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Evans School of Public Policy & Governance

Category: Alumni Profile

Alumni Profile: Public Health and Policy, Q&A with 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 travelled 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.

Climate Justice and Policy Implications: A Q&A with Sameer Ranade (MPA ’12)

We recently sat down with Sameer Ranade, MPA Alumnus 2012, 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 

Alumni Highlight: Matt Fowle, Ph.D., ’22

Matt Fowle (pronouns: he/his/him) finished his Ph.D. at the Evans School in August 2022, where his work focused on homelessness and housing precarity. The Evans School caught up with Matt this fall to talk about his research program. 

Fowle_Matthew-35

Evans School: Your dissertation project centers on the racialization of homelessness in America. Explain why this is such an important lens through which to view housing precarity today. 

Matt: About 1 in 5 Black households will be unhoused in their lifetime, yet we treat homelessness as if it were a rare experience for most Americans and seldom study the causes of racial disparities in homelessness. In a recently published article from my dissertation, I document the extensive history of homelessness among Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. I find that mass displacement has been publicly sanctioned in the US for centuries to segregate, exclude, and impoverish people of color. The persistence of racialized homelessness requires greater attention to the racist institutions and policies that reproduce homelessness rather than the individual conditions faced by people experiencing homelessness. For example, our primary approach to homelessness focuses on individual-level treatments that assume the causes of homelessness are a set of pathologies (e.g., drug addiction or mental illness). Instead, we must focus on structural interventions that situate homelessness in a broader system of racialized socioeconomic inequality, account for historic harms, and address longstanding systems that perpetuate racial stratification. 

Evans School: Eviction moratoria were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect vulnerable households from losing their homes. You explored the impact of Washington’s eviction moratoria – what did you find? 

Matt: Our study of the experiences of low-income renters in Washington state found that landlords who were unable to use the housing courts to formally evict a tenant due to the moratorium turned to informal, and often illegal, evictions to remove tenants. These informal evictions sometimes involved landlords shutting off utilities, changing locks to front doors, and removing tenant possessions without permission. During our interviews with low-income tenants, one family’s apartment had a leaking roof that led to black mold spreading throughout her children’s bedroom. Their landlord refused to fix the roof because they owed rent. Using survey and administrative data, we estimated that the prevalence of forced mobility among low-income tenants nearly doubled from 6.5% in the year before the pandemic to 11.0% in the first year of the pandemic. Despite lower chances of formal eviction during the pandemic, low-income tenants faced a 179% increase in the odds of experiencing an informal eviction tactic compared to the year prior to the start of the pandemic. 

Evans School: One of the major contributions of your dissertation project is to draw attention to rising homeless deaths. In fact, you created a website — homelessdeathscount.org  — that reports local homeless mortality figures from places around the country. How did this incredibly important part of your project emerge? 

Matt: During my first year at UW, I witnessed an unhoused person die on a sidewalk. I felt compelled to help in some way. I found that we have no idea how many people experiencing homelessness die each year across the country. There is no nationwide database that helps us quantify the extent of this problem. In fact, even when these databases exist in major cities, the information is rarely made public. My dissertation and public scholarship shine a light on this hidden problem. I founded Homeless Deaths Count, an organization to collect and publicize data on deaths among unhoused people. As a public policy student, I have learned that it is often through public pressure that things change. 

I incorporated the project as part of my dissertation because I wanted to better document trends in homeless mortality over time and understand why homeless deaths were increasing, even when the homeless population was shrinking in some parts of the country. In my research, I find that homeless people overwhelmingly die of preventable causes like heat stroke, hypothermia, alcohol poisoning, overdose, and heart disease at between on average 49 and 53 years of age. I attribute these deaths to what I call “systemic neglect.” These people have been collectively abandoned by systems that provide housing, healthcare, and social support. I shared some of the preliminary results from this work with the Guardian and Jacobin. In future work, I plan to examine excess homeless deaths during the pandemic and identify successful policy responses that reduce homeless mortality. 

