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Public Health and Policy: Ikrama Hassan, IPPHL ’19

Ikrama Hassan

My name is Ikrama Hassan. I am currently the Chief Medical Director of the state specialist hospital – Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital – the largest hospital in Nasarawa State, in north central Nigeria. I am a public health physician with experience in health planning, policy and management.

What made you decide to apply to the International Program in Public Health Leadership?

I learned about the program through a colleague and alum of the program who encouraged me to apply. At the time, I was the Director of Health Planning, Research and Statistics at the Nasarawa State Ministry of Health. I am a medical doctor by training, and because there is no formalized leadership and policy training in the medical curriculum, a lot of learning typically happens on the job. Applying for the program turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever taken.

Looking back at your time as a fellow, do you have any memorable experiences that stand out to you? How does the program inform and contribute to your approach to work and life today?

The composition of the cohort is a special part of this program. Prior to coming to the Evans School, my professional network was limited to within Nigeria and a few individuals in the U.S. and UK. On our first IPPHL class, I found myself in a virtual room with different people from across different African countries. We got to know each other virtually, so when we met in person in Seattle, it was like we knew each other already. By the end of the program, we were all looking forward to meeting again in person during the Capstone, and after that the bond and friendship has continued up till today. In fact, the last time I was in South Africa, one of my cohort members traveled from her home in Pretoria to Johannesburg to welcome me to the country. Whenever I have any issues that I want a second opinion on, I just need to pick up my phone and make a call, and I have friends from across Africa that can help.

I became the Chief Medical Director of the State Hospital during my time in the program. It was a new role for me, and I needed to hit the ground running. The executive coaching component became even more important for me as I entered my new position. Working with my coach, I was able to reorient and start asking the right questions: How do you start? How do you compose your team? How do you begin identifying and mapping stakeholders? Stakeholder engagement is a skill that has served me well, especially when dealing with the labor unions.

I apply the concept of the theory of change daily in my work. It enables me to have a helicopter view of a project. Another part of the program that I have internalized and deploy frequently in my work today is the pitch event, where we practiced compressing our policy papers into a 5-minute delivery. In my role, I meet frequently with the governor, deputy governor, and other political leaders. It’s an extremely valuable skill to be able to condense your thoughts and get to the point in a brief period of time.

What inspired you to pursue a career in public health?

Initially, I wanted to be either a cardiac or neurosurgeon, but after medical school, my father asked me to come back home to work for a while. During this time, I saw the real problems that people in my community were facing. What we most needed was not the high-tech medicine. We needed skills in the prevention and control of epidemic-prone diseases such as Lassa Fever, meningitis, and cholera. We needed basic things in our primary healthcare system. Out of pocket expenditures stood between our poor population and the healthcare system. So, I realized I would be more useful in the public health space than in a consulting room. I wanted to think up and provide solutions at the community and population level than at individual level. I became much more driven by the idea of preventing the diseases from happening, rather than waiting in the consulting room for someone to come in who was already sick. It was not easy making that shift to public health, but I have been happy with it ever since.

Can you share a little bit about the work that you’re doing right now, and what you’re most excited about?

There are so many areas. I’ll highlight a few. One of the major challenges in our healthcare system is the ability for individuals to pay for services. At the hospital, equity in service provision is extremely important. We believe people should be able to access services regardless of their socio-economic background and receive top notch care at an affordable price. While costs are nowhere near what they are in the U.S., we still have a very large population unable to afford services. In my previous role, as Director of Health Planning, Research, and Statistics. I was part of the team that established a social health insurance scheme for the state. Currently 100,000 people have been enrolled in the plan. This is something that I am proud of and continues to have an immense impact.

Recently, I’ve also been really focused on building our hospital’s capacity to conduct research. I’ve set up a team that is encouraging and supporting all our health care workers to participate in research, and I am happy to say that, so far, we have published nearly 20 papers in peer reviewed journals.

One of the major challenges that we’re dealing with in Nigeria is an exodus of skilled health care workers out of Nigeria and Africa to other parts of the world. I’m currently giving a lot of attention to training healthcare workers in our hospital at both post-graduate and undergraduate levels. I’m excited about progress that we’re making, and these are the future of healthcare delivery system in the country.

The Evan School’s values are equity, courage, and service. In what ways are these values part of the work that you have done, and that you continue doing?

Let me start with the courage part of the question. You see, right now, the world at large is going through severe economic difficulties. Many healthcare workers in Nigeria who can find work elsewhere are leaving in droves. For those who have stayed, it requires a lot of courage. My work every day is guided by service and equity. How can we provide services to these millions of people that otherwise could not afford it? And, if all of us leave, who will provide those services?

