Q: What was the path you took to get to where you are now?
A: So the shortest way to answer: I took the part time job I had while in the MPA and turned it into a full-time job. I’ve never left. I started with Rebuilding Together of the Triangle as the first employee in fall of 2008 and when I finished the program in 2010, they offered me a full-time role, and I’ve been there ever since. The oranization has grown – my title is the same, but my job has changed very much over the last 6-8 years
Q: Have you pursued any other certifications since your MPA?
I’ve done a few speciality licenses in my field – like Licensed General Contractor, Licensed Septic Installer, and all sorts of things like that. Since I have a leadership role in housing preservation, I’ve had to learn about contracting.
Q: Is the field you are working in now relevant to your MPA degree?
A: Yeah – Housing and non-profit. Public interest in affordable housing is at an all-time high right now. I went to the MPA interested in housing recovery and disaster management, and it ended up a lot of what I did and the opportunities I had were around addressing housing quality issues. A lot of the work I do is done in partnerships with local, state, and federal gov and their housing efforts, so it’s been a great degree for me.
A lot of the relationships I formed initially through the program have also been a big part of my professional life. In an MPA group project I did with Catawba County and the [then] Assistant County Manager Lee Worsley, UNC MPA alum – now Executive Director with Central Pines Regional Council in the Triangle is a primary local partner of mine now. We formed a relationship in the program that has been instrumental to our current work.
Q: How did the MPA program specifically prepare you for future work experiences or inform what you do now?
A: The biggest thing was helping me more thoroughly understand the way that the governing process worked internally and providing an understanding of how to develop programs and strategies that work in public-private-non-profit spaces. Also, the relationships that elected officials and organizations have to approach challenges and problems and how they can become community partners to come to the table with solutions. The MPA program gave me the tools to be a good partner and to build programs that we can actually work with.
Q: What was the path you took to get to where you are now?
A: Out of the MPA program, I came to Washington to work at the GAO. I had a great 5 years there and applied everything I learned in the program including data analysis, public speaking, and writing. From there I had the privilege of working on budget issues in the US Senate, at the US Department of Transportation and Treasury on high level issues helping to manage large departments of tens of thousands of people. I am now a consultant and teach at American University. The path I took in short was not direct, but I did always want to serve and hope to continue to do that in the future.
Q: Have you pursued any other certifications since your MPA?
A: I am a National Association of Public Administration fellow, a Strategic Advisor to Government Executives (SAGE) with the Partnership for Public Service, and a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute.
Q: Is the field you are working in now relevant to your MPA degree?
A: Yes, I currently teach government executives about leadership at American University. In my consulting work, I have led large nonprofit projects, advised companies how to make their products more applicable to the public sector, and written on topics of public policy.
Q: How did the MPA program specifically prepare you for future work experiences or inform what you do now?
A: The MPA program’s multi-disciplinary approach to public sector management was the best training I could have hoped. Not only did I have the analysis background to support decision-makers, I also used the writing and public speaking skills central to the MPA program to clearly communicate the results and implications of the proposed course of action in an understandable way. The MPA program made me ready day one and I still use lessons from the program more than 20 years later.
Q: Have you been able to fulfill goals formulated while in the MPA program? If so, how?
A: Great question. I came to the program to understand how to make public organizations run better to serve citizens in the most effective way. I have had multiple opportunities to do that, and I hope I have many more.
Q: What was the path you took to get to where you are now?
My path was not super linear. After undergrad, I tested the waters in some other fields, including law. It didn’t take me too long to realize that I wanted a career path more aligned with my personal passion of serving the public. I followed the advice of a mentor to look up people with careers that I admire and to see what kind of credentials they had. That’s when I kept coming across something called an MPA. It was the first time I had heard of this degree and was pleased to see that Carolina (my alma mater) had this as an option. The next thing I knew, I was applying for the online option, which allowed me to continue to work while earning my degree. In the blink of an eye, I had earned my degree and was working in local government, which was my goal when I started this journey.
Q: Have you pursued any other certifications since your MPA?
Since earning my degree, I have received a Certificate in Insights for Innovation (through IDEO U). This certificate is focused on using human-centered design approaches. I also earned my Black Belk from the Denver PEAK Academy.
