Alison Cullen to Chair EPA Science Advisory Board

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan has announced his selections for membership of the Science Advisory Board (SAB), including Alison Cullen, Daniel J. Evans Endowed Professor of Environmental Policy, as its chair.

The Science Advisory Board provides scientific advice to the EPA Administrator, including reviewing the quality and relevance of the information being used to propose regulations and reviewing agency programs. The committee will be comprised of 22 women and 25 men, including 16 people of color, making it the most diverse SAB since the committee was established. The EPA Administrator’s selections represent a cross-section of scientific disciplines and experience needed to provide advice to EPA leadership to help advance the agency’s mission.

“This highly qualified, diverse group of experts will ensure that EPA is receiving sound science-based advice to inform our work to protect people and the environment from pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “We worked expeditiously and deliberately to finalize the new Science Advisory Board, and now we can move forward knowing EPA’s work is guided by the most credible, independent expertise.”

For more information, and to see the full list of appointees, view the full press release from the EPA.

Evaluating Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Policies Potential for Violence Prevention

Fact Sheet Outlines Health and Safety Implications of EITCs

The federal earned income tax credit (EITC), the largest cash transfer program for low-earning workers in the United States, is an economic policy intended to reduce poverty. Each year, the EITC program provides earning subsidies in the form of tax credits to certain workers based on their pretax earnings, marital status, and number of children.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers with the University of Washington Department of Epidemiology and Evans School of Public Policy and Governance investigated the EITC program an its affects on the rates of multiple types of violence, including child maltreatment, suicide, and intimate partner violence. It is plausible that a tax credit for low-income families could affect violence by improving family income and economic security, which could then lead to less stress, material hardship, and exposure to neighborhood violence.

The results of this investigation are summarized in the EITC & Violence Prevention Fact Sheet.

Researchers find that a 10 percentage-point increase in the generosity of state EITC benefits was associated with:

a 9% decline in child neglect
a 5% decline in child maltreatment
a 4% decline in suicide attempts
a 1% decline in suicide deaths

(all per year)

Researchers did not find an association between EITCs and intimate partner violence, but they note some restrictions that make it difficult for victims of IPV to receive the EITC.

These findings have policy relevance right now because there are similar programs being discussed and expanded. At the federal level, the stimulus package passed in February included an expansion of the child tax credit. Like the EITC, that credit provides income support to low- and middle-income families. The expansion was temporary but the Biden budget just released includes funding to make it permanent. At the state level, Washington finally funded our own EITC, the Working Families Tax Credit, after not being operational for many years. There are other states that do not have an EITC or have an EITC program that does not benefit low-income families at the levels it could.

Through this investigation, researchers aimed to broaden our scientific understanding of the benefits of providing income support to low-income families, and hope that it will influence state and federal policymakers to think about the potential for providing income support.

This fact sheet was developed by Ali Rowhani-Rahbar (PI), Heather Hill, Steve Mooney, Frederick Rivara, Caitlin Moe, Nicole Kovski, Erin Morgan, and Kim Dalve. Funding for this research was provided by Cooperative Agreement Award U01CE002945 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sheila Edwards Lange (MPA ’00) Selected as Chancellor of UW Tacoma

University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark A. Richards announced the selection of Sheila Edwards Lange, president of Seattle Central College, as chancellor of the University of Washington Tacoma. Her appointment, pending approval by the UW Board of Regents, is set to begin September 16, 2021.

Edwards Lange has many years of experience in higher education and she is well known throughout the UW, having served as the vice president for Minority Affairs and Diversity from 2007 to 2015. As president of Seattle Central College, Edwards Lange leads all college operations, including instruction, student services, fiscal resources, human resources, facilities and community relations. She works closely and collaboratively with leadership across the Seattle College District to ensure students receive high quality and responsive education and services.

“I was attracted to UW Tacoma’s urban-serving mission, commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, and its stellar academic programs. That unique combination has enabled UW Tacoma to be an active partner in economic development and prosperity in the South Sound,” Edwards Lange said. “I am excited about being part of this work and look forward to leading the institution at this critical time in its history.”

Edwards Lange earned her doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies, as well as her master’s in public administration – from the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance in 2000 – and her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine. She began her career at Western Washington University, before taking on leadership roles at Seattle Community Colleges. While earning her doctorate at the UW, she developed research and teaching interests in higher education policy, diversity in higher education, assessment and program evaluation, and underrepresented student access STEM fields. She taught a graduate level course on race and public policy for several years in the UW Evans School.

A Gap Analysis for Funding Homelessness Initiatives Across the Greater Puget Sound Region

The Medina Foundation

Management Analytics Program Development in Kitsap County

Kitsap County Department of Community Development

Planning for the Future: Assessing the Legacy of the Growth Management Act and Potential Policy Alternatives in the Puget Sound Region

Puget Sound Partnership

Washington State COVID-19 Vaccination: Strategies for Expediting a Safe and Equitable Recovery

Restart Partners

Evans School 2021 Award Winners

As we celebrate our graduates and the end of this academic year, we would like to draw special attention to those Evans School faculty, staff, and students who were honored with awards for their tremendous contributions to the Evans School, the University of Washington, and the greater community.

Congratulations to all!