Evans School: It is moving to hear how you translated this personal experience into an important tool to improve awareness about homeless deaths. Much of your dissertation work has direct relevance for policy and practice – how do you manage your research program so that it is meaningful to scholars and to policy communities? 

Matt: I believe in a future where housing is not a privilege but a right that we all deserve. Through my research and collaborations, I am determined to not only end the human devastation resulting from homelessness but to contribute to efforts that seek to end homelessness itself. In addition to publishing in academic journals, I feel a responsibility to engage the public on topics on which I have expertise and to share research findings with policymakers and practitioners who might be able to affect change. I also believe that academics can facilitate change by using their research skills to support communities making a difference. Generally, I think that if the topic you are studying has relevance to people’s health and well-being, it is (or can be made) meaningful to scholars and policy communities. 

Evans School:  You are just starting an exciting postdoctoral research position – tell us about it. 

Matt: I joined the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Housing Initiative at Penn. Much of my work focuses on the Housing Choice Voucher program, formerly known as Section 8. There is an incredible amount of administration required to implement these programs across the country, and considerable burdens are placed on low-income renters to successfully use a housing voucher. One area of research involves examining who drops out of the voucher application process from when a household first applies to when they successfully rent a home with their voucher. We’re also trying to identify why low-income households might not want to apply for a housing voucher. Another area of research that I am excited about is an evaluation of a “Universal Basic Rent” program in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation is distributing rental assistance as cash with no strings attached to households rather than through the traditional housing voucher system. The goal of the program is to understand the impact of cash infusions on household stability and economic well-being. 

Alumni Spotlight: Helping Change the Future of Colorado’s Healthcare, Hannah Sieben, MPA ’21

Hannah Sieben Policy Analyst Connect for Health Colorado Master of Public Administration, '21

After finishing her MPA in 2021, Hannah Sieben returned to her home state of Colorado, where she is using her experience and the skills she gained at the Evans School for the public good. In her current work as a Policy Analyst with Connect for Health Colorado, Hannah is working to create greater public health care access for all Coloradans.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

The week that I graduated from Evans, I moved back to Colorado, adopted a puppy (Fig! 7 lbs of chihuahua/terrier perfection!), and started a new job. I love being in Colorado; my whole family is here, the mountains and sunshine are a great combo, and there is so much to see and do. In my free time, I’ve been participating in a Master Composter program (to teach Denverites how to start their own compost pile), reading for fun, and scouring Facebook Marketplace for my next DIY project.

What contributed to your decision to pursue an MPA degree? Was there a defining moment in particular?

After returning from Peace Corps service in Namibia, I worked as a civic engagement program manager at a nonprofit. I helped more than 5,000 high school students register to vote during this time, but I knew that I needed to learn so much more if I wanted to contribute to the vision and direction of an organization instead of just the day-to-day responsibilities if I wanted to have the career I was interested in. Pursuing an MPA seemed like the ideal way to gain experience and practice to complement my policy and legislative interests.

Looking back on your Evans School experience, what stands out as being particularly impactful while you were a student?

I was part of the Covid Cohort, MPA Class of 2021, so more than a year and a half of my time at the Evans School was virtual. While that alone was impactful, it also provided me the opportunity to collaborate with my peers in different ways. I learned so much about working as a team with people you may have never gotten to meet in person before, which has been an asset in my current position. I also served as the Vice President of External Affairs for the Graduate and Professional Student Senate and managed to rope in so many of my Evans peers to help us with our legislative priorities. Together, we passed important legislation to get graduate student representation on the Washington Student Achievement Council. All that to say, I was surrounded by incredibly smart and encouraging people at the Evans School, which gives me a lot of confidence about the future of public policy.

Can you share about where you work and your current role?

I’m currently working at Connect for Health Colorado, the official Marketplace for health insurance in Colorado, as a policy analyst. We are technically a non-profit but are really a quasi-governmental organization that implements the Affordable Care Act. I provide a wide range of research and support on policy and legislative issues, including advocacy, education, research, and analysis to help Coloradans get access to more affordable health care.

