerful partnerships.  We have formidable intellectual talent, robust professional experience, and the essential diversity required to realize this vision. Individually we are proud contributors to the public sector. Collectively, we will build a more powerful and visible public service. By electing me as Vice President of the American Society of Public Administration, together we can work in partnership to realize our public service strength.

 

District I – Michael J. Ahn

Michael J. Ahn is an assistant professor at the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.  Michael serves as the president of ASPA’s Massachusetts chapter (MassASPA) and as the president-elect of the Northeast Conference on Public Administration (NECOPA).  As the chair of the 2012 Boston NECOPA Conference, Michael organized a successful conference which attracted many outstanding public administration professionals to discuss pressing issues facing American public administration.  As the president of MassASPA, Michael has improved the quality of the chapter’s programs and activities by providing its members with various opportunities for education and networking.  As a researcher in public administration, Michael is primarily interested in exploring the role of Information Technology on government performance, accountability and democratic governance.  His articles have appeared in journals such as Public Administration Review, American Review of Public Administration, and Government Information Quarterly.  Michael received a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Syracuse University in 2007.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

Shortly after joining UMass Boston, I began working for MassASPA and later for NECOPA as part of my service to the ASPA/Public Sector community.  I found ASPA provides wonderful opportunities for public sector professionals to network, discuss and learn from various symposiums and membership activities channeled through state chapters, sections, regional and national conferences.  At the state level, I helped to organize several programs ranging from discussions on the potential of Web 2.0 and Social Media on government, diversity in the public service, and performance management and government accountability with the Massachusetts State Auditor and the General Manager of the MBTA.  At the regional level, I helped organize the NECOPA conference in 2012 which attracted over 200 outstanding scholars, practitioners and students to discuss central topics of today’s public administration in over 30 panels of diverse topical areas.  I initiated the Massachusetts Best Capstone Award with the generous support of public administration Master’s programs in the state to encourage our students and to provide an opportunity for the students and faculty from various programs to network and celebrate public administration research.

My experiences at ASPA helped me see the power of collaboration as most of these programs were made possible by working together with other chapters, professional associations, and universities.  I would like to continue to harness the power of collaboration if I am elected as ASPA’s national council member for District I and contribute to the ASPA at the national level.  I will actively seek opportunities for collaboration with ASPA chapters, sections as well as non-ASPA professional associations to work together in continuing to provide great opportunities for our ASPA members.  I would greatly appreciate your vote in support of this vision.

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District II – Tonya T. Neaves

Tonya Neaves is an Adjunct Professor with the Public and International Affairs Department at George Mason University and a researcher with its Centers for the Public Service. Her recent portfolio includes serving as Project Director for the Mississippi Public Safety Data Laboratory and a Research Fellow with the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University, where she is also completing a PhD in Public Policy and Administration. An active member of ASPA, Tonya serves as Treasurer for the Section on Emergency and Crisis Management and is the Chair of both the Technology Advisory Committee and the Founders’ Fellows Selection Committee. She is also a member of the Chapter and Section Revitalization Task Force. Tonya formerly served as an Executive Organizer for the International Young Scholars Workshop and Student Representative to National Council.

 

 

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

For nearly a decade, ASPA has been a professional home to me as both an academic and a practitioner. When I joined, I was a graduate student earning a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration. At the time, however, I was not considered a traditional graduate student given that I worked full-time as a research scientist where I conducted over $5 million of emergency management, public safety, and national security grant-funded research. From these experiences, I quickly learned to grasp the complexity of developing programs that effectively link scientific research and managerial procedures. Still, this task of actively bridging the two is more of a challenge than a reality, a paradox that both the field of public administration and ASPA often faces. Such challenges include actively engaging members, activating chapters and sections, and maintaining organizational transparency. As a former Student Representative to National Council (a one year term), I had the distinct yet brief honor of working closely with ASPA’s leadership and becoming familiar with its operational and cultural environment. I believe it is my dual “pracademic” perspective along with prior professional service that has afforded me the knowledge to harness cross-cutting skills and abilities which have been proven useful to the dynamic needs of ASPA. If elected as District II Representative (a three year term), it would truly be a great privilege and I would vow to serve as an agent of positive change when:

• Interfacing with decision-makers to support goals, objectives, and values;
• Assisting existing members in voicing policy needs and concerns;
• Expanding outreach measures to recruit and maintain a new body of membership;
• Ensuring that tools are available for chapter and section mobilization;
• Generating external relationships that produce constructive partnerships; and
• Advancing new initiatives to offer a diversified portfolio of activities.