How do you think about global engagement in your line of work?

So far it has been a one-way traffic from the wealthy donors to us the poor recipients. Although the intention is good, there have been unintended consequences. On the part of the donors, there is the tendency to dictate the tune as well as donor fatigue. On the part of the recipients, the relationship breeds dependence and poor bargaining capacity.

In all, the most important underlying factor in the power asymmetry is the level of economic development. What we need therefore in Africa is no longer the conventional aid but one that will spur economic development on the continent. A country that successfully transits from poor to middle income category no longer needs handouts as aid. That country is more useful to the rest of the world than a poor one dependent on aid.

There is an ongoing debate on how best the global community can help Africa stand on its own. The trend for the last two decades has been an investment on its infrastructure. This is intended to spur manufacturing and an export-led economy a la the Asian Tigers. Critics of this model have pointed to the poor tangible success that have been recorded so far and are drawing attention to the model employed by Latin America where, based on areas of comparative advantage, they invested in agriculture. This paid off and saw the transition of many countries to middle income category.

We need a logical conclusion of this debate and the implementation of the most economically viable option for Africa. An economically strong Africa will be able to finance its public health needs and be a productive partner in the international arena.

Exciting Year for IPPHL

IPPHL Orientation

The International Program in Public Health Leadership (IPPHL) is celebrating its seventh year with the announcement of its next cohort, the return to international travel, and the creation of a new Summit gathering in Kenya to spotlight and support alumni in global collective action.

Public Health Leaders as Policy Leaders

IPPHL’s annual fellowship program provides an experiential eight-month learning journey for public health professionals as they design and lead critical policy and program implementation in their countries. Through a mix of online and in-person engagement, fellows work their way through a curriculum designed to build or expand on topics such as theory of change, policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, and personal leadership development.

Fellows identify evidence-based recommendations and plans for real-time implementation, graduating with a policy project ready for action. IPPHL offers a unique combination of approaches to integrate the policy and leadership curriculum including:

  • 1:1 advising relationship with approximately 20 Evans and UW faculty
  • A continent-wide peer network and collaboration opportunities with their cohort and 115 program alumni across Africa
  • Executive coaching for individual leadership development
  • Online and in-person engagement in Seattle and Africa (this year in Nairobi)

Cohort 6

This year’s cohort of 40 fellows hail from 24 different countries and bring a range of expertise including HIV/AIDS, mental health, nutrition, health system strengthening, primary health care, and so much more. Primarily working at the country level within ministries of health, fellows lead in a variety of roles from medical officers to directors to chiefs of staff.

Cohort 6 by the numbers, a map of Africa that shows dots where each participant comes from

Beginning in March, fellows will participate in a series of live virtual sessions to set the foundation of policy analysis and begin development of their chosen policy or implementation challenge.

Past themes from these policy projects include the importance of strategies to increase access to healthcare services, with a strong focus on health equity. These strategies included developing community-based approaches and attending to the most vulnerable populations, including people living with HIV and those dealing with substance use disorders. Health systems strengthening themes also cut across many project areas from telehealth services, supply chain improvements, service coordination, and developing universal health coverage programs. Explore the full compilation of policy project memos from our 2022 cohort.

In June, we will return to international travel for the first time in three years, welcoming Cohort 6 to the Evans School and Seattle for two weeks of workshops and community connections. Fellows meet up again this August in Kenya for their capstone and graduation, entering our robust and active alumni network.

Alumni Dashboard

For the first time ever, IPPHL will host an all-alumni Summit in Nairobi, Kenya this September, bringing together over 150 alumni from 20+ countries across Africa for a series of activities and action. The Summit will launch our community into the next phase of collective action, solidify connections, co-create a shared vision for the future of IPPHL programming, and amplify the work and impact alumni are leading.

Our alumni expertise runs deep, and we invite you to explore our new Alumni Dashboard and imagine how your work might overlap or integrate. Do you have ideas or suggestions on ways to collaborate with the program or our alumni? Let us know: ipphl@uw.edu.

Agricultural Adaptations: Didier Alia, Research Faculty

Didier Alia

Didier Alia recently was appointed a Research Assistant Professor at the Evans School. Alia is an agricultural economist with a broad research interest and expertise in international development with a focus on agricultural technology adoption, agricultural transformation, climate risks and adaptation. He received a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Kentucky in 2017. Prior to this appointment as a Research Assistant Professor, Alia worked for several years as a Research Associate at the Evans School Policy Analysis and Research Group (EPAR).

