Visiting Committee, Alumni Partner to Expand Opportunities for M.P.A. Students
By Paul Demitriades ('75)
The Evans School has earned a solid reputation for producing highly successful graduates. Key to sustaining this reputation is ensuring that our M.P.A. students obtain hands-on experience working on current policy issues, and internships are superb preparation for the professional positions our graduates take after completing the degree. The Evans School Visiting Committee is taking a leadership role in bolstering our students' knowledge and skills, as well as their employment prospects after graduation. Several members of this group are graduates of, or have hired graduates from, the Evans School, so they know that Parrington Hall is the place to look for new talent.
Last May, the Committee formed a Student Resources Subcommittee charged with enhancing the student experience. Goals include creating new opportunities for internships, job placements and mentoring, and attracting more outstanding applicants to the School. Wendy Holden ('76) (see related alumni profile on p.7), Washington Department of Heath, and I co-chair this effort working closely with Evans School directors Andrea Boulanger (Career Services) and Jason Smith (Student Services). While opportunities for M.P.A.
students abound everywhere in Puget Sound, of particular importance is nurturing our ties with agencies in Olympia, for whom Evans School talent is a superb resource. The best internships and job opportunities are those closely linked with emerging policy issues, in which students have a strong stake, because they know they will be applying their policy and problem-solving skills to issues of major consequence.
Performance Auditing Moves Front and Center
The expansion of performance auditing in Washington State presents very propitious opportunities for our students. Last spring, the legislature expanded the State Auditor's performance audit mandate and also created a Transportation Performance Audit Board. Washington voters passed I-900 in November, which means the State Auditor's Office will coordinate even more projects with its new authority for performance audits in local governments.
Performance audits begin with a government agency's defined goals and performance measures. They support government accountability with the addition of external monitoring that is coordinated by the State Auditor's Office or the Transportation Audit Board.
This summer, the Student Resources Subcommittee initiated its efforts by meeting with the State Auditor's Office and the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee (JLARC) in Olympia. Our goal was to explore how we can mutually help each other meet emerging policy needs through performance audit internships and job opportunities. We met with Brian Sonntag, the elected Washington State Auditor, and Linda L. Long, CPA, CGFM, Director of Administration and Performance Audits, in the State Auditor's Office. We also met with Ruta Fanning ('81), the newly selected Legislative Auditor and with Isabel Munoz Colon ('02) and John Woolley ('82), research analysts on the JLARC nonpartisan staff.
On a separate occasion, we held a similar discussion with State Representative Ross Hunter (D-48th), the new chair of the joint House/Senate bi-partisan JLARC. We learned about these leaders' on-the-job experiences, audit-related needs or projects for which Evans School students would be ideally suited, and possible curricular offerings at the Evans School, such as performance audit seminars. JLARC has been conducting performance audits and other evaluation studies since the early 1970s. The organization has issued over 140 reports to improve government operations over the last decade, and has reported a whopping $500 million in savings for Washington taxpayers since 1990!
While some work is contracted to private consulting/accounting firms, we are enthusiastic about the contributions that Evans School students could make now to help state agencies become more results-driven. Internships are one example of the many ways the Evans School partners with government agencies to improve public service for all citizens. The Student Resources Subcommittee and Evans School Student Services staff will continue to work with the State Auditor's Office, JLARC, and many other public and nonprofit organizations to build mutually beneficial partnerships.
There are many ways you—our alumni—can help. Encourage your organization to hire well-qualified Evans School interns and graduates. Let Evans School Career Services know about openings in your organization and if you can offer occasional career mentoring to our students. Email Andrea Boulanger at aboulang@u.washington.edu or call 206.616.1609. Strong alumni advocacy is the difference between a good school and a great school!
(1) In early November, the Evans School hosted a public forum on the history and future of performance auditing in Washington. Listen to panel discussions online at www.tvw.org by searching for From the Forum.
Demitriades, an Evans School alumnus, is principal, PB Demitriades Management & Consulting and a member of the Evans School Visiting Committee. For many years, he was an executive with The Boeing Company.
Return to January 2006 MPA Alumni News
