ASPA's 2025 Annual Conference is four and a half months away and our next registration increase is less than six weeks away. Plan now to attend the premier event of the year as we discuss the most important topics in public administration and public policy. Current registration rates* are as follows:

• Members: $449
• Students/New Professional Members: $279
• Two-Day Member Admittance: $329
• Nonmembers: $559
• Two-Day Nonmember Admittance: $439

• More than 150 concurrent sessions
• Fourteen presidential panels and plenary addresses
• Eight symposia
• Three workshops
• Opening Reception
• Career Fair
• Gloria Hobson Nordin Social Equity Luncheon
• SWPA National Awards Breakfast

It Is Time to Vote in ASPA's Elections

Voting in ASPA's 2024-2025 election is open. Through Monday, December 9, at 11:59 p.m. EST, ASPA members have the opportunity to vote for the individuals they believe should serve in ASPA's leadership.

This year, the following positions are open for election:

• President-Elect, who will serve a two-year term after which the individual ascends to the presidency for a two-year term.
• District Representative (for Districts I, II, III, IV and V) who will serve a three-year term representing their electoral District within the United States.
• Student Representative who will serve a one-year term representing both Student and New Professional members of ASPA.

Click here to learn more about the candidates running for office.

You will need your ASPA login information to vote. Please contact our membership team at [email protected] for assistance. (Need a paper ballot mailed to you? Please contact Karen Garrett for assistance.)

This is your opportunity to engage in ASPA's democratic process and choose who will represent your needs and concerns on the National Council and beyond. Vote by Monday, December 9!

E-Learning at Your Fingertips

ASPA staff work tirelessly to keep your skills up to date and the information flowing all year long through our e-learning program. Visit our website to see more details about upcoming KeepingCurrent, BookTalk and Student and New Professional series programming.



KeepingCurrent: Water Infrastructure
November 14 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST

Speaker:
Jonathan Fisk, Associate Professor, Auburn University

Whether for food production, electrical generation, human consumption or recreation, the need for safe, reliable and affordable water is increasingly on lawmakers' agendas across the globe. This webinar will explore the critical topics of resiliency within water-related infrastructure and how governance systems are meeting (or struggling to meet) the water-related needs of the 21st century.




Student and New Professionals Series: Financial Literacy
November 21 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET

Speaker:
Mark Kantrowitz, Financial Aid Expert

This webinar will focus on the contemporary financial challenges facing students and new professionals including navigating complex loan structures and funding sources. Those able to stay beyond the formal presentation will have the opportunity to interact with each other and share their stories about their financial literacy journey. We will use Natter for the second part of this event. Plan for some extra time to join us as we jump from our presentation platform, GoToWebinar, into the discussion platform, Natter, where those who attend can engage in 1:1 dialogue with each other.




From the Archives
KeepingCurrent: Bolstering Trust in State and Local Government
About 45 percent of Americans have a less than favorable view of the trustworthiness of local governments, according to the engagement and analytics company, Polco, and its think tank, the National Research Center. That may be better than is the case with the federal government but it is still a somewhat sour statistic. This webinar, sponsored by the Center for Accountability and Performance, shed bright light on this hugely important issue. (Members only)



Students and New Professionals: Avoiding Burnout in Public Service: The Importance of Personal Wellness and Self-Care
Public service, while fulfilling, also can be a grueling sector; while public service motivation is at the root of many employees' decisions to serve, that doesn't mean the work is easy. This webinar discussed what brings and adds value to public service careers—lived experiences, diversity, cross-sectional skills/relationships—and how the positives can outweigh the negatives. (Members only)

The below in memoriam was printed in our October 30 edition of Bridge. Since then, ASPA has been provided with the following details regarding a celebration of live being held at the University of Nebraska at Omaha:

Dr. Mary Hamilton’s Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, November 25, from 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the University of Nebraska at Omaha Thompson Alumni Center, 6705 Dodge Street, Omaha, Nebraska. Mary was a senior community service associate in UNO's School of Public Administration, the founder and director of the Certified Public Manager Program and had a long history of public service careers. Those planning to attend should RSVP to [email protected] by this Friday, November 15.