Can you tell us about some of the work/projects/initiatives you are working on or excited about?

Colorado is truly a leader in the health insurance marketplace space, and it’s been inspiring to be a part of the policy and implementation team at Connect for Health Colorado. One of the most impactful projects I am working on is around providing low-income undocumented Coloradans with state-subsidized health insurance. We are the first state to implement this type of program and much of my research has been around the health needs, barriers to health care access, and the eligibility requirements of our undocumented communities. In 2023, more than 9,000 undocumented people will have affordable, quality health coverage for the first time! It’s amazing to lay the groundwork for other states to implement similar programs and really put our money where our mouth is when talking about equity and inclusion.

Are there any specific skills/tools/learnings from your time at Evans that have been crucial to the work you are doing today?

One of the best things that I was able to practice at Evans was taking complex pieces of information and distilling them into something that non-policy people can understand. I have coworkers who specialize in communications and product development without a public health or policy background, so I use this skill all the time. I am also a confident public speaker, something that I practiced all throughout my time at Evans.

What are 1 or 2 resources (books, articles, podcasts, websites, TEDtalks, etc.) that inspire you personally or professionally?

I recently read Dear America, Notes from an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas. He later joined my colleagues and me to discuss his book and his organization, “Define American”, and to explain how he thought we could do our work in a better, more inclusive way. Both his book and organization really highlight the diversity and uniqueness of undocumented narratives.

Sustainability and Impact: A Q&A with Nicki McClung (MPA ’15)

Evans Alum and Aritzia’s Senior Manager of Product Environmental Impact, Nicki McClung (MPA ’15), is leveraging her experience, Evans education, and passion for social justice to positively impact product sustainability and climate strategy.

Can you tell us a little about yourself? 

My name is Nicki and I use she/her pronouns. I grew up in a tiny town in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I am of mixed Japanese/Irish ancestry, which was a bit of a novelty where I grew up. My undergrad is in accounting and finance, and after a couple of years living and working in Banff, Alberta, South Korea, and Australia and doing some travel in between, I landed in Seattle with my then-boyfriend trying to make it in a new city. 

Fast forward a few years and I left Seattle in the middle of the pandemic to relocate to a small ski town in British Columbia with my husband, two kiddos, and dog. I work remotely with Aritzia, a contemporary women’s wear brand based out of Vancouver, BC, and whenever I can, I’m biking, skiing, or somehow enjoying the outdoors with my family.

What contributed to your decision to pursue an MPA degree? Was there a defining moment in particular?

When I moved to Seattle, I thought I would have no trouble finding a role in my field. With the boom in tech, and my corporate finance and accounting background, surely someone would sponsor me.

My theory proved to be wrong.

I wanted to go back to school to have work eligibility primarily, and someone suggested I look into an MPA. For me, I already had worked in huge corporations, I could make a business case, I could operate easily in the private sector, so an MBA seemed redundant.

The MPA program was like an MBA but with the lens of impact and social justice. Through the wonderful support of the admissions team at Evans, I was able to determine it was the right fit for me, and they helped me through the process.

Looking back on your Evans School experience, what stands out as being particularly impactful while you were a student?

So much changed during my time at Evans, both personally and professionally. There were a lot of social and political changes happening during that time. George Zimmerman had just been acquitted in the homicide of Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown and Eric Garner were murdered months later. The conversation shifted dramatically I found, especially as a newcomer to the US, from bi-partisan politics to the deep and entrenched racism prevalent in the country (and bi-partisan politics).

I learned so much from my professors and cohort at Evans. I’m still learning, but my time at Evans shifted my perspective. I finally had the opportunity to embrace my own identity and my intersectionality. I began to work through the questions and traumas of my own experience, and it has helped me immensely in my career, as a leader, and community member.

Can you share a bit about the work you are currently doing and what a typical day in your work looks like?