Together We Will Award: Marie Angeles

Marie is a bright light in the UW community — envisioning and creating innovative virtual programming to build and nurture community with an explicit focus on antiracism, equity and inclusion. She was part of a core planning team awarded a UW Diversity & Inclusion Seed Grant to launch a tri-school faculty workshop on inclusive teaching in autumn 2020. Her ability to quickly pivot and create outstanding virtual programming during the pandemic has greatly benefited our students. Congratulations, Marie!

Evans School Husky 100 Honorees

Kush Doshi

(MPA/MHA concurrent ‘21)

Matt Fowle

(PhD candidate)

Izzy Sederbaum

(PhD Student)

Robert White

(EMPA Alumnus)

Marc Lindenberg Center Global Action Prize: Vedavati Patwardhan

The Global Action Prize recognizes an Evans School MPA or PhD student for extraordinary work in a service activity that promotes global citizenship, international development, or humanitarian relief.

Hubert G. Locke Social Justice Award: Jazzlyn Jefferson

The Hubert G. Locke Social Justice Award recognizes a student, staff, or faculty member for their contributions and willingness to be champions for anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Evans School, the University of Washington, and in the broader community.

Daniel J. Evans Award for Outstanding Leadership: James Siap

The Daniel J. Evans Award for Outstanding Leadership is given to a graduating student with a record of innovative leadership and public service during their MPA studies.

ESO Awards

2021 ESO Outstanding Teaching Award: Ines Jurcevic

The 2021 ESO Teaching Award recognizes a faculty member who has supported and inspired students with their teaching. As one student shared: “Ines is not just incredibly brilliant and a phenomenal instructor both in-person and virtually, but she is genuinely one of the most caring, loving, and intentional people I know. I am incredibly grateful for Ines’ contributions to and presence at the Evans School.”

2021 ESO Outstanding TA Award: Francisco Santamarina

The 2021 ESO Teaching Assistant Award recognizes a graduate student who excelled in their support of students in a teaching assistant role. The many nominators of Francisco commented upon his remarkable dedication to student learning and student well-being, with a deep commitment for creating an inclusive learning environment.

Executive MPA Awards

Exceptional Executive MPA Student Award: Lee Ann Teylan

The recipient of this honor is selected by EMPA faculty. The award goes to a student who exhibits outstanding leadership, dedication to the Evans School and their cohort, and overall academic achievement in the EMPA program.

Outstanding Executive MPA Capstone Award: Sean Johnson

As part of their final course in the EMPA program, students develop a Capstone Portfolio under the guidance of EMPA Faculty Director and Associate Professor Stephen Page that demonstrates their leadership development and application of program content within their professional experience. Sean’s Capstone featured a breadth and thoroughness, along with high quality insight, about his personal growth and learning relating to his work at the US Dept. of the Interior.

MPA Capstone Awards

Event Recap | NAPA Social Equity Leadership Conference

The 20th Annual National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) Social Equity Leadership Conference (SELC) was held June 9 – 11, 2021. This year’s theme, “Fostering Social Equity: Innovation and Change,” emphasized developing and promoting concrete actions with lasting impact. The conference provided a space to discuss how public administrators can develop a broader understanding of social equity and recognize social equity’s implications within the administrative context.

Social equity—a key pillar of public administration alongside economy, efficiency, and effectiveness—addresses fairness, justice, and equity within a variety of public contexts. In its continuing fight for social equity in public administration, NAPA envisions transforming the public administration landscape and the public it serves by developing a framework that would enable public administrators, policy makers, legislators, and other like-minded organizations at all levels of government to assess the social equity impact of proposed legislation, regulations and policies and make necessary adjustments before they are implemented.

Read the Evans School’s conference report, “Promising Practices: Investment in Social Infrastructure,” and watch the full conference sessions below.

Conference Report

Q&A with Dean Jodi Sandfort and Gary Glickman, Standing Panel on Social Equity in Governance Chair, NAPA:

Understanding Social and Economic Factors of Social Infrastructure

Given events of the last few years, many things are changing in our political, economic, and social lives. This panel provides cutting edge research to help us understand some of these changes, from the racial reckoning and social response that pulled down confederate statutes to changes in the workforce and contracting practices during COVID and in recent years.

Blueprint for a Just & Equitable Future: Washington State’s 10-Year Plan to Dismantle Poverty

Stubbornly high rates of poverty are the product of inherently unjust and unequal policies, programs, and practices that have underwritten our economy for decades. In response, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee created a Poverty Reduction Work Group (PRWG) in 2018, tasking the group with the creation of a comprehensive, 10-year plan to dismantle poverty. With sincerity and humor, PRWG members Jennifer Bereskin, Drayton Jackson, Lori Pfingst, and Shereese Rhodes will share the journey to create the plan – the trials and tribulations of overcoming institutional distrust of agencies, the implicit biases we hold about people experiencing poverty and those serving them, how we are all undermined by systems underwritten by white supremacy, and the power in recognizing each other’s humanity.

Racial Justice: Not a Zero Sum Game – Government’s Role in the Racial Justice Reckoning

Join panelists from the Seattle Office for Civil Rights in a discussion about the growing polarization and entrenchment surrounding the racial justice reckoning the country is experiencing; how the Seattle Office for Civil Rights’ Race and Social Justice Initiative is structured and works; our journey to rebuild accountability to community; and how city departments make the work of antiracism their own.

Category: News and Information