In May ASPA-NCAC held our 2023 Annual Conference on zoom!
Our keynote speaker was Beth Noveck, a professor at Northeastern University, where she directs the Burnes Center for Social Change and its partner project, The Governance Lab and its MacArthur Research Network on Opening Governance. She is the author of Solving Problems: How to Fix Our Government and Change Our World (Yale Press 2021).
It was a pleasure having Beth speak to us about her book and have a discussion.
We also awarded our Essay Contest winners with their awards and heard from them about their papers.
Included in our Annual Meeting portion of the evening was the presentation of an NCAC Award.
Along with the distinction of the essay winning the Chapter’s Essay Contest, Jessica will receive a cash award of $2,000 that we hope will go toward furthering your education and a three-year membership to the American Society for Public Administration.
Jessica joined us at our Chapter’s Annual Meeting on May 18 to discuss her essay and express her gratitude for being selected. You can view the recording of our Annual Meeting here.
Congratulations, Jessica, on winning First Place for your essay in our Chapter’s 2022-2023 Student Essay Contest!
Along with the distinction of the essay winning the Chapter’s Essay Contest, Dylan will receive a cash award of $1,500 that we hope will go toward furthering your education and a three-year membership to the American Society for Public Administration.
Dylan joined us at our Chapter’s Annual Meeting on May 18 to express his gratitude for being selected. You can view the recording of our Annual Meeting here.
Congratulations, Dylan, on winning Second Place for you essay in our Chapter’s 2022-2023 Student Essay Contest!
One of our NCAC Board Members, Connie Berhane, recently sat on a panel at the Northeast Conference on Public Administration (NECoPA) annual conference, “Permission to Practice: Public Service Boundary Spanning.” She presented on her contributions to a 2021 ebook project by the same name, which involved the collaborative production of original written content and video roleplays by nine practitioners and pracademics in Colorado, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and the Washington, DC Metro Area.
Connie developed a script for the roleplay of an information interview she conducted the year before, turning it into a teaching tool. She also was the subject of a recorded interview in which she explained how she used boundary spanning to uncover new avenues for career growth. Her main takeaway for attendees was not to be afraid to reach out to a person or organization to seek information or request information interviews. Check out the ebook and NECoPA session!
The ASPA NCAC “Award for Outstanding Service” acknowledges individuals who have been a member of our chapter for five years and have demonstrated a life of service to the public sector, public organizations, and the public at large.
This year our chapter has chosen Allen Lomax to receive this noted award.
Allen has been on NCAC’s Board since 2013 when he was appointed by the ASPA National’s Board of Directors to assist in helping to rejuvenate the chapter. He is a Lifetime member of ASPA and the longest “active” member of the chapter. He has brought a wealth on knowledge and insight to the chapter’s workings and activities. Most recently, his work with the City of Alexandria has informed our programming on Affordable Housing and the Opioid Crisis and brought important intergovernmental perspectives to our chapter’s goals and priorities. He has been and continues to be a valued friend and mentor to others on the board and in the chapter.
Thank you Allen for your service and dedication to the public, our chapter and to public administration.
The ASPA National Capital Area Chapter “Frances Kelsey Award” acknowledges individuals who have demonstrated courage in promoting the public interest while employed in government; as a public servant, contractor, or grantee. The award is named in honor of Dr. Francis Kelsey, a 45-year veteran of the Federal Drug Administration {FDA), who served as the Director of the FDA’s Office of Scientific Investigations, and who courageously resisted pressure to approve the pharmaceutical drug Thalidomide for therapeutic use in the United States in the 1960s after discovering a link between the drug and severe birth defects.
At the time of Dr. Kelsey’s review, Thalidomide had been sold to pregnant women in Europe and elsewhere as an anti-nausea drug to treat morning sickness. The pharmaceutical company responsible for its development wanted a license, for similar use, in the United States.
The Washington Post opined that “[the] tragedy was largely averted in the United States, with much credit due to Kelsey … For a critical 19-month period, she fastidiously blocked its approval while drug company officials maligned her as a bureaucratic nitpicker.” The Washington Post went on to describe Dr. Kelsey as a “heroine” whose “skepticism and stubbornness … prevented what could have been an appalling American tragedy.”
There are fewer honors and awards than people who deserve them. They are rare and are reserved for people who have achieved excellence in their field, made significant observable changes or accomplishments, and whose work products have benefited the citizens of the United States, or humanity at-large, in their field or activity.
Dr. Anthony Fauci meets and/or exceeds the criteria required for consideration as a recipient for the “Frances Kelsey Award”. Dr. Fauci has served American public health in various capacities for more than 50 years and has been an advisor to every United States President since Ronald Reagan. Dr. Fauci became Director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in 1984 and has made contributions to HIV/AIDS research and other immune-deficiency diseases, both as a scientist and as head of the NIAID.
From 1983 to 2002, Dr. Fauci was one of the World’s most frequently cited scientists across all scientific journals. In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Dr. Fauci the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, for his work on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a United States governmental initiative to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and help save lives of those suffering from the disease. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Fauci was one of the lead members of President Donald Trump’s White House Coronavirus Task Force. In the early stages of the pandemic The New Yorker and The New York Times described Dr. Fauci “as one of the most trusted medical figures in the United States”. He made clear the importance of evidence-based decisions and strove to ensure the public was well-aware of the information it needed to inform their actions. Dr. Fauci was recently appointed Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden and continues to serve as the Director of NIAID.
Dr. Fauci shares with Dr. Kelsey a long and distinguished history of public service. Both helped strengthen national health standards protections for citizens of the United States and humanity at-large; are recipients of numerous prestigious awards related to their public service achievements; are recognized nationally and globally as leaders in their respective fields; demonstrated the ability to manage and lead in response to national controversies; and possess a dedication to the duties and responsibilities of public service, as well as a winning temperament.
For the above reasons, the ASPA National Capital Area Chapter is honored to present the 2021 “Frances Kelsey Award” to Dr. Anthony Fauci for his outstanding public service.
Presented by Board Member Arthur Elkins
We were fortunate to have Dr. Fauci send us a video in acceptance of this award.
The ASPA Conference this year, Picking Up the Pieces: Pandemics, Protests and the Future of Public Service, will be held online starting April 9, 2021. The conference offers 7 days of content, 56 hours of programming and over 150 panels. Please visit the ASPA Annual Conference page at https://www.aspanet.org/ASPA/Events/Annual-Conference/Annual-Conference.aspx to find out more on all the great panel tracks and special speakers. Registration is open and is a great price for the outstanding knowledge you will gain for your personal development and to do your job even better.
On Saturday, January 4, 2020, the NCAC Board started the New Year by meeting to assess the chapter’s progress during 2019 and to plan for 2020. The Board thought 2019 was successful and was pleased with trying a new format for some of its events. That new format was the World Café style format used for its October program on education and November program on regional affordable housing issues. It was agreed that while the format was successful, it needed to be mixed with other formats throughout 2020 to provide the best events to NCAC members.
Looking ahead, the Board set a regular production schedule for the Chapter newsletter. Now, the NCAC newsletter will be produced in January, March, May, July, September and November 2020. They also agreed to hold five chapter events during 2020—two in the spring, one in the summer and two in the fall. The Board further agreed to refresh the Chapter’s web site and make it a better knowledge tool for NCAC members. The Board agreed to make sure that all of its work and the Chapter’s programs focus on the Chapter’s mission–providing personal growth, knowledge-sharing and networking to NCAC members.
All Board members agreed that the Saturday together was fun and productive. Look for exciting changes in 2020.