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District II – Nolan Ritchie, MPA

Nolan Ritchie is an Innovations Officer at the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).  In this post, Nolan manages progressive initiatives to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of transportation policies, processes and programs, which will produce an estimated $50 million in annual cost savings.

Throughout his six-year career at PennDOT, Nolan served as a Special Assistant to Secretary Barry Schoch, an Executive Secretary of the Governor’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission and the State Transportation Commission and an Administrative Officer of the Center for Program Development and Management.

Over the last two years, Nolan served on the Board of Directors for the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.  Nolan currently serves as the Chapter’s President-Elect.

Nolan is a recent graduate of Penn State Harrisburg with a Master of Public Administration degree.  Nolan also received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Lebanon Valley College.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

 

It is my pleasure to inform you on my District II candidacy, which focuses on three objectives.  First, National Council needs to advance innovative leadership to overcome modern challenges faced by local chapters.  Over the last two years, I served on the Board of Directors of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter, which was dormant for nearly 20 years.  This experience unveiled contemporary challenges such as engaging membership, generating revenue and filing non-profit status requirements.

Second, National Council needs to effectively communicate goals, objectives and accomplishments to the members and the general public.  We need to hear from our District Representatives to ensure our membership’s interests are advanced at National Council.  Additionally, ASPA’s resources underutilize National Council’s purpose and accomplishments, which demonstrates a lack of accountability and transparency to the members and the general public.

Finally, I am the only practitioner candidate in District II, and National Council needs to remain a balanced, representative body of academic and practitioner interests.  The value of the entire organization is exponentially greater with a mix of professional viewpoints to produce results that address investment, performance, stewardship and ethics in the public service.  The integration of theory and practice will unfold effective, efficient and sustainable solutions to overcome public service challenges in the 21st century.

Therefore, three commitments are linked to my campaign platform.  My first commitment is to help reactivate dormant chapters within District II.  This is promulgated on innovative leadership to increase engagement of students, young professionals and seasoned members to advance the principles of public administration.  My second commitment is to transmit effective communications with District II Chapters as well as the general public on the National Council’s work.  My final commitment is to lobby for increased free or low-cost symposiums, webinars and reports to promote value-adding decisions throughout the public service.

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District II – James Savage

I am a professor of politics at the University of Virginia, where I also served as Executive Assistant to the President of the University for Federal Relations and Assistant Vice President for Research and Federal Relations.  In 2011-12, I served as vice chair and chair of the Association for Budgeting & Financial Management section chair, ASPA’s largest section.  During those years, ABFM held two very successful national conferences, created a new website, revised its bylaws, and increased its membership.  I am also an ABFM representative to the Publications Board of Public Budgeting & Finance and am a member of the editorial board of Public Budgeting, Accounting, and Financial Management.  Previously I served (2006-2008) on the Executive Committee of ABFM, and the editorial board of Public Budgeting & Finance.  My research on budgeting is both domestic and comparative in scope.  I am the author of four books and more than twenty articles and book chapters, including:  Reconstructing Iraq’s Budgetary Institutions:  Coalition State Building after Saddam (Cambridge UP, 2013), Making the EMU: The Politics of Budgetary Surveillance and The Enforcement of Maastricht (Oxford UP, 2007); Funding Science in America: Congress, Universities, and the Politics of the Academic Pork Barrel (Cambridge UP, 2000); and Balanced Budgets and American Politics (Cornell UP, 1990).  I received my Ph.D. in political science from the University of California at Berkeley, where I studied with Aaron Wildavsky.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

Much of the life of APSA takes place within its sections, but since 1998 section membership has fallen by some 40 percent, far more than the overall 16 percent drop in ASPA membership.  Nine of the 25 sections have experienced a loss of over half their members.  APSA’s drop in total membership can be ascribed, for example, to changes in the attractiveness of pursuing a career in public administration given fiscal constraints and politically inspired attacks on civil servants, and to trends in the national economy.  A good deal of the decline in section membership is due, however, to the lack of attention shown to section activities and the benefits of section membership.   As ABFM chair, I encouraged ASPA leadership to promote the visibility of all the sections, to help build their memberships, and assist the sections retain their tax-exempt status.  As a member of the National Council, I would continue my efforts to energize the sections, encourage ASPA members’ appreciation of section membership, and strengthen relations among sections, and section relations with the National Council and ASPA’s leadership.