The Evans School grabbed a few minutes with Didier at the start of this new appointment. 

You are a noted expert in agricultural economics, with a focus on crop productivity and agricultural transformation in Africa. How did you become interested in a research career and in this particular area of study? 

 I came from a small West African country, Benin, that is resource-poor and where agriculture is still the primary source of livelihood for most households. My own family is an agricultural family unable to rely solely on farming to a point that my parents have migrated to the city to seek informal non-farm employment. Growing up, I have seen firsthand the constraints facing farmers in my community. Later in my studies, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I learned that these constraints are common across most of sub-Saharan Africa and other developing nations. After my Master in Statistics and Applied Economics, I worked at AfricaRice, a leading rice research center and this experience further motivated me in pursuing doctoral studies in agricultural economics and specializing in crop productivity and rural transformation in Africa with the hope to contribute to solving issues facing rural farmers through policy-oriented empirical studies. 

You are active in many other areas of research as well, right? 

Currently, my research also relates to agricultural price analysis, barriers to trade and developing countries’ access to global markets, and food safety and food regulation in the global food value chain. I often approach this work through gender and inclusion lenses. My work also engages issues related to urbanization, education, health, and trade and their implications for rural development in Africa. 

What are some of the most important research findings to have emerged from your work with EPAR? 

When I joined EPAR in 2017, my first project involved processing large-scale multi-topics household surveys for African countries. It has become incredibly clear to me how important data are to evidence-based decision-making, and yet statistics on agricultural households for most African countries are rare. So, my work with colleagues at EPAR has contributed to global public good with various agricultural development indicators made available. Our work has contributed to the research community by making our code freely available on GitHub for researchers based in Africa or interested in African agriculture to use. My other projects at EPAR involve analyzing decisions around indicator definition and constructions that have important implications about how specific and marginalized sub-groups (women and small farmers) are represented in statistics and policy analyses. Another important finding of my work includes assessing the constraints and drivers of agricultural technologies adoption, productivity growth, and rural transformation in Africa. 

Even though much of your research is grounded in Africa, it connects to a host of issues in other global settings. What research insights from your work stand out as particularly relevant to other regions of the world?

Although Sub-Saharan Africa as a region has its own specificities, issues facing small farmers and their communities in Africa are also prevalent in other regions of the world, most notably South Asia. My work at EPAR also involves India and other South Asian countries. In that region, and in other low-income nations, farmers increasingly face the challenges of climate change and its threats to livelihoods and way of life. My work on agricultural statistics measurement, understanding the drivers of agricultural technologies adoption, productivity growth, and rural development in Africa can inform both the research agenda and policy interventions in these other regions of the world. 

Given your training and experience, what are a few key professional skills or competencies you see as essential to achieving success in agricultural development? 

Like all other social sciences, Agricultural economics has become empirical and data-intense. So, a good understanding of statistics and data and a passion for empirical questions are essential skills for success in this field. Additionally, developing the ability to engage other disciplines and proximate partners in Africa are important professional skills. 

How do you envision your work and research program evolving in the coming years? 

My work is already shifting toward an integration of climate risks and how climate shocks affect rural households’ production and livelihoods. In the coming years, I envision my work and research program to continue to expand in this area. I am also increasingly interested in using a diversified set of datasets in my work, including merging data from novel sources such as remotely sensed and social media data with traditional household survey data to timely study rural development issues. Finally, I envision expanding my work into the capacity development of analysts in Africa who are instrumental to the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies that affect the lives of the poor. 

We are lucky to have your work and ideas contribute to our Evans community and to the broader global scholarly community. Thanks for chatting! 

Thank you. 

West Coast Fishing Community Climate Vulnerability

Row of Fishing Boats

A study conducted in partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the University of Washington was published today in the journal PLOS Climate. Led by Dr. Laura Nelson, the study asked fishers operating in the California Current along Washington, Oregon and California, about their perceptions of climate vulnerability, inquiring about the degree to which they felt that they are personally, and the industry is able to respond and adapt to climate change.

This article is part of an ongoing research series funded by Lenfest Ocean Programs and spearheaded by Dr. Phillip Levin at The Nature Conservancy and University of Washington, and Dr. Alison Cullen, University of Washington, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying the social and ecological vulnerability of fishing communities along the U.S. West Coast to changing ocean conditions.

The study provides a previously missing piece of the insight into climate communications, potential barriers to adaptation, and approaches for equitable and effective climate adaptation in the fisheries industry. Researchers surveyed 162 respondents working in fisheries across California, Oregon, and Washington and found that perceptions of climate vulnerability differed widely based on fundamental beliefs about whether or not climate change is occurring, and that people who fished on larger vessels felt they had a greater ability to adapt to climate change. In addition to climate impacts, survey respondents named operational costs, regulations, and habitat loss as key concerns; factors that if left unaddressed could present barriers to long-term adaptation.

