Member Spotlight: Hao Sun, Ph.D., Bridging Research and Policy: A Career at the Intersection of Public Finance, Governance, and Global Sustainability

Featuring Board Member Dr. Hao Sun, Associate Professor in the School of Civic Leadership, Business & Social Change at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., as well as Chief Economist & Policy Advisor (Non-Resident) with Days Global Advisors

Public administration rarely happens within a single lane. It crosses government, academia, economics, law, finance, nonprofit organizations, and the communities public servants ultimately serve. For Hao Sun, Ph.D., that intersection has defined a career devoted to connecting rigorous research with practical public service.


Dr. Sun is an Associate Professor in the School of Civic Leadership, Business & Social Change at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., as well as Chief Economist & Policy Advisor (Non-Resident) with Days Global Advisors. His research focuses on public budgeting, financial management, governance, and the challenge of translating academic research into useful guidance for policymakers and public institutions.


But his path to the classroom began inside the government itself.

From Albany to Washington

Dr. Sun began his public-service journey with approximately three years at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services in Albany. He later spent two years at the Rockefeller Institute of Government before serving another two years as a Senior Research Analyst at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation and its Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative.


Moving from a state agency to an applied policy institute and then a national think tank helped shape the way he approaches research today. At Gallaudet, he studies public budgeting, financial management, and governance with an emphasis on turning research into information that can be used by federal, state, and international decision-makers.


That connection between scholarship and practice has produced an impact extending well beyond academia.


Research Dr. Sun contributed to during his time at Brookings has subsequently been cited by institutions including the Federal Reserve Banks, World Bank, United Nations, Inter-American Development Bank, and European Commission. His work has also appeared in congressional testimony and statements submitted for congressional hearings and has been referenced in legal scholarship and major news organizations.

For Dr. Sun, seeing research travel from a working paper into the hands of policymakers, regulators, journalists, and other decision-makers reinforced an important lesson: rigorous and independent research can itself be an act of public service.


Evidence matters because better information can help people make better decisions—whether those decisions are being made in a state office in Albany, a federal institution in Washington, or an international organization working across borders.

For Dr. Sun, seeing research travel from a working paper into the hands of policymakers, regulators, journalists, and other decision-makers reinforced an important lesson: rigorous and independent research can itself be an act of public service.


Evidence matters because better information can help people make better decisions—whether those decisions are being made in a state office in Albany, a federal institution in Washington, or an international organization working across borders.

Sustainability Through a Global Lens

That philosophy can also be seen in Dr. Sun’s recent work on sustainability.


He is the corresponding author of Waste Management for Global Sustainability: A Comparative Analysis of China–US Policies and Practices, published by Springer Nature in 2025. The work examines waste management comparatively, bringing together perspectives from China and the United States.


Waste management may initially sound like a technical or environmental subject, but it raises fundamental public-administration questions: How should governments design sustainable systems? How do institutions balance environmental, economic, and social considerations? What policies work in different political and administrative environments? And what can countries learn from one another?


Dr. Sun’s work encourages readers to approach those questions comparatively rather than assuming that complex public problems stop at national borders.


He is also co-author of Seismic Imprint: The World Needs You! and contributes to the broader scholarly community as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sustainable Business and the American Journal of Economics and Business Administration, as well as an Advisory Committee Member of the Global Corporate Governance Institute.

Opening Doors for the Next Generation

Yet one of the experiences that most clearly reminds Dr. Sun why public service matters did not come from a publication or citation.


It came from his students.


For several years, Dr. Sun has coordinated academic visits and professional engagement opportunities connecting Gallaudet students with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, exposing students directly to careers in international finance and development.


One student, Matteo Giansanti, went on to complete a World Bank Group internship. Other students subsequently began following that example and applying to the program themselves.

The experience reinforced a broader definition of service for Dr. Sun: public service is not limited to what an individual accomplishes personally. It also includes the opportunities that person creates for others.