Q: Is the field you are working in now relevant to your MPA degree?
Yes, it’s directly related. My focus is on strategic planning and continuous process improvement in local government.
Q: How did the MPA program specifically prepare you for future work experiences or inform what you do now?
The MPA Program helped me uncover my passion for things like local government and organizational theory. Importantly, it also helped me identify my strengths and understand the contributions I could bring to any organization. Throughout the program, I was exposed to many different case studies, lessons, and practical experiences that helped me build a solid foundation that would allow me to understand and approach complex challenges. This is critical to my current work. The Program’s emphasis on leadership development and the importance of adaptability have also been key in my career path. I could go on and on about how the MPA Program helped to prepare me and am happy to connect with anyone who would like to hear more, but I’ll end here by saying that the thing that I think truly makes this specific MPA program unique is the way that it helps you build a network of peers and mentors. When I entered the Program, I didn’t expect to make a lot of friends or connections – especially being in the online program. I’m still blown away by the MPA family I’m surrounded by today. I have so many friends and mentors that I’ve made through this program who have helped me beyond belief. The network is never-ending, and even though I’m a few years out of the program, I continue to be connected with new folks who are seasoned and recent graduates.
Q: Have you been able to fulfill goals formulated while in the MPA program? If so, how?
Definitely. I wasn’t sure how likely it would be that I would end up in local government. I was open to work in other levels of government, the nonprofit sector, and the private sector; however, my real goals were to one day work in the local government setting in an area that was meaningful to me. A few short months after graduating the Program, I was able to achieve both of those goals.
Q: Any other items you wish to share!
I’d just like to add that I have no regrets about pursuing my MPA from UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Government. It’s a truly outstanding program with the best support system. The faculty, staff, students, and alumni are all amazing and I’m forever grateful for my past and continued experience with the Program.
Dylan Russell is the executive director of Lead for North Carolina at the UNC School of Government and a co-founder of Lead for America. Lead for North Carolina places students in high-impact fellowships in local government across the state. He has secured over $6 million in private support to advance Lead for North Carolina’s mission and has placed 110 young people in local government fellowships across the state. Dylan also launched the NC COVID-19 Student Response Corps with the Office of Strategic Partnerships and placed 300 student interns in local governments and nonprofits across North Carolina. Prior to serving as executive director, Dylan was a development officer at the School of Government, a policy analyst at the NC Department of Public Instruction, a fifth-grade public school teacher, a White House intern, and a member of the Board of Trustees at Appalachian State University. Dylan served as president of the Graduate Student Body at UNC and president of the Student Body at Appalachian. Dylan was awarded the Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award from the UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor and the Plemmons Leadership Medallion by the Appalachian State University Board of Trustees.
Russell is an instructor in the UNC School of Government’s Master of Public Administration program. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University, an MPA from UNC-Chapel Hill, and is pursuing his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University.
The UNC MPA Program gave Dylan the tools, network, and skills he needed to launch Lead for North Carolina and co-create Lead for America. The UNC MPA Program was where he first studied the silver tsunami and human capital pipeline concerns in public management. The School’s commitment to bridging scholarship to practitioners inspired Dylan to create a similar model to connect future talent with high impact positions in local government. The faculty’s mentorship, guidance, and support were and continue to be critical in Lead for NC’s operations.
Many people discover their calling through trial and error in college. Tiffany Oliva discovered hers as a child, through seeing inequity up close, in her family.
From a young age, Oliva was exposed to several government-assistance programs, such as SNAP/EBT and food pantries and other public services. She grew up in a single-parent household, and her mother was diagnosed with a chronic disease that left her with fewer work opportunities. Oliva grew up grateful for the services that helped support her mother and her family, but it also spurred her interest in seeking out ways to improve access to these services across communities.
These experiences fueled her desire to serve in local government, and to champion the values of a strong local government and what it could do for at-risk communities.
Oliva graduated with a BA in Public Policy from UNC in 2018. She joined the city of Winston-Salem, which faced some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country, and was tasked with supporting the development and implementation of services to address the issue. The pandemic, however, made the need for resources and information even more urgent. She did incredible work, helping to create an English and Spanish resource map, establishing meal sites at recreational centers and COVID-19 testing sites, and making urban agriculture more accessible to those in need.