Perceptions of climate vulnerability play an important role in behavior and will be a factor in how and to what extent individuals take action to adapt to climate change. Insight into these perceptions can be applied to climate communications within the fisheries industry as well, as policy actions that improve the ability of fishers to adapt to climate change can increase overall resilience, and the benefits outside of climate adaption need to be clearly articulated. As the industry and fisheries management work to support fishers in the future, understanding the concerns of fishers and how they perceive climate risks is valuable and essential to inform climate adaptation efforts moving forward.

This paper builds on recent research also conducted by the TNC and UW partnership and published in PLOS One, which developed a framework to assess community vulnerability by quantitively analyzing factors such as species exposure and sensitivity to changes in climate, economic reliance, and community social factors that are indicators of a communities’ ability to adapt to climate change.

Together, these studies provide a holistic understanding of climate vulnerability and adaptation potential for the fisheries industry in the California Current which fisheries managers and regional governing bodies can apply to create equitable and effective climate adaptation measures that benefit both people and marine ecosystems.

2023 State of School Address

Reflecting on 2022 and Looking forward to 2023

On January 27, 2023, the Evans School hosted our annual State of the School Address. Dean’s Council Members J. Eduardo Campos and Absa Samba provided welcoming remarks to frame this annual tradition. Recognizing the Evans School’s 60th Anniversary over the past year, Dean Jodi Sandfort offered reflections on her journey with the school and framed the key question, “How do we create ways to learn and act that move us towards our vision for the next 60 years?” A key focus is the work that it will take each of us – individually and collectively – to step more deeply in to learning and taking anti-racist actions to realize Evan School’s purpose: to inspire public service and democratize public policy.

Evans Community Connect Session

After the State of the School Address, we hosted a Community Connect Session to capture the collective wisdom of our community around key initiatives at the school. Faculty, staff, student leaders, and community volunteers participated in the dynamic session to crowd-source ideas and resources in service to the people stepping into and leading innovative school projects and initiatives on six topics:

  • Graduate Certificates
  • EPIC’s Paid Family and Medical Leave project
  • The Undergraduate Programs strategic plan
  • Evan’s Equity & Inclusion Council
  • The Alumni Engagement Lifecycle
  • NextGen Programs (NextGen Civic Leader Corps and Junior Summer Institute)

Dean’s Forum: Unpacking the New Climate Law

Dean's Forum Logo

Attending to Environmental Justice

On January 6, 2023, the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance hosted a conversation the Inflation Reduction Act signed in August 2022 by President Biden.

The panel discussed the newly passed Inflation Reduction Act, which includes some of the most dramatic and ambitious federal investments to address climate change ever passed by Congress. Panelists discussed the range of provisions in the act, including tax credits for solar and wind energy, amendments to the Clean Air Act, new authorization for loan guarantees, and investments for coast resiliency, specific resources also are targeted for “environmental justice” and what those will mean for individuals across socioeconomic groups. Our panelists assessed this growing area of research and action and considered the adequacy of this new federal investment for addressing the historic inequities in environmental risks and consequences for racial groups and communities.

Speakers

Alison Cullen

Alison Cullen
Daniel J. Evans Endowed Professor of Environmental Policy, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance
University of Washington

Edward Chu

Edward Chu
Deputy Regional Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Charles Lee

Charles Lee
Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Dean Jodi Sandfort

Jodi Sandfort
Dean
University of Washington
Evans School of Public Policy & Governance

Event Recording

Conversation Resources

Environmental Justice in the Biden Administration: Early Actions Draw First Bold Lines Holland and Knight

30th Anniversary: The First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit United Church of Christ

California Climate Investments State of California

Luskin Center Climate Action Results UCLA

Summaries of Dockets Related to OAR’s Implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act EPA

Inflation Reduction Act Summary

Historical Redlining is Associated with Present-Day Air Pollution Disparities in U.S. Cities Haley M. Lane, Rachel Morello-Frosch, Julian D. Marshall, and Joshua S. Apte

Community Colleges and Policy: Elizabeth Meza, Research Scientist

Elizabeth Meza

Elizabeth Meza joined the Evans School as a Senior Research Scientist with expertise in workforce development, career and technical education, and community colleges. She earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Washington in 2015 and is founder of Apple Meza Education Consulting. Prior to joining Evans, Elizabeth held several research positions focused on higher education both on the UW campus and at several local community colleges.