I currently work on the sustainability team at Aritzia. Officially I am the senior manager of product environmental impact, but my scope includes beyond just product. I’ve been working on what our climate strategy looks like, both from a high-level organizational view and then specifically what we are doing along parts of our value chain.

My days are nicely varied, but it’s a lot of internal and external stakeholder engagement – and report and memo writing! Thanks, Evans!

As an MPA working in the private sector, how has your Evans education contributed to your work?

Other than the stakeholder engagement and writing pieces I already mentioned – probably critical thinking! Specifically how to dig into the sources of information, and not cherry-pick data! Embracing the data – good and bad – is so hard to do but Evans taught me how to work through that.

I think something else that I credit Evans for is the reminder to always think about the bigger impact and the danger of inappropriate interventions.

Can you tell us about some of the work/projects/initiatives you are working on or excited about?

I am so excited about some big projects coming up soon. In the past, many teams worked in silos, with different goals and KPIs, that didn’t all track towards a common objective. Now, we are entering a very exciting phase of being able to set a comprehensive environmental impact strategy. I hope to be able to share more soon!

What are 1 or 2 resources that inspire you personally or professionally?

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline is probably one of the most realistic portrayals of how products are made and what factories are like. It doesn’t tell the whole picture, but it’s a great primer for anyone interested in the industry.

This New York Times piece on organic cotton is super fascinating and extremely relevant to my world: That Organic Cotton T-Shirt May Not Be as Organic As You  Think.

Harvard Business Review’s article The Myth of Sustainable Fashion is a little depressing, but some good guiding principles.

Ensuring Washington Nonprofits Thrive: A Q&A with Elyse Ke’ala Rickard

Elyse Ke’ala Rickard: Membership Manager, Washington Nonprofits

Elyse Ke‘ala Rickard (MPA ’18) is driven by a passion for equity, justice, and service. As the Membership Manager at Washington Nonprofits, she works to ensure that nonprofit organizations in Washington have access to the resources they need to prosper.

What contributed to your decision to pursue a career in support of the public good? Was there a defining moment in particular?

I grew up in the Los Angeles Harbor area in a blue-collar union family, where I learned to identify how different institutions perpetuate racist, sexist, and classist policies and was encouraged to speak out against these injustices. As I moved through my higher education journey, I majored in sociology and knew that I wanted to enter a field that worked on addressing and dismantling inequities through structural change. During my senior year of undergrad, I had a mentor who was also a Pacific Islander woman and a first-generation student who encouraged and supported me in applying to graduate school. Because of the support of my family and other BIPOC mentors, I wanted to pursue a career that builds upon the work of those who came before me and continue to carry on their work of creating a more equitable society.

Can you share a bit about the work you are currently doing and what a typical day in your work looks like?

I was promoted to Membership Manager at Washington Nonprofits earlier this month and have been with the organization since August 2021. Right now, my work focuses on fostering relationships with our current members and connecting with other nonprofits across the state who may benefit from being a member of our organization. My daily work is composed of providing assistance to our members (that could range from membership renewals, answering questions about member benefits, etc.), promoting our programs and events, and working with colleagues on how to increase access to memberships for nonprofits across the state.

What’s one thing you want everyone to know about your work?

I believe that listening to my intuition has helped me to carve the professional path that I am currently on. If you are doing work that you do not feel connected to or does not align with your values or goals, do not be afraid to speak out or seek out new opportunities that will allow you to grow.

Looking back on your time as an Evans student, do you have any memorable experiences that really stand out to you?

To be honest, I’ve had a variety of experiences at Evans. I met people who are now lifelong friends, learned skills that I sought out, and conducted an impactful capstone with colleagues, which is currently being used in a lawsuit to address racial and gender inequities in the Seattle Parks and Recreation department.

