“Celebrating Black Public Service Leadership” Webinar Highlights UNC MPA Changemakers

On Tuesday, March 23, the UNC MPA program hosted “Celebrating Black Public Service Leadership,” a special topics webinar featuring panelists Jonathan Morgan, Albert and Gladys Coates Distinguished Term Professor of Public Administration and Government; Monica Allen, Director of Strategic Planning and Evaluation for Mecklenburg County and MPA adjunct faculty member; Adrienne Woods, Executive Director of Safe Passages, Inc. and current UNC MPA student; and Darren Allison, Program Analyst for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and UNC MPA class of 2017 alumnus.

The conversation included topics ranging from panelists’ motivations for choosing a public service career, the figures that inspire them in their daily work, and their thoughts on the challenging but crucial task of improving equity and inclusion in the public sector.

“During the early years of my career, I often found myself being the youngest – and in many cases, the only – person of color sitting around the table in certain meetings and settings,” Morgan said. “I think that just by showing up, we as people of color contribute to equity and diversity.”

Allen highlighted the importance of embedding equity in organizational processes, pointing to the creation of an equity and inclusion office in Mecklenburg County in response to the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in 2016. “As Director of Strategic Planning and Evaluation, my contribution is the means to the end in terms of determining the strategies that we need to put in place, and the data and metrics we need to help us track success,” Allen said.

Woods mentioned the importance of applying an equity lens to hiring processes, underscoring the importance of being intentional about bringing on team members who will contribute to an environment of inclusion. She cautioned attendees not to look only at what’s on paper when making hiring decisions, “but to hear what a candidate is saying and what they’re not saying.”

While Allison used to believe the creed of “treat others the way you want to be treated” was enough in terms of a guiding value for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, he told attendees that a recent unconscious bias course he took helped him realize he may have been missing the mark. “I think that taking a targeted, more active approach to DEI, and seeking out training opportunities to gain concrete skills, has allowed me to learn and be more self-reflective,” he said. “I think that has helped me become a better co-worker, leader, and public servant, and ultimately produce better work.”

The event was one of many recent efforts undertaken to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within the UNC MPA program. Other efforts have included a special reading assignment and discussion on DEI in public service during the class of 2022’s summer orientation, a fall 2020 five-workshop DEI training series for faculty, and a spring 2021 faculty and staff DEI training session. The School of Government is currently in the process of hiring a faculty member specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the public sector, who will further enrich SOG and MPA course offerings.

“There is so much I think attendees gained through listening to our panelists – that a public service career is a great way for a person to contribute to making places better,” Cara Robinson, Director of Admissions in the UNC MPA program, and panel facilitator, said. “I hope they were able to see the program’s commitment to improving efforts in the DEI space, to recognize and celebrate our long lineage of diverse public service leaders who are out there doing great things, and most importantly, I hope they found meaning and motivation in the panelists’ words for themselves and their work.”