Currently, Elizabeth is working on several grant funded projects including one that researches student outcomes in Community College Bachelor’s degrees with New America and an NSF funded project with Evans faculty Grant Blume looking at data use by community college faculty. Elizabeth also has a new NSF-funded research Hub entitled, Community College S-STEM Network (CCSN).

The Evans School took a few minutes to chat about her growing research program and connections to our community.

Welcome! Before moving to talk about specific projects – tell us how you developed a passion for higher education policy research.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share! I became interested in education as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia. I got very close with my neighbor who was about 10-years-old at the time. He was one of six siblings and to help the family he would come cook dinner with me almost every night and we would send the dish back to his house. He taught me a lot and we started an extended conversation about how he could get out of the extreme poverty he was facing. Together, we came to the conclusion that getting a good education was his best path forward. When I returned to the U.S. this idea stuck with me and I started working at community colleges. I absolutely love community college students and their stories and worked for many years directly with students as an administrator and faculty member teaching Sociology. My research now focuses as much as possible on practical projects that can directly impact students.

What do you see as the most significant opportunities and challenges facing community colleges in the Puget Sound region today?

That’s a great question! With the pandemic the most immediate challenge has been around enrollment although there does seem to be an enrollment pick up now and we’ll have to watch how minoritized and other non-traditional students are returning. One big opportunity I see is with community college bachelor’s degree programs (CCB’s). Our region faces an Opportunity Mirage where we should be seeing lots of opportunities to get bachelor’s degrees in high demand areas like healthcare and IT but in reality, those programs at our university and regional public universities are capacity constrained or students may not be able to access them for a number of other reasons. This leaves community college students and returning students in a bind. They often can’t find the programs they want or they turn to for-profit entities. The opportunity to offer bachelor’s degrees has the potential to be a game changer for institutions and students.

Your work exemplifies how scholars can use a range of research methods to explore pressing policy questions of the day. What has drawn you to mixed methods research?

Many of the questions I am looking at are under researched so there is both a “what is happening?” and a “why is this happening?” component. I like to use quantitative and qualitative methods to answer as much as possible.

Reflecting on our work to date, share with us two or three key insights into higher education that have emerged from your research program?

I am now a nationally recognized expert on community college bachelor’s degree outcomes and when I started researching this topic no one really knew much about who takes up CCB degrees, why they do so, or what their outcomes are. My research (along with my excellent colleague and mentor Dr. Debra Bragg and others) has led to us discovering that CCB students look like other students at the community college in terms of demographics but are older, more likely to have dependents, and more likely to be veterans than community college transfer students. So, this is really a different population of students that are entering CCB programs and thus, these programs are extending educational opportunities. We’ve also found that CCB students have similar employment outcomes to students who attend a regional public university in a similar degree program.

Tell us about your new NSF-funded project.

That is going to be a great project and I’m excited to share it with you. I’m a Co-PI working with PI Michelle Van Noy from Rutgers, and others from the University of Southern Florida, the Foundation for California Community Colleges as well as colleagues from community colleges including Everett Community College. Essentially, the National Science Foundation has a large grant program called S-STEM where they provide funding to STEM students directly for scholarships, and also funding for colleges to enhance STEM completion through efforts like mentoring, tutoring, or specialized advising among many others. We have won a “Research Hub” to bring together what is known about community college student decision making processes in STEM. I’ll be leading an effort to do a systematic review about what is known about S-STEM in community colleges. The Hub as a whole has lots of components including building a nation-wide learning community so it will be a great opportunity for Evans scholars to become more involved with the community college world.

We are excited to have your voice and work contributing to our community – thanks for meeting up to talk!

Thanks so much! I’d love to share more and learn more about how my work might overlap with others at Evans! I joined just as the pandemic was getting started and work mostly remotely from my home on the Eastside so I don’t know as many people at Evans as I would like, please reach out if you’d like to talk.

Climate Justice and Policy Implications: Sameer Ranade, MPA ’12

Sameer Ranade

We recently sat down with Sameer Ranade, MPA ’12, to learn more about his path in the space of Climate Justice. Sameer brings passion and policy know-how to one of our world’s most pressing issues from grassroots advocacy in Washington state to his current role as the Climate Justice Advisor at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. [Interview edited for length and clarity.]

Looking back on your time as an Evans student, what memorable experiences stand out to you? How does your Evans education inform and contribute to how you approach your work and life today?

Evans is where I came to truly appreciate what it meant to be an agency administrator responsible for delivering public value. It formed the foundation of my knowledge to solve environmental problems through policy, internal and external facing human relations, and critical and strategic thinking.