I also faced barriers that graduate students from historically marginalized communities must navigate, including speaking out against curriculum and practices that perpetuate white supremacy. I remember a meeting that I and four other students held with a professor to discuss how they framed the Department of Justice’s report for the City of Baltimore’s police department—their framing felt insensitive to BIPOC students because they did not want to address the historical impact of race and policing. I remember having another meeting with a white professor who had a kapa moe (Native Hawaiian quilt) in their office who was teaching about Indigenous environmental policy who told me they would not, and did not, want to discuss Native Hawaiian environmental issues. However, despite these difficulties, I was able to connect and build relationships with other students, faculty, and staff who did advocate and support for marginalized people in our program and that is something that I will always remember from my time as a student at Evans.

How does your Evans education inform how you approach your work today? Are there 2 or 3 things that directly impact your work?

My time at Evans has heavily influenced my career path. I work in an organization that focuses on providing nonprofit education courses across the state, which I feel is a continuation of my own education as well. I have worked on projects where I utilized my analysis and evaluation skills, ranging from implementing new systems, improving administrative procedures, and conducting policy research. Finally, the most important skill that I have learned from Evans is project management because I am collaborating with other people and entities frequently, which includes keeping track of several tasks and deadlines, as I did in most classes during my time as a student.

In what ways are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion part of the work you have done and continue doing?

As a mixed Native Hawaiian/Latina woman, holding these identities radicalized me from a young age to speak about racism and other societal inequities. During my undergraduate years, I took part in student organizing around a variety of issues and worked in positions that focused on providing support to other BIPOC students.

While at Evans, I became involved in Evans People of Color and worked with other Student Interest Groups (SIGS)–later known as the Coalition–to organize around addressing issues within the Evans school and public policy issues beyond the campus. I am proud of my colleagues, the alumni who laid down the work before us, and the current students who are continuing the work to create a more equitable environment for Evans ’students and beyond.

In the work that I currently do, there are a lot of nonprofits in Washington State that are doing amazing things in their communities, especially those whose work is guided and led by marginalized communities. However, there are several barriers that these organizations face, which can hinder their growth and ability to provide programs or services they are offering to their constituents. Some of these barriers can range from lack of financial resources to unclear guidance from local, state, and federal partners. I hope that in my role I can serve as a point of contact for people to access the resources they may need so that these organizations can continue to focus on serving and thriving in their communities.

What are 1 or 2 resources (books, articles, podcasts, websites, TEDtalks, etc.) that inspire you personally or professionally?

I recently finished “From a Native Daughter” by the late Dr. Haunani Kay-Trask. As someone who is a mixed Native Hawaiian woman, I have felt, seen, and heard many of the things discussed in her book, especially in the latter half, where Dr. Haunani Kay-Trask discusses her experiences with the University of Hawai’i. I feel inspired that her work remains relevant in 2022 and will continue to do so beyond my lifetime. I am also very into listening to podcasts and a favorite of mine that I recommend to folks is Code Switch by NPR. Every week they focus on a different story, connect the story to larger themes of race, and connect listeners to resources they can follow up on if they want to learn more about that week’s topic.

A Q&A with Sarah E. Charnes (PhD ’21)

Sarah Charnes finished her Ph.D. at the Evans School in December 2021, where her dissertation research focused on food assistance and food insecurity. The Evans School caught up with Sarah recently to talk about key findings from her research. 

Your dissertation focuses on food assistance policy and food hardship in the U.S. — what drew you to those policy research areas? 

Before starting my Ph.D. at the Evans School, from 2006 to 2013, I worked as a macroeconomist in the Office of Economic Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in DC. While there, I worked on a wide variety of topics, including income inequality. When I decided to return to school for a Ph.D., it was with the intention of taking a deeper dive into issues of income inequality. At Evans my work around inequality initially focused on social policy and means-tested public benefits. Over time, I realized that my long-standing interests in food behaviors and my training in holistic health counseling gave me unique insights into the realities of food assistance and food insecurity – timely social policy topics.  

Given your work around food assistance policy, what are some of the biggest misconceptions Americans have around food assistance and food hardship? 