For educators, mentors, managers, and public administrators, that idea carries particular weight. The impact of service can continue through the people who are encouraged, taught, mentored, or simply shown a possibility they had not previously imagined for themselves.

Learning to Serve the Community

Perhaps the most personal example of Dr. Sun’s philosophy comes from his experience at Gallaudet.


When he arrived at the university, he had no background in American Sign Language (ASL). Rather than treating that difference as a permanent barrier, he committed himself to learning the language of the community he serves.


Through years of daily study and practice, he reached ASLPI Level 3. Today, he can teach his classes directly without an interpreter and has even been able to interpret for his own students while attending events at the World Bank and IMF in Washington.

The experience illustrates the advice he offers future public servants:

Don’t stay in one lane, and don’t assume you’re ever finished learning.

Economics, law, finance, public policy, and administration may be taught as separate disciplines, but the problems practitioners encounter rarely respect those boundaries. Effective public service therefore requires curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to continue learning.

For Dr. Sun, adaptability also means recognizing that serving a community requires understanding the people within it—not simply understanding the policy problem on paper.

A Commitment That Crosses Borders

That commitment to service began long before his career in Washington.


As a college student in Beijing, Dr. Sun spent three years volunteering as an interpreter with the Soong Ching-ling Memorial Residence/Foundation, which he describes as one of China’s earliest and largest foundations.


Today, that commitment continues in Washington through his service on the Board of the Greater Washington Asian Deaf Association (GWADA). After completing his first year on the board, he is beginning his second year of service, extending his involvement with the Deaf community beyond his responsibilities at Gallaudet.

From Beijing to Albany and from Brookings to Gallaudet, a common thread runs through Dr. Sun’s career: knowledge becomes most valuable when it is placed in service to others.


His work demonstrates how public administration can connect research with policy, classrooms with careers, global challenges with local communities, and scholarship with action.


It also offers an important reminder for the ASPA community. Public service is not confined to a particular job title or level of government. It can happen inside an agency, university, think tank, nonprofit organization, classroom, professional association, or community.


What connects those spaces is the willingness to use one’s knowledge and position to strengthen institutions, improve decisions, and open opportunities for others.


For Dr. Hao Sun, that is what it means to serve.

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Why I Serve: Marcos Fabian on Evidence, Institutions, and the Quiet Work of Public Service

Featuring Marcos Fabian, PhD Candidate in Policy Analysis, University of Maryland School of Public Policy

Public administration is often most successful when the public never has to think about it. A bank remains stable. A family keeps its savings. A child receives an education. A public institution quietly performs the work it was created to do. For Marcos Fabian, a PhD candidate in Policy Analysis at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, those often-unseen successes capture something fundamental about the meaning of public service.


Fabian’s path to public administration has taken him from Mexico City to College Park, Maryland, connecting practical experience inside public institutions with a growing commitment to rigorous policy research. Today, his academic work examines human capital formation and measures how environmental shocks affect children’s health and education.


But his understanding of public service began well before his doctoral studies.


Fabian started his professional career with the Association of Supervisors of Banks of the Americas in Mexico City, an international association of public institutions that brings together authorities responsible for banking supervision throughout the Americas. He spent five years leading the organization’s research unit.


It was there that he encountered a form of public service that rarely makes headlines.


When financial supervision works properly, Fabian observed, the results can be almost invisible.


People generally do not notice the bank that does not fail or the saver who does not lose a lifetime of deposits. Behind those outcomes, however, are public servants carrying enormous responsibilities. The supervisors Fabian worked alongside had devoted their careers to protecting financial systems and the people who depend upon them.


That experience shaped his understanding of what it means to serve.


Public service, in Fabian’s view, does not require an audience. Some of its most consequential work happens quietly, performed by professionals who place the interests of society ahead of their own and accept responsibility for protecting people they may never personally meet.

Public Institutions Changed His Life

Fabian’s commitment to service is also deeply connected to his own educational journey.


He recognizes that he has personally benefited from the very institutions that public administrators build and sustain. He was educated in public institutions, received scholarships and advanced academically because of the work of teachers, administrators and other public servants—many of whom he never met. Giving something back to those institutions and to society is consequently part of what motivates his career.