I maximized the value of my internships and the experience validated and augmented my Evans curriculum. I was a summer intern at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) in DC and then chose to stay in DC for the Autumn Quarter after receiving an unexpected internship offer from the White House Council on Environmental Quality, which I did along with a part-time finance internship for Senator John Kerry’s election campaign. While my position with Kerry wasn’t policy focused, it was fitting I got to work for him while he was the lead Senate author of the American Power Act, an economy wide climate bill. I wrote a paper on it in my climate and energy policy course the previous spring quarter. That course was invaluable in teaching me about emissions mitigation policy, including renewable energy standards, which I then worked on advocating for at AWEA.

My economics teacher was extremely passionate about climate change. I recall one instance where he let me speak in front of the class on the combined power of President Obama’s recently enacted stimulus and the Waxman Markey bill to grow a prosperous green economy. In addition, my public sector financing class gave me a terrific understanding of the accounting structures and budget management techniques for entities to wisely steward public dollars.

Lastly, as an advocate, it’s key to understand the policy avenues available to advance your cause. My Environmental Policy Process course exposed me to three available avenues–judicial, legislative, and regulatory bodies. The relevance of each was clear when I worked on the bills that failed to pass Congress as an intern at AWEA. Subsequently, I supported the Obama Administration’s response to this failure. The range of my Evans experience also taught me that well designed regulations can spur innovation and lower compliance costs, and theoretically strengthen their case in court. And investments in emissions mitigation can also reduce those costs and accelerate the cycle of innovation.

Can you share a bit about your current work and what you’re most excited about?

There’s a lot to be excited about. At the top is the implementation of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the justice provisions of which my job was created to support. New York State is poised to cap greenhouse gases (GHGs) and implement a suite of clean air regulations and investments in clean energy and climate resilient infrastructure. Through pioneering equitable public involvement processes, these will be shaped by meaningful input from communities that bear the greatest climate burdens – as measured on a holistic basis that accounts for the social determinants of health. This will serve as an advanced policy toolkit for eliminating GHGs and creating an adequate standard of living for all in the process. It will address injustice across core social and physical dimensions such as race, wealth, gender, age, and geography. I have a major role in this by helping New York State in creating the Scoping Plan to achieve the CLCPA’s goal of building a carbon neutral economy by 2050 through a lens of justice.

My work is spread out across the spectrum of the numerous facets of the CLCPA. I help inform the design of the State carbon reduction, green workforce, and climate resilience programs and community engagement strategies so they are accessible. I facilitate input into the Scoping Plan from members of the Climate Justice Working Group – a critical advisory body of climate justice organizations whose main task is to develop the criteria for the State to prioritize its investments and regulations under the CLCPA to achieve maximum social benefit. I do a lot of community presentations and relationship building, which to date has been to encourage the public to comment on the criteria the Working Group is developing and the draft of the Scoping Plan that will be finalized at the end of this year.

I’m excited for the work ahead to implement the Plan and create a climate justice model, particularly through how it will give a greater voice to communities overburdened by pollution and poverty. I’m also eager to engage the public on the Plan’s contents and illustrate how it will broadly benefit all of us and specifically create social equity. This effort will contribute to social cohesion and bridge divides because it will be realized through collaboration and recognizing our common bond of humanity and that we live in a world of abundance and joy when we all look out for one another.

The Evans School’s values are equity, courage, and service. In what ways are these values part of your work?

Equity can exist in multiple forms. Foremost, it’s about being conscious of my own biases, power, and privilege and striving to make authentic connections and treating everyone with respect. My climate policy work involves accounting for social and economic marginalization in policy regarding access to infrastructure, education, and public involvement opportunities.

Service is about advancing the welfare of humanity, which the Evans nonprofit and public sector focus trained me for. The desire to serve has always run strong in me. A key example of that was my campaign for an open Washington State House seat in 2016 on a climate justice platform. I devoted significant time to talking with voters 1:1 by door knocking and raised money from small dollar donors. Although I was not elected, I believe my campaign contributed to an engaged electorate and made the case for equitable campaign finance laws–both of which are crucial for the egalitarian society I seek.

Courage is speaking truth to power and striving to find a fair equilibrium among a broad range of stakeholders across a breadth of power and perspectives. Climate justice practitioners must bring everyone to the table and thus build honest and meaningful relationships with people across the spectrum of values and beliefs. The outcome is for everyone to feel encouraged by the vision of a thriving and just green economy and appreciate the need to find consensus and act with compassion so that we can achieve solutions that are both equitable and durable. It takes courage to endeavor to make the world a better place. I’m blessed with the education and employment opportunities in which I can continuously practice and develop the courage to do that and meet inspirational people along the journey.