In March 2021, she was asked to serve as the city’s ARPA coordinator. She is currently working with 15 city departments in developing a robust strategy to address key public social and economic issues, and close gaps, within her community.
“I want to continue my career in local government to help families like mine who, despite their hard work, too often find themselves in extraordinarily challenging circumstances,” she said. “I believe in the power of city government to build strong communities where people from all walks of life can thrive.”
Oliva decided not to go to graduate school immediately after completing her bachelor’s program. She instead immersed herself in her work and career, continuing to hone her focus. After talking to program alumni, in August 2020, she enrolled in the online MPA program.
“I think the two years between undergrad and graduate school confirmed my desire to pursue an MPA. It also helped me to determine why the MPA was a better fit for me than an MPP or an MPH. The MPA offered me the opportunity to build on my undergraduate policy knowledge,” she said. “Knowing my focus (in local government), it was hard NOT to choose the School of Government. The MPA’s dedication to build public service–oriented and transformational leaders also strongly aligned with my values. I’m surely biased, but I don’t believe I could get that same education anywhere else and in any other program.”
UNC’s online MPA program offers an extensive network and academic advisors who can answer your questions. “I also felt really supported in my decision after speaking with other MPA alumni like Ed Kitchen (the former city manager of Greensboro) and Regina Ford Hall (executive director of the Boston Thurmond Community Network),” she said. “I knew just how many strong, impactful public service leaders the SOG produces, but also how much local governments, in general, rely on the knowledge and expertise of its faculty.”
Going online offered Oliva many benefits, too.
“I am so thankful that the UNC School of Government has an online option for the MPA. As a first-generation college student and someone who grew up in a low-income family, I was worried about not being able to work while I studied, to pay for my graduate studies.”
As she began the program, she continued her work with the city of Winston-Salem, putting into practice the newfound knowledge and theories taught in the classroom.
“Public administration was the right path for me,” she said, “because it provides you with the tools you need to be a public administrator—from managing budgets to people, and applying
for grants to innovating on performance management.”
“There are a lot of opportunities in local government, and I hope more young people, like myself, will explore local government as a career.”
In a recent Research and Design course, Oliva explored the impact of local government’s race and ethnicity on their respective local government’s public. It’s important to have accurate representation, she said, “especially with the growth of the Hispanic/Latinx community. There have not been many Hispanic/Latinx city or county managers, or just in leadership in general. I am looking forward to breaking that mold.”
UNC’s School of Government offers countless opportunities for students to go further and lead in their own way. Oliva has had the opportunity to participate in the NASPAA-Batten Global Simulation Competition, where she and her teammates had to react to a simulated pandemic, competing against 400 other students from 120 universities and 30 countries. Her team was first runner-up.
Oliva was also selected for the Engaging Local Government Leaders and Government Finance Officers Association’s prestigious Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) fellowship. Through the fellowship, she partnered with the city of Trenton, Ohio, and worked with the city manager for more hands-on financial experience.
While the School of Government enabled Oliva to pursue these and many other outside experiences, it has also created many opportunities inside the online classroom.
“For example,” she said, “in my Human Resources Management course, we are required to participate in a mock interview with an alumna of the program. I think the mock interview serves two purposes: to prepare yourself for the job search, but also to connect you with alumni of the program. … My recent interviewer is a city manager in Maine, and it was so great to hear about her work and share about mine through the mock interview process. I am looking forward to staying connected.”
When asked what advice she would give to prospective students, Oliva said,“My advice is to just go for it.”
Her experience talking to past students is what ultimately helped her decide on UNC for public administration. As far as being online versus in person, she stresses that you can truly define how connected you want to be, because the School of Government “really facilitates a strong opportunity for connection in so many different formats.”
“Being online gives me a great deal of flexibility, access to the same world-class faculty, and also allows me to continue to work full time while building that practical and theoretical framework for my future.”
Oliva will graduate in 2022. Her diverse perspective and dedication to the community are sure to make this world a better place.
“I don’t know what the road has ahead for me in local government,” she said, “but I feel fortunate to have found my calling early in life.”