First, I would say the common belief that food insecurity “isn’t a problem in the United States” and that it’s only a problem in developing countries, which means it’s not a problem worth addressing through public policy solutions. To the contrary, the most recent estimate by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service estimates 10.5 percent of U.S. households are food insecure. That translates into 13.8 million households, which is a large number. The national food insecurity rate reached as high as 14.6 percent during the Great Recession. Those estimates are only the tip of the iceberg, which make food insecurity in the U.S. a problem worth investigating and addressing. 

There are many other misconceptions around food assistance and food hardship that come to mind. What I have observed over the past several years is that food assistance and food hardship is a space where people often have a hard time getting past their own personal beliefs  – especially if they haven’t experienced food insecurity or witnessed it first-hand. For example, if someone becomes convinced that SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the modern-day food stamp program) recipients are prone to commit fraud, it can be very challenging (if not impossible) to change that person’s mind. In reality, fraud is very uncommon. 

Another misconception is that there is a one-size-fits-all, or simple, solution to food insecurity. Food insecurity arises out of a wide array of risk factors operating at different tiers. Short of creating a form of universal income for food consisting of an adequate benefit level, it seems likely that there will need to be a continuation of a rather complicated, multi-pronged approach to tackling the problem of food insecurity through public-, nonprofit-, and private-sector efforts. That said, the idea of universal income for food has gotten some traction recently, so it’s possible that a policy window for this could eventually emerge. 

As you reflect on the dissertation project, which research findings stand out to you as really important for current debates around food policy? 

My dissertation involved three papers that covered a fairly broad range of topics related to food insecurity and food and nutrition assistance policy. The first paper evaluated a program designed to streamline the SNAP application process for recipients of Supplemental Security Income and found evidence suggesting that different modes of implementation for the program were more effective for some subpopulations than others – a point that does not always seem to be the primary focus when interventions are designed to try to improve access to means-tested benefit programs. The second paper tested the extent to which a relatively holistic measure of food access moderates the high degree of association between household disability and food insecurity status. Here, I find that access does not account for much of this relationship (Note: this paper has been accepted for publication in Physiology & Behavior and can be found online here.) The third paper examined acquisitions of free food – food having no price attached to it, such as meals from family or friends – as a function of the amount of time that has passed since a SNAP household received its last benefit payment. In this paper, I find little variability in the acquisition of free food across the SNAP month. This has potential implications for current debates about the behavioral mechanisms driving what is referred to as the “SNAP cycle,” where benefits are typically redeemed in their entirety within the first few days of receipt, rather than being consumed in a smooth fashion across the month as some might expect. I’m excited to dive deeper into the third paper, in particular, as I progress forward with the portions of the dissertation that I have not yet attempted to publish. 

Prior to finishing your Ph.D. at Evans, you worked in the Department of Treasury. Given your experiences in both worlds – how can researchers do a better job of presenting and translating their research for policy audiences? 

Presenting and translating research to policymakers really comes down to one skill: learning how to say what you want to say within 30 seconds. By “30 seconds,” I truly mean 30 seconds. That is MUCH easier said than done – and a skill that does not always seem to be very highly valued within academia. 

I think a great way to practice is to create two or three “highlights” (i.e., brief bullet/talking points) about one’s research – as is asked for by several peer-reviewed academic journals upon submission. Bonus: this encourages clear thinking all around, which is never a bad thing. 

What’s up next for you? 

Currently – meaning, from January through June 2022 – I’ll be an instructor in the Evans School’s MPA program. Specifically, I’m teaching both of the quantitative analysis courses in the first-year core course sequence, with which I was heavily involved during my Ph.D. (as both a pre-doctoral lecturer and a teaching assistant). I’m really happy to be working with this year’s first-year cohort. I’m also currently on the job market for longer-term employment. Please cross your fingers for me! 

Fingers crossed!  It sounds like there are lots of good things in the future.  Thanks for chatting! 

Thank you! 