Could you share some resources that inspire you personally or professionally?

The podcast Volts by David Roberts, Netflix series like ‘Who Killed Malcom X’, spoken word artists, and The New York Times Climate section.

Dean’s Forum: Advancing Systems for Racial Equity

Dean's Forum Logo

Possibilities and Perils of Decentralization

The Dean’s Forum series focuses on the intersection of race and public policy in support of the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance’s mission to host community conversations that inspire public leaders.

While advancing racial equity through public policy is an enduring and ever important mandate, there are no clear or easy pathways for this work. Decentralization is a reality of the American political system that poses both problems and possibilities for addressing the racialized nature of policy and its implementation. This panel considered critical questions about racially equitable policymaking and administration in the face of our decentralized institutions, and discussed instances of challenge and success and what motivates a deeper level of leadership at this important juncture in our national life.

Speakers

Gordon Goodwin

Gordon Goodwin
Senior Director for Government Alliance on Race Equity
Race Forward

Jamila Michener

Dr. Jamila Michener
Associate Professor of Government and Public Policy
Cornell University

Victor Ray

Victor Ray
F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor
University of Iowa

Dean Jodi Sandfort

Jodi Sandfort
Dean
University of Washington
Evans School of Public Policy & Governance

Resource Document

Conversation Resources

American Federalism, Political Inequality, and Democratic Erosion Jacob M. Grumbach and Jamila Michener

Policy Feedback in a Racialized Polity Jamila Michener

A Racial Equity Framework for Assessing Health Policy Jamila Michener

Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics Jamila Michener

Engaging Voice to Support Racially Equitable Policymaking Jamila Michener and Tiffany N. Ford

On Critical Race Theory Victor Ray

Racialized Burdens: Applying Racialized Organization Theory to the Administrative State Victor Ray, Pamela Herd, and Donald Moyniahn

Kimberle Crenshaw Columbia Law School

Land-grab Universities Robert Lee and Tristan Ahtone

SB 5793 – 2021-22 State of Washington Allowing compensation for lived experience on boards, commissions, councils, committees, and other similar groups

H.B. 1886 State of Washington Prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory and related curricula in public schools

HB 1220 – 2021-22 State of Washington Supporting emergency shelters and housing through local planning and development regulations

HB 1277 – 2021-22 State of Washington Providing for an additional revenue source for eviction prevention and housing stability services

Evans School’s 60th Anniversary Celebration

60th Anniversary Celebration advertisement with Parrington Hall

On October 27, 2022, nearly 400 guests joined the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy & Governance in celebrating six decades of inspiring public service.

Honoring the Past

In honor of our 60th anniversary, we commissioned a documentary about the life and legacy of our school’s namesake: Daniel J. Evans. Dan’s approach to bipartisan discussion and action have had a lasting, positive impact for Washingtonians. As he shares in the film, “Not all good ideas come from one side of the political aisle. I’ve never seen a Democratic highway or Republican school. These have to be done together, and that’s where the big successes have been.”

Celebrating the Achievements of Today

We launched a new tradition with the presentation of Public Leadership Awards—an opportunity to honor individuals aligned with the Evans School’s purpose to inspire public service and democratize public policy. Congratulations to 2022 recipients Veronica Very, Kymber Waltmunson, the Washington State Supreme Court, and Vicki Aken. During a powerful panel conversation, we heard more about the context for their work and the tools and practices they have developed to lead with integrity in the face of challenges.

“In my own home state, and my own home city, and in almost 55 years of life, this is the first time I’ve been acknowledged and recognized, and the first time I’ve felt seen […] For my work to be recognized at such a time as this, it means that I get to have a conversation with my city, my state, and my nation about how it is that we’re seen—people who look like me.” -Veronica Very, Founder & Visionary at Wonder of Women International

From left: Awardees Veronica Very, Kymber Waltmunson, and Chief Justice Steven González, and Dean Jodi Sandfort

“‘Yay the auditor is coming!’ said no one ever. I think of my ways of getting grounded in the chaos and when overwhelmed are fairly practical. I have an appointment every afternoon that says, ‘look out the window.’ […] When you create space for yourself, you’re able to take that deep breath and to recommit to the challenge that is always in front of you.” -Kymber Waltmunson, King County Auditor

“My mother used to say, ‘if everybody likes you, you don’t have principles.’  In this world there are difficult issues and there will be people on two sides of it. And you can try to please everyone, or you can try to decide what’s right and do it regardless of what other people think.” –Chief Justice Steven González, Washington State Supreme Court 

Award Receipients

Awardee Veronica Very

Research proves grassroots leadership is a critical component of any community’s wellbeing. The Community Catalyst Award recognizes a leader whose efforts impact not just any community, but one which they call home, too. This individual is celebrated for their consistent efforts to foster collaboration, amplify local voices with special attention to historically underrepresented groups, and maintain proximity to those who are impacted most by their work.