Mary Hamilton, who led ASPA with unparalleled professionalism and humanity as our executive director from 1997 to 2004, passed away earlier this month following an extended illness. She embodied the essence of what ASPA is about: advancing excellence in public service.

Mary was special in so many ways. Perhaps one of her finest abilities was to articulate and give greater visibility to what public service always has been about: the people—the dedicated professionals who do the public good, and those served by them. For her, this was a professional and personal mission.

During her nearly two decades at GAO, she directed operations in multiple divisions, overseeing significant improvements in recruitment, technology and cross-division collaboration. As the first woman to head a GAO regional office, she was a role model for those who followed.

At ASPA, she revitalized our organization, expanded our reach and impact with likeminded public service organizations and significantly expanded programs for our members—all while, as she put it herself, “leading from the back of the room” and providing essential continuity, focus and guidance to volunteer leaders. She cherished the organization’s history and built bridges between its past and future, leaving it in a far stronger position than what she inherited.

Then, she made the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) her professional home, where she was senior executive in residence and founded the Nebraska Certified Public Manager Program. More than a decade later, the program remains thriving, educating scores of public and nonprofit managers who have gone on to improve their communities. The National CPM Consortium went on to ask Mary to serve as its chair, which she did from 2014-2015.

Mary founded and co-led the Public Service Stories: Ask Me Why I Care project, where she and her collaborators produced videos showcasing outstanding public servants, countering government bashing and raising up the people, as she did throughout her career. These videos remain available on YouTube and continue to inspire people today.

"I have many fond memories of times spent with Mary while 'growing up' as a professional in ASPA," said current ASPA President Patria de Lancer Julnes. "Most importantly, I remember Mary’s unwavering commitment to the cause of public service. Not only did she embody selfless service to the profession, but also she was a fierce advocate and promoter of public service values through her work in the society. Mary nurtured and inspired young professionals like myself and left an enduring legacy that will forever shape our field."

Mary will be missed greatly by her family, friends, colleagues, peers and coworkers. The ASPA staff are grateful for her tremendous contributions to our organization, specifically, and will continue in our efforts to raise up the people in her memory.

Advertise with ASPA!

Did you know you can advertise your organization's services, university's schools, nonprofit's resources or professional services in ASPA publications?

ASPA hosts advertising opportunities all year long, providing those looking to expand their brand with a variety of ways to do so, targeting all corners of ASPA's audiences. From a single website placement to a long-term ad in this newsletter and more, there are so many opportunities to use ASPA's media to promote your brand. Exposure is broad: Each placement will reach more than 3,000 people (30,000 for web placements) with a viewership that updates regularly. Your brand placement will never get stale in ASPA media! Options include:

• PA Times Online Email and Website
  Distributed via email to 12,000 people per edition with a 37 percent open rate
  85 percent of website viewers are new
  Email and web placement: $2,150 per month
  Purchase this pair for six months: $10,000
  
  
• ASPA's Website
  Accessed by 30,000 unique viewers per month
  82 percent of viewers are new
  Side navigation placement: $2,290 per month
  Purchase this for six months: $12,000
  
  
• This Newsletter, Bridge!
  Distributed via email to 15,000 people per edition with a 45 percent open rate
  Ad will be included in the archived version of the edition for long-term exposure
  Top placement: $780 per edition
  Purchase this for six months: $7,500

No-Blame Problem-Solving Materials Available for Access

If you missed our webinar earlier this fall providing hands-on civics training ("No-Blame Problem Solving"), now may the perfect time to take advantage of the special materials The Citizens Campaign designed for us, available online here for use any time. Complete the brief course and you'll receive a certificate from The Citizens Campaign showcasing your newfound knowledge.

As citizens, you know you have the right to vote and the right to protest—but you probably don’t know that you have new 21st century rights and powers that let you get in the game of government problem solving. This leadership training program teaches you how to solve problems in your community and across the country, empowering you and your fellow citizens to get results on the issues you care about. You don’t have to sit on the sidelines waiting to react. You can become a “citizen leader” on the frontlines of government decisionmaking.

This isn’t the civics your parents and grandparents studied. It’s active, practitioner-informed leadership training, employing a powerful no-blame approach. Attendees will finish this program and receive a certificate demonstrating knowledge and skills gained during this hands-on workshop.

