The La Follette School of Public Affairs is proud to announce that Adam Plotkin, director of government and public affairs for the Office of the Wisconsin State Public Defender, has been honored with the 2024 Gladfelter Award for Innovation in State Government. This prestigious award, presented at the annual Salute to Local Government event, celebrates exceptional public sector innovation and excellence.
Plotkin, who graduated from UW–Madison in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, has been a driving force behind the creation of the Criminal Justice Budget Coalition, which includes the Department of Justice, elected district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and the Director of State Courts Office. This coalition examines state budgetary needs from a system-wide perspective, identifying individual requests that support the work of all stakeholders. Since its inception, the coalition has achieved remarkable successes, including the addition of 65 new assistant district attorneys, an increase in the public defender rate paid to private attorneys from $40 to $100 per hour, and significant pay raises for public defenders and district attorneys. Prior to the creation of the coalition, each state agency advocated individually for each of their priorities, sometimes pitting related interests against each other. The coalition recognized that their requests were interrelated, and the overall success of Wisconsin’s criminal justice program required collaboration.
Jordan Lamb, attorney/principal in The Welch Group, praised Plotkin’s pivotal role: “I don’t think we’d be here today without Adam Plotkin. He was part of the original group that said, ‘Let’s just try this. Let’s try something different. Let’s ask them to think about us differently.’ There are coalitions for issues all over the map during a legislative session. But asking different branches of state government to work together in a coalition model… that was something that hadn’t been done before.”
The Gladfelter Award, established with a gift from government reporter Lloyd D. Gladfelter, honors public employees whose innovations led to the improvement of public services in Wisconsin. Plotkin’s work exemplifies this mission, showcasing how collaborative efforts can drive meaningful change in the public sector.
The Salute to Local Government event, held annually, celebrates the ingenuity and dedication of public sector employees across Wisconsin. This year’s keynote speaker was Jim Paetsch, the vice president of the Milwaukee 7, a regional economic group. You can read about the other awardees, see a video celebrating Plotkin’s award, and learn more about the Gladfelter Award and the Salute to Local Government event on the Wisconsin Policy Forum website.