Diversity and Talent in Tech: A Q&A with Njeri Thande (MPA ’19)

Njeri Thande (MPA ’19) believes in asking the right questions, approaching problems with precision, and engaging in generative work, especially when working for people’s success and wellbeing. As Leap Business Program Manager at Microsoft, Njeri focuses on increasing non-traditional talent pathways and employment opportunities in tech.

What contributed to your decision to pursue a career in support of the public good? Was there a defining moment in particular? 

I think I’ve always been interested in work related to the public good. However, I started my professional career in the private sector after college right after the 2008 financial crisis. At that time, I was more concerned with being gainfully employed, so I didn’t feel like I was in a solid position to scrutinize an organization’s mission. I think I began feeling motivated towards a public good-focused career when, while working at a tech company, I was also volunteering and taking on side projects related to community building and conversations on racial identity. I was feeling pulled to the latter work and, long story short, decided it was time to go back to school. I soon after applied to Evans MPA program. 

Can you share a bit about the work you are currently doing and what a typical day in your work looks like? 

I work for Microsoft Leap Apprenticeship Program as a Business Program Manager. The program was founded 5 years ago as a means of diversifying the talent pipeline into tech with what we call “unconventional talent.” Unconventional talent comprises self-taught learners and bootcamp grads, parents and caregivers returning to the workforce, and community college graduates. Individuals apply for the program and successful applicants are welcomed into a cohort for a 16-week apprenticeship.

Part of my typical day involves co-leading the operations of a cohort—that work looks different every day since our program operates in phases. My work includes training sponsoring teams to understand their roles and responsibilities, working with our learning and development team to develop a best-in-class virtual classroom experience, coaching our mentors and managers through the various program milestones, and providing support for our apprentices. We work with hundreds of stakeholders to run our program. The other part of my typical day is co-leading initiatives related to scaling and continuous improvement.

In what ways are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion part of the work you have done and continue doing? 

Before Evans, I had the pleasure of co-hosting community conversations on the intersections of race and parts of community life (race and sports; race and the workplace), which was something I really enjoyed. While a student at Evans I joined the Committee for Equity and Inclusion, where I had the pleasure of doing research on belonging with Professor Jurcevic, and supported peers organizing around inclusion and belonging. Later, I had the pleasure of leading a small conference called The Good Trouble Conference, which was a way of convening peers doing work across diversity, equity, and inclusion to share what they were up to and find like-minded community. The phrase “diversity, equity, and inclusion” can be challenging because so many of us hold different worldviews, are interested in different outcomes, and don’t always have a shared theory of change. The work in convening the “Good Trouble” space was valuable to see the range of people’s work and how they were thinking through and engaging in deep issues and concepts like liberation, institutional change, and worldbuilding.

If there was one thing you’d want everyone to know about your work, what would it be? 

The program I work for was founded to diversify tech and capture a talent pool that has often been ignored. I have a lot of respect for our program. And I think it’s important to name that our impact is specifically centered on employment–and that is no small thing. While we create pathways to employment opportunities and train our company to understand the unconventional talent we’re developing and onboarding, we still need the support of other company entities to fulfill the mission of building equitable practices in other areas of the work experience. It’s important to think holistically about DEI in the workplace.

Looking back on your Evans School experience, what stands out as being particularly impactful while you were a student

The Good Trouble Conference was deeply important for me. There are so many interesting, creative, and impactful things that Evans students are doing and it was a pleasure to be able to collect a small snapshot of that work. This field can feel tough as we weather so many crises in our nation and world, but it was such an amazing reminder that good, generative work (even if challenging and uncomfortable) is also being done in our world—and by our peers, no less.

I think being in generative spaces like those also help me continue the practice of unlearning and revising so that as I learn, I can continue to show up with better tools and resources to approach issues of social change.

How does your Evans education inform how you approach your work today? 

My Evans education has provided me with a lot of  – particularly management and leadership skills. I’m better at asking the right questions and precise in approaching problems that have to do with the wellbeing and success of groups of people. No matter where I work, that’s my focus.

