Tag Archives: public service

Encouraging People to Serve in the Public Sector: Meet Nicole Trinh


Posted by ajlovesya

Continuing with my interviews with some of the leaders I met at the 80 Million Strong for Young American Jobs Summit, I am happy to feature Nicole Trinh, education and outreach inter at the U.S. Public Service Academy, a growing nonprofit that will “The U.S. Public Service Academy will be the civilian counterpart to the military service academies.”   I asked her to share information about her work and what she learned from the summit.  Enjoy!

Tell us about yourself

My name is Nicole Trinh and I am a graduate student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas (UT). I also received my Bachelor’s degree from UT and it was there that I developed my passion for higher education and public service issues.

Tell us about your organization and your role in it

I serve as the Education & Outreach intern for the U.S. Public Service Academy. We’re a non-profit organization with the sole mission to get Congress to build a national service Academy. This Academy would serve as the civilian counterpart to the military academies—think of a civilian West Point. I’ve spent the summer reaching out to various foundations and organizations, but more importantly garnering support from notable leaders within the military and higher education.

Why did you participate in the 80 Million Strong Summit?

I thought the 80MS Summit would be a great avenue to meet some of the most accomplished and passionate individuals all across the country (and it was!). More specifically, it was a chance for me to be a part of a single coalition that would address the youth unemployment crisis in our nation while contributing to that effort on behalf of the Academy.

How do you believe you are bringing about social change?

I think, like many others, I am bringing about social change in an individual and collective capacity each day. The conversations—both formal and informal I have with people are small steps to spreading awareness of the many changes needed for our country. But more concretely, it’s the collective effort of organizations who are fighting for change on Capitol Hill that are most impactful. By influencing policy legislatively—climate to health care to education, that’s where the larger side of social change must happen.

Did you learn anything from the Summit that has helped you in your work?

I came into the Summit thinking that we were going to tackle the youth unemployment crisis and we did. However, I walked out realizing that we only touched the surface of it. It was both disheartening and motivating to learn just how many issues there were left to tackle and just how much change was needed for the future. I simply was inspired to continue pushing for a U.S. Public Service Academy!

If people want to help you or learn more about what you do, how can they help and get in touch?

There are so many ways to be a part of the Academy effort! I recommend people go to our website www.uspublicserviceacademy.org to learn more about what we’re doing. And of course, I’d be happy to speak to anyone about the initiative as well: trinh@uspublicserviceacademy.org or 202-712-9121.

What are some solutions to the youth unemployment crisis and how does your organization if at all, address this issue?

I honestly believe the youth unemployment crisis begins with our country’s investment in higher education. We need to ensure that our young people are better equipped with the hard and soft skills that are required of the 21st century workforce. More importantly, access is key to it all. We need to establish programs that allow young people to not only receive a quality education but also have opportunities that grant them work experience. The U.S. Public Service Academy would do both—give young people a chance to receive a free education while also serving their country as a civilian servant in the public sector.

What resources have been helpful in furthering the mission of your organization?

As displayed on our endorsements list, the support from various organizations, college leaders, military officers, and local/state officials have helped get our effort through Congress. It’s also been the persistence and passion of our volunteers all across the country that have truly made this a grassroots effort. We can always use more help though!

How do you balance going to school while working with this organization?

I committed myself full-time to the organization this summer but I hope to continue working for its cause as I finish up my graduate degree. It will definitely require a lot of time management and work efficiency but when you’re that passionate about something, anything is possible.

What advice would you give to a young person wanting to address youth unemployment?

I believe it’s very important to educate yourself on any issue before diving in. So my advice is to go out and not only research the factors of youth unemployment but also educate yourself on what organizations are doing about it. From there, find a couple solutions that you feel really strongly about, join the effort, and start moving!


Are You Joining a Sector or Joining a Cause?


Posted by ajlovesya

In one of the sessions in the Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Public Service, Dean Schall of NYU Wagner cautioned us not to focus on the sector we are in and instead think of the change we want to see and pick the best path to make it happen. The reality is that each sector—government, for-profit, and non-profit—is instrumental for a society to thrive and they all work together more often than we realize.

This advice made me wonder: does public service require one to work at a nonprofit, or does it mean dedicating one’s work to the greater good, regardless of the sector? For example, in The Triple Bottom Line, Savitz argues that sustainable for-profits won’t need to have corporate philanthropy or volunteer programs because the way in which they do business will be shaped to support the communities in which they are located. Another book, The Idealist.org Handbook to Building a Better World, offers tangible tips on creating change no matter what sector you are in.

I think many of us who work in nonprofits find ourselves in the sector because of the causes we are passionate about. We may view our employment at a nonprofit as secondary to our identities as educators, lawyers, health care providers, social workers, etc. In other words, some of us just happen to be in the sector unless you are in a position that is fairly nonprofit specific (i.e. fundraising or executive director) or are making a transition from for-profit to nonprofit.

But this also makes me wonder if this attitude hurts the sector. I find that people will discuss their commonalities as nonprofit employees if it is related to something bad as opposed to wanting to harness the commonalities that make the sector unique. It is easier to focus on your subfield—education, health, law, etc—than to think of yourself as part of larger field and work on collaborating and strengthening the whole.

In my view, the sectors are fundamentally different, have different social roles, and therefore mean different things to the public. So while you should choose the path that allows you to do your best work, not acknowledging how your sector interacts with the public, other sectors, and the state of its employees may actually weaken your ability to fully engage your cause.

What are your thoughts? Are you part of a cause or part of a sector or both?


The Candidates and Public Service


Posted by ajlovesya

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is providing amazing coverage of the presidental candidates’ involvement and approach to non profits, philanthropy, and public service.  Additionally they track congressional actions as they relate to non-profits.

Notable:

McCain supports the Troop-to-Teachers Act, a program to train veterans to become teachers, and introduced legislation to extend the program.

Obama has pledged to create a Social Investment Fund Network, which would distribute government and private money to charities working on innovative projects that focus on issues that have been identified by cities as priorities — crime prevention or education, for example — and help expand successful ones to other regions.

A friend of mine joked that the problem with Obama is that he is asking people to do too much; that he places too much responsibility on citizens to make change.  I found this ironic since the republican platform is that citizens should be responsible for creating the communities they desire. 

At the same time the key difference is that Obama plans to implement policies and programs to enable citizen participation, where as republicans seem to want to roll back government involvement in creating any kind of environment for action focusing on the market’s ability to inspire action based on citizens’ needs. 

What do you think of the candidates’ approach to public service?