Category: United States

Revitalizing Downtown San Diego’s Civic Center Neighborhood

San Diego Team

Guest blog by Chris Ackerman-Avila, Christina Bibler, Jaymie Bradford, Jessica Lawrence, Kohta Zaiser, Kris McFadden, Paola Avila, Rania Amen. We focused on tackling the lack of public support for the revitalization of our civic core, because we want our residents to be effectively served, our employees to have a safe and conducive workplace, and to…Continue Reading Revitalizing Downtown San Diego’s Civic Center Neighborhood

A Policy Neophyte’s Journey Through Organizational Change, Policy Failures & Enlightenment in the United States

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Guest blog by Lucas R. Martinez In December of 2021, I embarked on a 6-day trek through Torres del Paine National Park, in southern Chilean Patagonia. A yearly ritual with a best friend from college, I would find a multi-day hike far from civilization to collect my thoughts, reenergize my spirit, and challenge me mentally…Continue Reading A Policy Neophyte’s Journey Through Organizational Change, Policy Failures & Enlightenment in the United States

Slowing Down To Go Fast: Fishing Out the Education Problems in Washington State

An empty classroom with a blank whiteboard

Guest blog by Sharonne Navas In a world of high speed wars, high speed internet, and high speed dating — can we slow down to solve world problems?   I was trained to problem solve in under five minutes. Math club, speed chess, wordle — the idea of speeding through a problem towards the solution was simply the…Continue Reading Slowing Down To Go Fast: Fishing Out the Education Problems in Washington State

Street Homelessness in Rochester

Rochester team sitting around a table

Guest blog by Charlie Albanese, Michael Burns, Corrinda Crossdale, Wanda Cooper, Linda Kingsley, Tammy Mayberry, Gabe Person, John Oster Our group focused on homelessness, specifically street homelessness. Our public value statement is: “We will tackle street homelessness, particularly homeless individuals residing in City encampments identified by GIS, because everyone in the community should be treated with…Continue Reading Street Homelessness in Rochester

Developing a Workplace of the Future in Dearborn, Michigan

Michigan team photo

Guest blog by Rana Allawnha, Laura Demarse, Angela Fortino, Zaineb Hussein, Mariam Jalloul, Amanda Bright McClanahan, Anisa Sahoubeh. The City of Dearborn’s young and energized workforce is not equipped to fill the jobs of the future. While cities across Michigan are losing their populations, Dearborn’s population grew by 12% according to the last census, the…Continue Reading Developing a Workplace of the Future in Dearborn, Michigan

Improved Public Spaces and Infrastructure for the People of Compton, California

The Compton City Team

Guest blog by Karen Harris, Rosalind McGary, La Shawn Kindle-Young, Jimmie Smith, John D. Strickland Jr, Maria Villareal, Alonzo Williams The Great Outta Compton team was officially established in January 2023 by Mayor Emma Sharif to tackle some of the problems facing our community. The team consists of community stakeholders, and city staff; each of…Continue Reading Improved Public Spaces and Infrastructure for the People of Compton, California

Connecting Young Professionals to Local Government Public Service in Scottsdale, Arizona

A group of people collaborating

Guest blog by Stephanie Zamora, MPA Taking on large organizational or societal challenges requires a degree of creativity, risk-taking, and discomfort in addressing them properly. While we can certainly continue to rely on traditional methods of policy implementation, we may find ourselves missing the mark, not delivering on promises, and depleting the most scare resource:…Continue Reading Connecting Young Professionals to Local Government Public Service in Scottsdale, Arizona

Go Fish! Tackling Chronic Street Homelessness in Central Beaverton

Beaverton Team photo outside

Guest blog by Mike Backman, Alicia Bermes, Dawn Borgardt, Jenny Haruyama, Kim Haughn, Stacy Jepson, Marni Kuyl, Sia Lindstrom When our team first began our journey to tackle homelessness, we were looking through a fisheye lens. The problem we wanted to tackle was broad, it involved a large area – all of Beaverton – and…Continue Reading Go Fish! Tackling Chronic Street Homelessness in Central Beaverton