Only three weeks until the most comprehensive public administration conference of the year!

Do you know the way to San Jose? If not, you will want to find your way there April 9th -13th for the American Society for Public Administration’s Annual Conference.

Highlights include the Opening Plenary Session with John Berry, Director of OPM, and the Elliot Richardson Lecture featuring Paul Volcker, Chairman of the U.S. Economic Recovery Advisory Board and former Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Norman Mineta, former Secretary of Transportation, is the honorary conference chair. In addition to over 100 educational offerings we offer a Student and New Professionals Summit and a fantastic welcome reception at the Tech Museum of Innovation. There will be something for everyone.

Over 1000 federal, state and local government officials, and employees, scholars, practitioners, new professionals and students are expected to come together for training, networking, exchanging ideas and learning about the best practices in the field. Don’t be left out!

This year’s theme, Invigorating Public Service for Change, reflects not only a trend in public administration, but also the movement of the country as well. Our nation faces daunting short and long term challenges in restoring economic growth, financing costs of the baby boom retirement, providing more cost effective health care, reducing global warming and repairing a shattered infrastructure. The nation is now turning to the public sector to resolve these problems and expects public officials and private partners alike to ease financing problems in the short term while building a more sustainable future for the next generations. Over 200 public service experts will be on hand to cover creative solutions encountered in the workplace. Through keynote presentations, SuperSessions, workshops, panels, roundtable discussions and poster presentations, attendees will experience first-hand leadership skills to elevate the public service profession. Programming will reflect ASPA’s broad mission and diverse membership.

San Jose and the entire bay area have an abundance of fun and exciting things to do. For the adventurer there is the Winchester Mystery House built by the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune. This Victorian style mansion has stairs leading to the ceiling, doors that lead to walls and many other oddities. For the gourmet, San Jose has diverse cuisine ranging from imaginative flavor fusions to feel-good comfort food and don’t forget the wine tours and tastings at nearby vineyards. For the sportsman or woman, there is biking, hiking, baseball, golfing and of course the NHL Sharks hockey team. Cultural enthusiasts will not want to miss the San Jose Museum of Art showcasing 20th and 21st century artworks, just minutes from the Fairmont; the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium; and The Tech Museum of Innovation, where the Conference Welcome Reception will be held. Why not extend your stay and take advantage of all that San Jose has to offer? Hotel room block rates are good three days before the conference and three days after the conference.

Who Should Attend?

Are you a public service professional? Are you interested in working smarter? Do you want to develop new leadership skills or improve on existing skills? Are you new to the public service field? If you answered “yes” to any of the above, then you should be making plans to be in San Jose April 9-13, 2010 to attend the ASPA Annual Conference. You’ll be in good company with administrators, senior and mid-level managers, new professionals and students.