That sense of responsibility eventually led Fabian toward another dimension of public service: research.


His professional experiences demonstrated that policy decisions are only as strong as the evidence supporting them. Producing reliable evidence, however, requires more than collecting information. It requires rigorous methods, careful analysis and a willingness to distinguish between conclusions supported by evidence and assertions that are not.


For Fabian, that challenge has become increasingly important.


At a time when careful analysis can sometimes be treated as equivalent to unsupported claims, public administrators still must make decisions. Agencies still must act. Communities still depend upon institutions to solve problems, allocate resources and make choices with real consequences for people’s lives.


Fabian therefore sees his career at the intersection of two worlds: the practical experience of working within public institutions and the rigorous methods of policy research. By bringing those perspectives together, he hopes to better understand public policy and contribute meaningful evidence to decision-making.


His story is also a reminder that public administration encompasses far more than the people whose names appear in headlines. It includes researchers producing evidence, regulators protecting financial stability, educators expanding opportunity and administrators maintaining institutions that millions of people rely upon every day.


Sometimes the clearest evidence that public administration is working is precisely that nothing goes wrong.


That quiet responsibility—to protect people one may never meet, strengthen institutions and make decisions grounded in evidence—is at the heart of why Marcos Fabian serves.

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Who Will Serve? A Conversation with Vince Micone

Fellow for Democracy and Public Service  National Academy for Public Administration and The Bridge Alliance Education Fund

Q: Looking across your career in multiple federal agencies, local government, academia, and nonprofit leadership, what is the defining thread that connects your work in public service?

A: Some of the most important lessons I’ve learned about public service didn’t come from Washington—they started in Butte, Montana.

Public service has been the throughline of my career, but it really began much earlier. My Uncle Mike served as mayor of my hometown when I was growing up. Watching him lead and serve the community shaped my understanding of what government can accomplish when it is focused on people. He showed me that public service isn’t about titles or politics; it’s about improving lives, solving problems, and strengthening communities.

Those early experiences inspired me to pursue a career in public service and eventually led me to opportunities across federal agencies, local government, higher education, and nonprofit organizations. 

While the missions have varied, one thing has remained constant: public service is ultimately about people—both those we serve and those who choose to serve.

Whether you’re a city manager, a teacher, a police officer, a budget analyst, or a cabinet secretary, the goal is fundamentally the same: helping communities thrive and leaving institutions stronger than you found them.

Q: You’ve led large enterprise functions such as HR, acquisition, operations, and shared services. What does it take to make those functions work effectively?

A: Many people think management functions are “back office” activities. I couldn’t disagree more.

Citizens may never meet the acquisition professional who awards a contract, the HR specialist who recruits talent, or the IT professional who keeps systems running. But those individuals determine whether government can actually deliver on its promises.

One lesson I’ve learned throughout my career is that government succeeds or fails not only through policy, but through execution. Great ideas only matter if organizations have the people, systems, and leadership necessary to bring them to life.

That’s why I’ve always believed that effective management isn’t separate from mission delivery—it is mission delivery.

Q: What were some of the biggest barriers you’ve encountered when leading organizational change?

A: Culture is almost always harder to change than process.

Organizations often know what needs to be done. The challenge is building trust, aligning incentives, and helping people understand why change matters. Organizational charts don’t determine success. Success depends on leaders who can create an environment where people understand their role, see how their work contributes to the mission, and feel empowered to solve problems.

When people understand the “why,” they are much more likely to embrace the “how.”

Q: You’ve served in both operational and oversight roles. How do you balance accountability with performance?

A: Accountability and performance are not competing priorities. The strongest organizations recognize that transparency, oversight, and performance are essential components of mission success.

Public trust is built through competence as much as communication. Citizens want government to be responsive, but they also expect it to be accountable.

The most successful organizations I’ve worked in embrace accountability as a tool for improvement rather than viewing it as a burden. When organizations are willing to learn from mistakes, measure results, and continuously improve, they become stronger and more effective.