Veronica Very is founder and visionary of Wonder of Women International and the nation’s newest cultural destination experience, WOW Gallery. She is the visionary creator of the ‘Dear Sista, I See You,’ Healing Art Exhibition that unapologetically centers Black Women, Black Love, and the Black Community in the heart of Downtown Seattle’s economic corridor in Pacific Place Mall. Very inspires and encourages the healing of systematic and racial trauma in Black people by using an ancestrally guided framework of storytelling which builds community and spaces for reflection, renewal, restoration, and rejuvenation. Very is a force of a nature and the commitment she has demonstrated to justice and healing for the Black community is nothing short of incredible.

Awardee Kymber Waltmunson

The Systems Changemaker Award recognizes a leader with remarkable sensitivity to the future and courageous determination to do what is necessary today to inspire a better tomorrow. They use strategic and pragmatic leadership as a medium to create change. And while their individual influence can move mountains, this changemaker intentionally shares power and responsibility. They understand systems change is most achievable when conducted as a collective effort and are a trusted convener and facilitator of collaborative action.

Kymber Waltmunson is a 2004 graduate of the Evans School Masters of Public Administration program and currently serves as King County Auditor. In this role, Waltmunson has become a powerful agent for racial equity and systems change, completing impactful audits related to jail safety, the County’s paratransit program, the Sheriff’s Office traffic stop patterns, public defense management, homelessness, and more. Her commitment to changing the systemic issues that beguile our community from within her sphere of influence is remarkable.

Awardee Washington State Supreme Court, Represented by Chief Justice Steve C. González

The Dean’s Leadership Award celebrates an individual or group committed to equity, radical courage, and uncompromising servant leadership. This leader is not afraid to run against the grain where required to support human dignity, embrace diversity, and foster democratic ideals.

The Washington State Supreme Court is receiving this award for their work towards creating a more just legal system within the state of Washington. Beginning with a signed letter in 2020 pressing for change after George Floyd’s murder and continuing into today, the State Supreme Court is making strides toward racial justice by invoking policy change directly aimed at dismantling institutionally racist legal systems. Over the past two years, the Court has taken swift action; overturning decades-long hateful precedents, vacating tens of thousands of criminal convictions, ruling that law enforcement’s history of racial bias must be considered when determining whether police stops and seizures are legal, ordering pay raises to immigrant farm workers, and more.

Awardee Vicki Aken

The Dean’s Leadership Award celebrates an individual or group committed to equity, radical courage, and uncompromising servant leadership. This leader is not afraid to run against the grain where required to support human dignity, embrace diversity, and foster democratic ideals.

Vicki Aken serves as Country Director of the International Rescue Committee, based in Kabul, Afghanistan. Since earning her MPA from the Evans School in 2008, Aken has been an unrelenting leader for public service in countries like Sudan, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Syria and Afghanistan. Before the collapse of the government in Afghanistan, Aken and the IRC worked with the Afghan people to increase community development, healthcare, education, and access to clean water and nutritious food. After the government collapse, Aken has remained in Afghanistan and tirelessly, despite personal safety concerns, committed to restarting and adapting programs so that her staff – primarily female and nearly 99% Afghan – can continue to work and attend school. Aken’s courageous service work makes her a leader to be impressed and inspired by.

Inspiring the Work Ahead

How can you act to help create the future we need? What does it take to lead from where you sit?

These are questions the Evans School invites you to grapple with in this moment for our society and our democracy. Folks who joined us shared sticky notes to harvest a bit of the rich conversations we had in response to these questions.

As EMPA alum and Dean’s Council Member J. Eduardo Campos shared, “Beyond the critical thinking skills and academic rigor, the Evans School helped us learn how to be better human beings, better professionals, and better citizens.” 

Guided by our shared values of equity, courage, and service, the Evans School is educating leaders, generating knowledge, and hosting communities to co-create a more inclusive society. Your support and partnership help create a path to public service leadership for all who are called to serve–regardless of financial means.

Thank you to those who pledged gifts of time, talent, treasure, ties and testimony at the event. For those who haven’t yet, we hope you’ll join us today.