Find the materials online here. The Citizens Campaign will send you your certificate once you have completed the course.

Interested in participating in this program in person? We will host it again, next time at ASPA's 2025 Annual Conference. Add it to your conference registration (it's free!) and join fellow conference attendees to complete the training together on Monday, March 31!

ASPA Celebrates 85th Anniversary All Year

In case you have missed it so far, ASPA is celebrating our 85th anniversary all year long! No small feat for any nonprofit association, it is a real cause for celebration for ASPA and we hope you'll join us.

Our field has faced enormous change and challenge since our founding in 1939. Yet we have remained steadfast in our mission of advancing excellence in public service. Indeed, we have an important story to tell. We are an association on strong financial footing, conducting a robust program of in-person and virtual events that matter. We are home to the top-rated journal in our field. We are redefining membership in a way that attracts a growing number of practitioners. And, we make tangible investments in the development of our student and new professional members.

We do all of this with a small but dedicated staff committed to excellence. As you interact with our staff and volunteer leaders throughout this year, we ask you to think about the resources it takes to provide those connections and invite you to participate in our 85-for-85 campaign.

Please consider making a special donation in some denomination of $85 to honor our history and accomplishments... and position ASPA well for the next 85 years.

Make your donation on our website any time (log in information is required; contact us for your details) and know that not only are you supporting ASPA now, but also that you will be on the front lines ensuring that ASPA will be sending messages like this one to future generations of professionals dedicated to the public good.

Use our website now or contact us for help setting up your donation. Monthly payment plans are available!

Thank you for celebrating our 85th anniversary and supporting the future of public service.

NECoPA Board of Trustees Call for Nominations

As the Northeast Conference on Public Administration (NECoPA) celebrates its 15th anniversary, current leaders are excited to invite you to step into a leadership role with them! They are seeking passionate individuals to help shape NECoPA's future by joining its Board of Trustees. This is a unique opportunity to help guide NECoPA's mission, championing innovation and excellence in public administration across our region.

NECoPA is dedicated to advancing public administration by bringing together practitioners, academics and students for shared learning, networking and professional development. Through our annual conference, collaborations and resources, NECoPA fosters meaningful conversations and solutions for today’s most pressing public administration challenges. If you’re eager to make a difference, consider joining the Board of Trustees! As a board member, you’ll play a critical role in guiding its programs, expanding its network and ensuring NECoPA remains a vibrant community of engaged public administration professionals.

Please send NECoPA a brief bio (no more than a page, single-spaced) and headshot to introduce yourself to the community. Your bio should highlight your background, experience and why you’re interested in contributing to NECoPA’s mission. Send your nomination by email to [email protected] with the subject line, "NECoPA Trustee Nomination - [Your Last Name]."

This is your chance to make an impact, share your expertise and work alongside a community of changemakers! Nominations are due November 20, 2024.

Public Integrity: New Article Collection Available

Public Integrity and publisher Taylor & Francis are pleased to announce that a new special issue, "Qualitative Methods as Liberatory Tools" is available in front of the paywall to read and download for a limited time!

Guest Editors Staci M. Zavattaro and Ashley E. Nickels bring together papers designed to expand knowledge in public administration and policy and break out of potentially hegemonic strongholds. The authors in the collection explore topics such as power dynamics, social equity, advocacy and activism, and narrative dominance. The articles also can introduce readers to potentially new-to-them methods such as diary design, Afrofuturism and critical discourse analysis.

Public Integrity Seeks New Associate Editors

With rising numbers of article submissions, Public Integrity continues to look for additional associate editors to join its team. Primarily, PI’s associate editors work closely with Editor in Chief Sue Neal to manage the review process for journal submissions. Additionally, associate editors have the opportunity to participate in journal strategy and represent the journal at conferences. PI welcomes academics at all levels of their professional journey for consideration as possible associate editors. This is an excellent opportunity to provide service and stay abreast of the latest research in the field of public ethics and integrity.

If you are interested in being considered for this opportunity, please send your CV and write a short email outlining your experience with academic publishing to Sue Neal.