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District III – Ronnie Korosec

I am seeking your vote to become the next Region III Representative to the ASPA National Council. I am currently the Assistant Vice Provost at the University of Central Florida. Prior to that, I completed my undergraduate work at UNC-Charlotte. I also held my first academic role at NC State—so my roots in Region III go back many years!

Over the course of my career, I have held various leadership roles, including Public Administration Undergraduate Program Coordinator; MPA Coordinator; Public Affairs Doctoral Program Director; Associate Dean of Graduate Studies & Technology; Dean’s Faculty Fellow; Provost’s Faculty Fellow; SECOPA Conference Chair (2008); and ASPA National Conference Co-Chair (2013). I feel that the combination of these experiences has provided me the opportunity to enhance my leadership skills while providing value to the organizations and the people I serve.

I endeavor to bring this same sense of public service to this role.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

Serving on the ASPA National Council as your new Region III Representative, would be both an honor and a privilege. I am passionate about public administration, and believe that there is no better time than right now to be involved in our field. I would like to continue the hard work forged by my predecessor(s) and also branch out into new areas to promote the issues that make Region III unique. Specifically, I would work in concert with you and the other members of ASPA to achieve the following goals:

1)      To reinvigorate ASPA with a new generation of enthusiastic members and provide them a safe haven to express new ideas without fear;

2)      To create a pathway to promote new partnerships among members in the Region III district—including those relating to research, special projects, grants, and scholarship;

3)      To explore international collaborations with institutions that do not have current affiliations with ASPA;

4)      To craft relationships with other national organizations (outside of ASPA) that share similar interests; and

5)      To be an active, positive, and proactive voice for our region and our interests in all National Council proceedings.

If you have questions regarding my candidacy or issues that you would like to discuss, I can be reached at:  [email protected] or (407) 823-0676.

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District IV – Sharon Mastracci

Sharon Mastracci, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Interim Head of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has published in human resource management, emotional labor, and gender. Her research has been recognized for its contributions to the field, including the 2008 Best Book awards from SPAR and SPALR, the 2012 Best Book award from SPALR, and the 2005 ROPPA Best Paper award. Before returning to school at the University of Texas, Sharon worked for the State of Ohio Legislative Budget Office and with the Government Consulting Division of Coopers & Lybrand Consulting.

 

 

 

 

 

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

The Midwest is an important region to represent on National Council, as the Midwest played an essential role in the history of ASPA and Public Administration Review. Serving as District IV representative would continue my involvement with ASPA, which began in 2004 when I was elected to the Executive Council of the Greater Chicago Chapter. I served one term as President and am currently chapter Secretary. The Greater Chicago Chapter will host the 2015 ASPA National Conference, and I am working with the Conference Management Committee on that initiative. I support ASPA’s efforts to elevate the public service profession through such efforts as the Memos to National Leaders Project, which places practitioners and academics at the center of problem solving. I also support the ASPA National Council’s willingness to take a stand for public servants and issue a resolution opposing the federal government shutdown. As District IV representative, I would actively engage with National Council to maintain the Society’s voice in current debates. Finally, I support the Society’s efforts to reach out to students and involve students and new professionals in governance and decision making to secure the future of the organization. This is an important time for our profession, and as District IV representative, I would support ASPA leadership’s continued efforts to showcase exceptional public service. Thank you for your vote.

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District V – Dovie Dawson

Dovie D. Dawson’s professional experience consists of 25 years in the public, private and business sectors.  Currently, she is an Associate Faculty at Ashford University and UWLA and teaches undergraduate and graduate political science, government, legal and business management classes.

Dovie has been listed in the Cambridge’s Who’s Who Registry of Executives and Professionals for several years.  Dovie is currently a Ph.D. student in the Public Policy and Administration program at Walden University.  She holds a MPA and a BA in Political Science both from California State University Dominguez Hills.

Writing is a love of hers and she has authored a book, articles and numerous ASPA conference papers.  Politics are her passion which has included a past appointment on the Alcohol and Drug Advisory Board, past President of the California Women’s Lead and current Chair of SPLA.  Dovie believes in giving back in order to make a difference within society.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

I welcome an opportunity to contribute to ASPA as a District V, National Council Member.  I have been a dedicated, long-term member of ASPA since 2008 and have been an active participant in the annual conferences.  If elected, I would bring to this position the knowledge that I have gained in various leadership roles within and outside of ASPA.  I have served as the Graduate Student Representative, Secretary and held various committee chair positions within the Section on Women in Public Administration (SWPA) (2008-2011) and have presided as the Chair of the Section on Public Law and Administration (SPLA) since 2011.
In efforts of reinvigorating the SPLA section in 2012, I developed an Annual Champagne and Chocolate Affair whereby the section acknowledges the student scholarship awardee and a local public official speaks on relevant public law issues.  Each public official is selected from the state that the annual conference is being held in.  This event has been expanded to captivate corporate sponsors with the goals of increasing ASPA and SPLA exposure, increasing the scholarship funds, interlinking students, practitioners and academia in the public law field while simultaneously staying abreast within the field.  I have a strong commitment to enhancing collaborative relationships which will strengthen ASPA as a whole.  If elected as a National Council Member for District V, I would use my leadership experience and expertise to initiate an exploration of the ways ASPA may best meet the needs of its members and society collectively.

