On January 24, the La Follette School partnered with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies to organize an event for students to connect with and learn from alumni and friends serving in state environmental public policy positions. Over 80 students, alumni, and faculty attended the event.
Several La Follette School and Nelson Institute alumni shared their career trajectories in public service as part of a panel, followed by time for networking. The panel included Mikhaila Calice (MPA ’19), executive assistant to Public Service Commissioner Marcus Hawkins; Steven Little (MPA ’91), Deputy Secretary, Department of Natural Resources; Christie Baumel (Nelson Institute graduate), Deputy Mayor, City of Madison; and Randy Romanski (MA ’95), Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.
“As someone who is really interested in natural resources and policy implications surrounding natural resources, I thought it was really valuable to hear from an array of very experienced professionals who all have connections to the La Follette School, talking about how their work impacts Wisconsinites,” said MPA student Brett Neumann.
“Not only do you get to see alumni of the program who are successful in their fields, you also get a chance to hear about job opportunities that they have, and they are especially interested in graduates from our program because of their own personal success,” noted accelerated MPA student Brelynn Bille.
During the panel, Romanski shared information on some current job openings in the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection and discussed some qualities he looks for in employees, including intellectual curiosity, determination, and the ability to “find a way to get to yes.” “Intellectual curiosity is key, and networking is important,” added Little. “You never know where you will wind up.” Several panelists remarked that their jobs positively impact people’s lives every day, whether people know it or not.
“I think that La Follette does a really good job of bringing the community together centered around policy interests, specifically in the environmental space,” said MPA student Caroline Riordan. “The event gave me an opportunity to connect with the people that I’ve been working with through research in cost benefit analysis and capstone projects to see the implications of my work and connect with the people who work in these fields.”
There will be one more Eat & Greet event this semester – this one focused on health policy. The Health Policy Eat & Greet will take place on February 28 from 3:30 – 6 p.m. at the Discovery Building. The event will begin with a panel of La Follette and Master of Public Health alumni working in the Department of Employee Trust Funds, the Department of Health Services, and the Board of Health for Madison and Dane County. We invite students, alumni, and faculty to register to attend.