Public Administration Today Highlight



Public Administration Today features white papers, research and blogs from across the profession. If you're interested in more—especially your own curated news feed in your inbox every week—visit the website, create an account and check off your interest areas so you can stay up to date about the latest research being released!

Why Do Public Servants Become Policy Entrepreneurs?
Being an entrepreneur takes effort. It requires energy and presupposes the willingness to stick one’s neck out to bring about innovation. This is what the market tells us and the situation is not much different in politics. In fact, it’s arguable that achieving change in public policy requires even more time and energy, given the glacial speed that is sometimes the core feature of dynamic policy change.

Tips, Resources and the Fun Stuff

Yes, There Are Things to Love About Winter
It’s not all dark mornings and bulky coats.

Stressed? Writing Down a To-Do List Might Help
If you ever struggle to get to sleep, you might find that one of the things that keeps you awake is worrying about just how much you have to do the following day, especially if there are tasks that you've started, but not yet completed.

In the News

Today's headlines contain plenty of news coverage of some of our nation's most pressing public administration challenges. ASPA has curated some of the most important stories from recent weeks. If you have not seen these yet, make sure you read them now!

Infrastructure

• Pushed By Public Opinion Shift, Democrats Adopt Immigration Restrictions
• White House Memo on AI National Security Includes Workforce Training and Streamlined Immigration Proposals
• Trump Vows to "Dismantle Federal Bureaucracy" and "Restructure" Agencies with New, Musk-Led Commission

• Without Budget Anomaly, SSA Hiring Is Restricted and Overtime Is at "Historic Lows"

• New Bill Would Levy Penalties on Feds "Impeding" Presidential Directives and Require New Training
• How Could the Return of Trump-era “Schedule F” Job Appointments Reshape the Federal Workforce?
• Congress Tried to Fix Presidential Transitions. Trump Is Testing the Changes.
• Here’s What a Second Trump Term Might Look Like for Federal Employees
• Why Trump Potentially Sidestepping Normal Political Appointee Screening Is Raising Concerns
• Librarians Face a Crisis of Violence and Abuse
• Beyond Schedule F, Trump Has "Arsenal" of Ways to Target Federal Employees
• What Trump's First 100 Days in Office Could Look Like
• Federal Groups, Unions Brace for What a Second Trump Term May Bring
• An Agency-by-Agency Look at Trump's Plan to Overhaul Government

• America’s Top Archivist Puts a Rosy Spin on U.S. History—Pruning the Thorny Parts

Members in the News

America’s Civil Service Must Remain Nonpartisan
By Ron Sanders, Robert J. Shea and Robert Tobias

Trump’s Promise to Revive Schedule F Could Become a "Prompt" Reality
Includes quotes from Robert Shea and Ron Sanders.

The Crusade Against Expertise Part I
By Don Kettl

Big Brother Has Arrived… and It Wants to Know About Our Work
By Will Hatcher

Tell Me Something Good...

Harriet Tubman Posthumously Named a General in Veterans Day Ceremony
Revered abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war, was posthumously awarded the rank of general on Monday. Dozens gathered on Veterans Day at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Maryland’s Dorcester County for a formal ceremony making Tubman a one-star brigadier general in the state’s National Guard.

Around Public Administration

Here are the most recent updates from across the profession. Did we miss you? Send us your news and we'll include it in the next round!

Upcoming Events:

• 2025 COMPA Conference
  Baton Rouge, LA | March 9-12
  Theme: Elevating Public Service through Public Servants
  Call for proposals; register here
  
  
• 2025 ASPA Annual Conference
  Washington, DC | March 28-April 1
  Theme: Not Robots Yet: Keeping Public Servants in Public Service
  Registration is open
  
  
• 2025 NFBPA FORUM
  San Francisco | April 9-13
  Registration is open

• Call for Papers—Smart Government: International Journal of Public Administration
  International Journal of Public Administration seeks manuscripts that address the pressing need for advancing theoretical frameworks with sound empirical studies that investigate the research gaps in algorithmic bureaucracy across diverse administrative contexts and regimes. The objective is to motivate finer-grained theoretical models and empirical analyses examining bureaucracy and digital reforms in the AI and smart government era. We aim to explore the bidirectional relationship between bureaucracy and AI implementation across various institutional contexts using international and comparative perspectives. This special issue welcomes studies that provide clarity in either direction to contribute to strong theoretical and empirical research on bureaucracy and AI reforms. Proposals are due November 15. Click here for more information.
  