Q: From your perspective, where do federal management challenges most often originate—structure, culture, incentives, or leadership?

A: All four matter, but leadership is often the deciding factor.

Strong leaders can overcome imperfect structures, outdated processes, and competing incentives. They create clarity, establish priorities, and build trust.

I’ve also learned that leadership isn’t just about making decisions. It’s about creating conditions where good decisions can be made throughout an organization. The best leaders don’t try to have all the answers. They build teams that are capable of solving problems together.

Q: Artificial intelligence is transforming every sector. What should public leaders be thinking about?

A: AI presents tremendous opportunities, but it also raises important questions.

There’s no doubt it can help governments improve service delivery, streamline operations, and make better decisions. At the same time, it raises critical issues involving governance, ethics, transparency, workforce readiness, and accountability.

Ultimately, the AI conversation isn’t really about technology—it’s about leadership. The challenge is ensuring that innovation strengthens public trust, improves outcomes, and expands opportunity while remaining grounded in democratic values.

For public leaders, the question isn’t whether AI will be used. It’s whether we will use it in ways that strengthen public trust, improve outcomes, and keep people at the center of decision-making. Technology should always serve people, not the other way around.

Q: Public trust in institutions remains a major challenge. What are the warning signs leaders should watch for?

A: When people stop raising concerns, leaders should worry.

Healthy organizations encourage questions, dissent, and constructive disagreement. When employees become reluctant to speak up, leaders lose one of their most valuable early-warning systems. Problems rarely emerge overnight; they often develop because people no longer feel comfortable sharing concerns, challenging assumptions, or offering different perspectives.

Leaders have a responsibility to create environments where people feel safe raising issues, proposing new ideas, and engaging in honest dialogue. Trust isn’t built through slogans or mission statements. It’s built through consistent actions that demonstrate respect, transparency, accountability, and a willingness to listen.

I think that lesson applies beyond organizations and to our democracy as well. Public trust depends on our ability to disagree without becoming disagreeable. Civility doesn’t require unanimity, and compromise isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s an essential feature of self-government.

Our system was intentionally designed to accommodate different viewpoints and distribute power. Federalism, checks and balances, and separate but equal branches of government were not accidents; they were deliberate choices made by the founders to ensure that no single voice or institution would dominate. That can make governing messy at times, but it is also one of the great strengths of our republic.

Strong institutions, like strong organizations, are built when people feel heard, leaders remain accountable, and we remember that disagreement can be a source of strength rather than division. 

Each one of us bears responsibility.  How do we respond to neighbors with whom we disagree?  How do we show we respect the family member who has political views completely different from our own?  How do we handle dissent without compromising our values?  These questions are baked into our democracy and our culture.  It starts with each of us.

Q: In your role with the National Academy of Public Administration and other organizations, what concerns you most about the future of public service?

A: The challenge that concerns me most is attracting and developing the next generation of public servants.

Many young people are looking for careers that provide purpose, impact, flexibility, and opportunities for growth. Public service offers all of these. The challenge is ensuring that we tell that story effectively and create workplaces that meet the expectations of a new generation.

We need to modernize how we recruit talent, develop leaders, and communicate the value of public service. The mission hasn’t changed, but the way we reach people must.

Q: You’ve spent time recently speaking with students in Arizona State University’s Next Generation Service Corps. What gives you hope?

A: The students themselves.

There’s a narrative that younger generations have become cynical about government and public service. That’s not what I’ve seen.

Despite unrelenting headlines about workforce disruptions, political polarization, and declining trust in institutions, many of these students remain deeply committed to making a difference. They understand that governments endure, communities will always need capable leaders, and opportunities to serve will continue to emerge.

Their optimism gives me hope.

What struck me most was that they haven’t given up on public service. They simply want organizations that demonstrate purpose, authenticity, innovation, and impact.

Q: What should public institutions do differently to attract and retain talent?

A: We need to do a better job telling our story.