Is there a resource you can share that inspires you?

Podcast: “Two Acclaimed Writers on the Art of Revising Your Life”, The Ezra Klein Show. I think Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kiese Laymon are great on every podcast they join. What is so excellent about this podcast episode is that they are in conversation together and they talk about the brave and necessary work of being critically self-reflexive and maintaining a practice of revising the way that you think and show up in your communities and your work.

Evans School Alum Vicki Aken featured for her work in Afghanistan

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Evans Alum Vicki Aken is featured on 60 Minutes on December 12th in an episode about negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Vicki is the Afghanistan country director for International Rescue Committee in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she continues to work with IRC staff to delivery programs and to provide support to women and girls.

Technology and Advancing the Public Good: A Q&A with Mark Frischmuth (MPA ʻ19)

Evans Alum Mark Frischmuth (MPA 2019) believes that technology can help solve challenging social, economic, environmental, and civic problems while empowering all members of society. At DemocracyLab, he is building on that vision by connecting tech-for-good projects with skilled volunteers and socially responsible companies.

What contributed to your decision to pursue a career in support of the public good? Was there a defining moment in particular?

I have always been motivated by a search for meaning and majored in philosophy as an undergraduate. Two sources of meaning I have found are authentic personal relationships and contributing to the public good. A spark of insight the day after the 2004 Presidential election motivated me to explore how technology could be used to crowdsource public policy by mapping connections between the values people believe, the objectives they seek to accomplish, and the policies they would like to see implemented. It was from that exploration process that I formed DemocracyLab in 2006, and it began a long journey that eventually led me to the Evans school and my full-time dedication to advance public interest technology.

Can you share a bit about the work you are currently doing and what a typical day in your work looks like?

DemocracyLab empowers people who use technology to advance the public good by connecting tech-for-good projects with skilled volunteers and socially responsible companies. Our platform and programs help tech-for-good projects to launch without funding, volunteers to upskill and advance their careers, and companies to build cultures of purpose. DemocracyLab is a volunteer-driven organization and thousands of hours of volunteer labor have been contributed toward the research, design, and development of our open-source online platform. I spend time every day coordinating volunteer efforts, engaging with current and prospective partners, reaching out to companies to solicit employee engagement opportunities, and building relationships with prospective funders.

Can you share how diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to your work and the work you continue doing?

Our world and our communities face many very difficult problems. Many of these problems were created by systems that exploited people, land, and resources for profit. I believe that addressing these problems will require the voice, perspective, and talent of as many people as possible. I believe an extroverted culture of inclusion leads to diversity, and that open-minded and respectful teams of diverse people can create communities and products that advance equity. I have experienced much personal privilege in life, and feel a responsibility to use that privilege to create greater equity at whatever scale I can.

If there was one thing you’d want people to know about your work, what would it be?

One of the most important effects of DemocracyLab’s work is that it increases the sense of agency of members of our community. We help people recognize that they have something valuable to contribute to solutions to public problems, and, that their response to these problems is within their control. The infrastructure that DemocracyLab creates has positive impacts on many other problems in society. By activating skilled volunteers and encouraging them to contribute their talents, we make it possible for organizations addressing a host of other issues to pursue their missions more effectively.

Looking back on your Evans School experience, what stands out as being particularly impactful during that time?

While the Evans classroom instruction was invaluable, I found my interactions and conversations with my classmates to be the most impactful aspect of my Evans experience. The diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of my classmates helped me better understand my own worldview and challenged me to think more broadly. The education I received at Evans helps me see my work in the larger context of society and to better understand the complex range of stakeholders whose engagement is important to the success of my work.

What are 1 or 2 resources that inspire you personally or professionally?

A book I read long ago that stuck with me is Ken Wilbur’s A Brief History of Everything, where he made some very interesting points about systems thinking. The biggest takeaway for me was that any particular thing can be understood simultaneously as a whole, as a sum of its parts, and as a part of a larger whole.