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District V – Rex Facer

Facer has a long history of service in ASPA. He started his ASPA service as the treasurer (2003-2006) for the Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations (SPALR). He served in several other leadership positions for SPALR (2006-2012), including service as Chair of the section from 2008-2010.  He has also been involved in broader ASPA issues. He served on the finance committee for several years (2007-2012), including service as Chair (2009-2010). He served as the co-chair of the Strategic Imperative Group 2 (2011-2012) and as the Chair of the Founders Fellows and Mentoring efforts (2012-2013). Facer currently serves as a member of the ASPA 75^th Anniversary Commission and as a member of ASPA’s National Council.

In addition to his ASPA service, Facer has a deep commitment to public service. He received his Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Georgia where he worked for several years at the Vinson Institute of Government. Facer is an Associate Professor of Public Finance and Management in the George Romney Institute of Public Management at Brigham Young University where he teaches in the MPA program. Facer was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the Federal Salary Council in October 2010. The council provides recommendations on federal pay issues for the GS system. He also served for three years as a member of NASPAA’s Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA), including a year as Chair. COPRA is the accrediting body for graduate programs in public administration and policy. Facer’s research has focused on public sector pay, alternative work schedules, municipal annexation, and local public finance issues. His research has been published in several ASPA sponsored journals.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

It is my honor to have served my friends and colleagues over the years in ASPA. Membership in ASPA has provided me with a rich opportunity for personal and professional development. I believe ASPA can and will continue to play a critical role in advancing public service. Since I have benefited so significantly from my colleagues in the Society I feel an obligation to return and give back. I have sought to do that over the years. I have had the opportunity to serve on ASPA’s Finance Committee for several years, including serving as chair. I have also served in the Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations (SPALR) in a variety of capacities, including my service as Chair from 2008-2010. Additionally, I am currently serving on the National Council. I believe ASPA can and will continue to address relevant issues in the contemporary practice and scholarship of public administration. Through my past and future service I am committed to strengthening ASPA and I look forward to the opportunity to continue my service by joining the National Council.

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International Representative –  M. Jae Moon

Professor Moon is Underwood Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at Yonsei University and currently spends his sabbatical year at Indiana University as a Senior Fulbright Scholar. He is recently elected as a Fellow of National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) in 2013. Earning Ph.D. from Maxwell School of Syracuse University, he previously taught at different institutions including the University of Colorado at Denver, Texas A & M University, and Korea University. His research interests include public management, information technology, and comparative public administration. He served Book Review Editor of Public Administration Review (2002-2005) and the Editor-in-Chief of International Review of Public Administration (2008-2010). He was a recipient of the Mosher Award and the Peter Boorsma Award for International Scholar (SECoPA) in 2009. He has served a number of government committees including the Presidential Council for Future and Strategy. Professor Moon is often involved in training and consultancy projects for developing countries and international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank.

 

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

I am greatly honored and pleased to accept the nomination for the international representative for the National Council. My professional career has been deeply anchored in ASPA since I joined the society in 1996 as a doctoral student at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University. Since then, my professional and academic career path has been juxtaposed with my increasing involvement in ASPA. Particularly, I have been trying to be part of ASPA’s proactive and strategic efforts to expand its international horizon and develop global outreach programs. Among others, I informally initiated to organize the Global Public Administration Network in order to support junior international PA scholars for their academic and professional career development through ASPA. I have been also co-chairing the Section on Korean Public Administration since the section was formed. Running for the international representative for the ASPA National Council, I would like to pursue the following goals:
1)    Continuing to upgrade ASPA’s internationalization efforts and enhance  international presence in ASPA by representing interests of international public administration communities and facilitating their participation in ASPA;
2)    Promoting ASPA’s international outreach programs and collaborative activities with international counterparts including international organizations, academic and government institutions in other countries;
3)    Developing joint comparative research projects among ASPA members as well as with international counterparts in order to promote a global perspective;
4)    Promoting knowledge sharing opportunities for students, scholars, and practitioners through various channels including exchange programs, joint international conferences, and others; and
5)    Promoting interests in international and comparative public administration and also bridging between senior and junior members as well as between academicians and practitioners who are interested in related topics.

