Systems Analyst, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

I decided on a career in public administration while serving as an Army combat medic in Iraq. I witnessed some of the outcomes that policy decisions produce and became interested in the processes that generate decisions of such consequence. After undergraduate studies in political science and economics at Edinboro University, I began working for the Social Security Administration. I started with SSA as a claims representative processing disability, retirement, and survivors applications and later moved into the IT department as a systems analyst.

Last year, while completing my MPA degree at Arkansas State University, I transferred to my current position with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service within USDA. As a systems analyst, I conduct a wide range of duties including business process analyses, systems evaluations, capital and resource planning, and project management. The task consuming most of my time lately is serving as the project manager for an application being developing internally for agricultural inspectors at our nation’s ports. When completed, the application will provide a simplified method for obtaining regulatory guidance regarding which commodities can be granted entry into the country and under what conditions.

My project is just one of many at the agency with the goal of protecting American agriculture by preventing and controlling the spread of invasive species. Pests such as the Spotted Lanternfly, which is currently threatening fruit crops and trees in southwestern Pennsylvania, threaten our food supplies and can cause billions of dollars in damage if left uncontrolled.

I look forward to connecting with more ASPA-NCAC members. Feel free to reach out to me through my LinkedIn profile, or chat with me at the next chapter event!

Management and Program Analyst, U.S. Department of Education

Administrative Assistant, Virginia Board of Accountancy (VBOA)

Master of Public Administration (MPA) Candidate, Walden University

Legislative Aide, Fairfax County Government

Government, Social Impact, and Organizational Consultant

Fellow and Project Lead at the National Academy of Public Administration (Congressionally-chartered professional association)

I knew I wanted a career in public service after growing up with a father in the Navy. Thus, it’s no surprise that I began my career after college working for the Navy here in Washington as a computer programmer. I got “Potomac fever” during high school when my family moved to D.C., and I remember what a tense time it was in D.C. during the anti-war movement and the riots following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King.

After serving the Navy as a civilian, I did federal consulting for a few years before embarking on a 25-year career at the Government Accountability Office. During my time with GAO, I directed programs in public health and health financing, accounting and financial management. I also helped GAO restart its recruiting and hiring and set up exciting new internships and new hire programs as GAO recovered from a 40% cut in staff size in the mid-90s.

Since retiring from GAO in 2005, I served as a Senior Strategic Advisor for the Partnership for Public Service, where I led the Call to Serve program to build bridges for effective recruiting and hiring between federal agencies and universities, and led numerous studies leading to reports on improving the civil service system, and helping agencies improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

I now serve as a Fellow and Project Lead for the National Academy of Public Administration, where with the National Academies of Sciences I lead a 5-year Congressionally-mandated study of DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

My extensive career in public service demonstrates the various ways in which we can serve our country. My advice to those starting out in the field is to not be too concerned about going up a ladder in a specific way, and to use networking for friendship-building and as a way to learn about different aspects of public administration.

I welcome the opportunity to network with fellow public administrators. You may contact me on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sally-sarah-jaggar-0a89a6a/

I founded BL Insights to help public-serving institutions become more effective identifying, achieving, and communicating their strategic value. Before coming to Washington, DC, I was a career scientist and educator at Yale University, so I bring a scientific approach to my work. I became interested in public administration through local government. In Connecticut, I served on my town’s Inland Wetlands Commission for 12 years.

My interest in public administration grew when I was awarded a Science & Technology Policy Fellowship by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. During the fellowship, I spent three months at the Performance Improvement Council working with federal agencies on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Education Cross-Agency Priority Goal, part of the president’s management agenda.

Later, I spent a year at the National Institute of Justice—the research and evaluation arm of the Department of Justice—leading an effort in strategic planning and evaluation. My current project involves working with criminal justice stakeholders to develop a strategic framework that will facilitate the application of science to improve criminal justice, analogous to the framework by which science informs other practical disciplines, such as medicine.

My career has been an exciting journey, motivated by my desire to bring about positive change. I began by studying the nervous system of fruit flies and teaching students. My interest in serving the public led me to became active in local politics and volunteering on a government commission. My move to public policy in Washington, DC, was a natural progression to merge my scientific, educational, and analytical interests with public service.

I welcome the opportunity to network with my fellow public administrators. You may contact me at LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blinsights

I am the Research Associate at the Council for a Strong America, a national, bipartisan, nonprofit compromised of five member organizations that focus on ensuring our children are citizen-ready.  I serve as the research point of contact for our early childhood education, K-1 2 and higher education, focusing on the skills gap, Common Core, testing, after school, teacher effectiveness, school finance, charter school, and career and technical education.

I welcome the opportunity to network with my fellow public administrators. You may contact me at paceved2@gmail.com and my LinkedIN at: www.linkedin.com/in/paulaacevedo.