  
• SECM Call for Nominations: Louise Comfort Dissertation Award
  The Section on Emergency and Crisis Management announces its 11th annual dissertation award program, newly renamed the Dr. Louise Comfort Dissertation Award, supporting dissertation research in progress. The award supports research being performed by doctoral candidates who have successfully defended their proposal but have not completed their dissertation, working in the emergency and crisis management area. The winner will be recognized at ASPA's 2025 Annual Conference. Membership in the Section is not required to apply but will be required for award acceptance. All applications are due January 15, 2025. Contact Kaila Witkowski for more information.
  
  
• Special Issue: Public Budgeting and Finance—Adversarial Collaborations in Public Budgeting and Finance
  Adversarial collaboration, an approach proposed by Nobel Prize Laureate Daniel Kahneman, is a method for resolving scientific disputes that arise from conflicting theoretical or ideological views. Authors or teams with opposing views work together on a research project to enhance or clarify understanding of a disputed knowledge area in a mutually satisfying manner. The project is designed to eliminate clear biases or weaknesses that could skew the conclusions. The participation of adversaries throughout the study ensures shared accountability and careful communication of the research. Furthermore, there's typically a pre-commitment to publish the results, irrespective of the findings. Despite their potential, adversarial collaborations aren't as prevalent as other open science innovations aimed at enhancing credibility through transparency, like data sharing, open materials and study preregistration. Public Budgeting & Finance intends to address this shortfall with a special issue (set for late 2026 or early 2027) focused on publishing and recognizing adversarial collaborations. This initiative is open to all topics relevant to public finances. Proposed projects will be evaluated and accepted on a rolling basis through May 2025. Accepted proposals are expected to complete manuscripts by April 1, 2026. Selected teams will be invited to present results at a special conference or dedicated session on the theme of Adversarial Collaborations in Public Finance, and travel funding will be extended to invitees. For more information, contact co-editors-in-Chief Craig Johnson and Justin Ross. Click here for more information.
  
  
• PMM Special Issue Call for Papers
  Public Money and Management announces a special issue: The Politics and Management of Policing. The policing of society is a core feature of the modern state, lying at the heart of relationships between citizens and the state, with questions of legitimacy, equity, power, authority, governance as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of organizational performance as central matters of interest. Policing has some distinctive features, yet also offers insights to other public services. While police organizations are of particular scholarly and professional interest, the analysis of policing may include other groups, organizations and institutions concerned with order and safety in society, hence the focus is on policing not only police. With many countries contemplating or implementing reforms to police organizations, this topic is of wide interest to both academics and practitioners. The audience for readers of this themed issue is an interdisciplinary and broadly defined community of academics and professionals who share an interest in the research of policing, law enforcement and the provision of public safety from an organizational, managerial, governance and/or public policy analysis perspective. Editors invite articles exploring questions of policing and public management, for example concerning the legitimacy, equity, power, authority, governance and organizational performance in policing; the analysis of organizational functions such as strategic planning, human resource management, budgeting and evaluation, coordination of operations, control of accountability of policing, cooperation with public and private partners; whether and how policing is value-creating or value-destroying in different settings and social environments; changing roles and expectations of police at points of political and societal change and/or stress and austerity; comparative analysis of policing values, operations, consequences in or across different locales; political governance systems and their implications for the provision of an effective, fair and accountable police service—in both its ideal forms and its practical manifestations—for policing. All submissions are due June 16, 2025. Click here for more information.
  
  

PA TIMES Online

Here's a selection of current pieces on PA TIMES Online, covering a range of issues within the profession. We accept individual articles on a rolling basis; if you have a piece you think would fit our publication, submit it to [email protected] for consideration. (Please review our submission guidelines in advance!)

• Coaching: A Must Have in Your Leadership Development Plan
  By Ian Coyle
  
  
• Superpowers for Public Servants in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Part II
  By Mauricio Covarrubias
  
  
• How to Make a Public Administration Role-Playing Game: A Guide to Adventure-Based Learning
  By Bill Brantley