I look forward to the opportunity to serve the ASPA National Council. I appreciate your support and also welcome your thoughts and suggestions to make ASPA more international, dynamic, and prosperous.

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Student Representative – Edward Lane Bailey

Born and raised in Arkansas, I left the state at age seventeen to join the U.S. Marines, where I served worldwide in the infantry for four years.  I returned to Arkansas to attend Ouachita Baptist University, graduating with a double major in Russian Language and History in preparation for a career in academics or federal government during the Cold War.  Following my undergraduate work, I attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where I received a Master of Arts in History (with a focus on Soviet housing policies during the Brezhnev era) and continued work toward a Ph.D. and TA at Brown.

After belatedly realizing the Cold War was over and unlikely to resume, I left academics, sans Ph.D., for a career in the private telecommunications industry.  Ten years later I was mercifully laid off by my employer during the economic crisis of 2009.  I found work with the Arkansas Department of Information Systems, where I currently serve as the Project Manager and Continuity of Operations Planner for the state’s telecommunications network.

To ease the shock of moving from the private sector to the public, I participated in the Certified Public Manager program.  The CPM program motivated me to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.  I expect to graduate in May 2014.

My wife, Betsy, is also in public service as the Community Coordinator for our local school district.  We have two children of our own (Gowen, age 7, and BelleAnn, 16 months), in addition to a stream of foster children we house in partnership with the Department of Human Services.  My primary area of advocacy is expanding broadband Internet connectivity to underserved areas of the state.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

I was already a member of both ASPA and the American Academy of Certified Public Managers (AACPM) when the organizations merged last year.  My ASPA affiliation was part of my academic endeavors, while I participated in the AACPM with my professional colleagues in state and local government.  This dual participation in local ASPA chapters provides a unique perspective and some promising ideas.
Some of the activities I expect to pursue as a student officer are:

• Participate and provide input in program, events, and conference planning to help increase the likelihood that these items meet the needs and interests of our student and professional members.
• Focus on professional development, mentoring, and communications for students and professionals alike.
• Encourage and facilitate students to actively participate in ASPA events locally, nationally, and internationally.
• Assist in encouraging, enhancing, and coordinating student participation in ASPA’s social networks.
• Engage the former AACPM chapters to provide mentorship and employment referrals to students.

I appreciate any opportunity to serve, and I want to thank those who submitted my name for the nomination.

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Student Representative – Galia Cohen

Galia Cohen is a doctoral candidate in the Public Affairs department at the University of Texas at Dallas. She received her B.A. in Psychology and her M.A in Organizational Sociology from Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Galia currently works as an instructor in the Public Affairs department teaching “Human Resource Management” and “Negotiation and Conflict Resolution” for both undergraduate and graduate students. She is an active member in ASPA, serving as a member on the PA Times editorial board, ASPA’s Mentoring Program committee and ASPA’s Founder’s Forum Selection committee. She is also the president of Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society at the University of Texas at Dallas. In 2012 Galia received the prestigious ASPA Founder’s Fellowship Award.  Please feel free to email Galia at [email protected].

CANDIDATE STATEMENT:

My ASPA membership and the relationships I have developed through its activities are the most exciting experiences in my graduate career. ASPA has been a valuable building block in my efforts to pursue a professional academic life. As a doctoral candidate in the Public Affairs department at the University of Texas at Dallas, ASPA has reached out to me, and provided me with the opportunities to supplement my education with professional experiences. I have had the privilege to present my research at conferences, become acquainted with prominent scholars and practitioners in my field, serve on ASPA’s committees, and know the honor of receiving the prestigious Founder’s Forum Fellowship.

If elected as student representative, I intend to help other students benefit from similar opportunities and to continue to cultivate new ways for ASPA to further enrich students’ academic and professional development. Particularly, I aspire to increase the involvement of a diversified student body with ASPA. As a professor, and as an international student myself, I firmly believe that our individual cultural backgrounds and experiences provide us with unique ways of understanding public administration. Furthermore, working in a diverse environment is an important aspect of public service, as it inspires individuals to greater collaborative achievement.

I believe that ASPA is a linchpin that connects practitioners and academicians in the field of public administration, and it would be a privilege to serve peers from both worlds as ASPA’s student representative on its national council.

(4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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