Throughout his career, Steven Little (MPA ’91) has used his analytical and political skills to shape policy. After a productive 25-year career in financial services, he pivoted to a career in natural resources, where he has risen to the role of Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Little’s favorite part about his current role is working on a team of natural resources professionals whose work positively impacts the people of Wisconsin every day. “If you think about it, every day we focus on issues around clean air, clean water, and the stewardship of outdoor spaces and places for all to recreate,” says Little. “The policy issues on which we engage touch every Wisconsinite every day whether they realize it or not.”
Little began on his path towards public service during his time at Beloit College where he met his first mentor, Professor Duerst-Lahti, who encouraged him to apply to La Follette. Later, “during my senior year at Beloit, I met a force of nature, Theola Carter,” he says. Carter, who was in her second year at La Follette and now serves on the school’s Board of Visitors, drove down to Beloit with another La Follette student, Ray Knight, to recruit Little. She showed up unannounced at Little’s dorm room and did not leave until it was made clear that La Follette was the place for him. “I am grateful she did,” he says.
During the summer of his first year at La Follette, Little was chosen for an internship in the UW–Madison Office of the Chancellor, an experience that he says was life changing and launched his professional career. “That was my ‘aha’ moment,” he says. That summer, he began to synthesize La Follette’s academic course load with real-world policy applications, implications, and impacts. His capstone project focused on the implementation of UW–Madison’s Indoor Clean Air Policy (i.e., indoor smoking policy). “It had everything — impassioned and vocal stakeholder engagement from both sides of the issue, public health implications, and both political and philosophical arguments (courtesy of John Locke by way of La Follette Professor Emeritus John Witte).”
During the internship, Little met State of Wisconsin Investment Board Executive Director Michael Williamson, who was Chief of Staff to the Chancellor at the time. “Observing Michael, who received his MPA from the University of North Carolina, was a master class in the practical application of public policy academic principals. My mind was blown.”
As Deputy Secretary of the DNR, Little frequently needs to find consensus among a wide range of stakeholders. In his experience, active listening and understanding each person’s perspective on a particular issue is the foundation for finding consensus. “As a practical matter, especially as it relates to natural resources policy issues, consensus is often illusive and fraught with regulatory, political, legislative, fiscal, and personal stakeholder tradeoffs and challenges,” says Little. “Building consensus is the most challenging, frustrating, and rewarding part of policy implementation.”
Little gives a lot of credit for his success to his education. “At Beloit, I had the freedom to develop my intellectual curiosity,” he says. “At La Follette, I gained the analytical and public policy fundamentals which I use every day.” Little encourages students to lean into their intellectual curiosity. “Ask questions—then ask the follow-up question.”
“I’m excited to see what is in store for La Follette over the next forty years,” says Little.
Environmental Public Policy Eat & Greet
You can meet Steven Little and Randy Romanski at the upcoming Environmental Public Policy Eat & Greet, co-hosted by La Follette and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, on January 26 at 4 p.m. at the Fluno Center. The event is an opportunity for alumni working at state agencies to meet the next generation of environmental professionals and for students interested in public service to learn from professionals at the State of Wisconsin agencies. Please register if you plan to attend.
Alumni in the Spotlight
To celebrate La Follette’s 40th anniversary, each month in 2024 we are highlighting alumni who influence policymaking at the highest levels in government, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations across the country and abroad. This month, alumni who have risen to leadership positions in Wisconsin state agencies share lessons from their diverse career paths.