Young people want to know how their work contributes to something larger than themselves. They want meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and organizations that embrace innovation while remaining grounded in ethics and accountability. In many ways, those motivations are no different from what inspired people when I started my career.

We need to connect careers in government to the outcomes that matter most to communities and to the values that motivate people to serve. We need to do a better job telling the story of public service using the tools that reach the next generation.

Q: After a long career in public service, what core leadership principle has stayed with you the most?

A: One of the most important lessons I’ve carried with me throughout my career is a simple idea: people support what they help to create.

I first encountered that concept as an undergraduate at Arizona State University in a class taught by Neil Giuliano, who later became one of the most transformative mayors in Tempe’s history. Neil taught us that lasting change doesn’t happen when leaders simply announce decisions—it happens when people are invited into the process, their perspectives are heard, and they have a meaningful role in shaping the outcome.

I’ve found that principle to be true whether you’re leading a federal agency, serving on a local commission, managing a nonprofit organization, or teaching students. Inclusive decision-making doesn’t mean everyone gets their way, but it does mean people understand how decisions are made and feel their voices matter.

Some of the best ideas I’ve encountered have come from people closest to the work, not from the corner office.

Q: What advice would you give to early-career public servants who want to lead with integrity and impact?

A: First, remember that leadership is not about position—it’s about service.

Second, stay curious. The best leaders are lifelong learners. They seek different perspectives, ask thoughtful questions, and remain open to new ideas.

Finally, invest in relationships. Public service is a team sport. Your reputation for integrity, collaboration, and follow-through will often matter more than any title you hold.

If you focus on serving others, solving problems, and helping your colleagues succeed, you’ll be amazed by what a group of committed people can accomplish together.

Q: As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, what gives you the most hope about the future of public service?

A: Every generation inherits the responsibility of strengthening our Nation and preparing it for those who will follow.

My father served in World War II. He was part of what Tom Brokaw famously called the Greatest Generation—a generation that answered the call to service, defeated tyranny, and helped secure freedom for millions around the world. Their sacrifice and sense of duty always inspired me. Other generations in my lifetime carried that work forward—leading the civil rights movement, expanding opportunity, advancing equality, and continuing the unfinished work of building a more perfect union.

As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, I am reminded that America’s story has always been written by people willing to serve something larger than themselves. Every generation has faced challenges that seemed daunting in the moment, yet each has found leaders willing to step forward and answer the call.

The future of public service won’t be determined by legislation, budgets, or technology. It will be determined by whether talented people choose to serve—and whether we create institutions worthy of their commitment.

What gives me hope is the next generation.

I’ve spent time with students and emerging leaders across the country, and I see a generation that cares deeply about purpose, impact, and community. They want to solve problems, strengthen institutions, and make a difference in the lives of others. They may approach service differently than previous generations, but their commitment is real.

Our responsibility is not simply to prepare them for leadership. It is to invest in them, learn from them, and create pathways for them to contribute. We must build organizations that welcome their ideas, value their talents, and give them opportunities to lead.

I am optimistic because I believe the next generation is ready.

The question is whether we are ready for them—and whether we will leave the door open wide enough for them to walk through it.

Q:  The most rewarding part of your career? 

A: That’s actually an easy question.

Growing up in a modest family from a small Montana mining town, I could never have imagined the opportunities that public service would provide. I’ve had the privilege of serving in remarkable organizations, working on issues that matter, and contributing in ways that my younger self could never have envisioned.

But when I look back, the most rewarding part of my career isn’t a title, an award, or a position.

It’s the people.

When I think about my career, I don’t think first about the positions I’ve held. I think about the people who walked alongside me on the journey—the mentors who opened doors, the colleagues who became friends, the employees who taught me as much as I taught them, and the students who continue to inspire me. Every success I’ve had is, in many ways, a reflection of the people who invested in me, challenged me, and helped me grow.

Public service has allowed me to build friendships that span decades, work with incredible teams, and witness the best of what people can accomplish when they come together in service to others. 

And the good news is, I think I still have a few chapters left to write.

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