Student Highlights

Avery Adams took full advantage of Spring Break by studying abroad in England and Scotland and had a blast. (This is a shot of her in front of the Tower Bridge in London.)

This study abroad experience was led by Dr. Alexis Miller in NKU's Criminal Justice program, which is part of the same department as the MPA program. Dr. Miller teaches students about justice systems in England and Scotland, including how they differ from the United States in terms of organization, administration, and outcomes. The study abroad adventure included tours of various government
offices, court rooms, and correctional facilities.  

Last year, a couple of our MPA classes worked with the nonprofit organization ReNewport on service-learning projects to identify strategies for improving Buena Vista Park in Newport, KY. It's exciting to see some improvements happening at the park -- specifically, the installation of new playground equipment -- thanks to funding from the City of Newport, KY.

"Parks are not only where kids go to play, meet their friends, and have fun. They are also special places where families can go spend time together," said Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. "Parks continuously improve the quality of life of Newport and are great amenities for our residents to enjoy.”

You can learn more in this Northern Kentucky Tribune article.

Chris Courtney was named Associate Director for Local Government Services at the Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD). He took on this new role after serving for seven years as Manager of Communications and Community Affairs for the Boone County Fiscal Court.

At the NKADD, Chris will lead a team that’s responsible for public administration and community development services, including grant application and administration, infrastructure planning, brownfield redevelopment, GIS mapping, emergency preparedness, and more.

“Chris is a solutions-oriented leader.” said Tara Johnson-Noem, NKADD Executive Director. “We are thrilled for him to join NKADD and to start working on behalf of our cities and counties.”

You can read more about Chris and the NKADD in this Northern Kentucky Tribune article.

Our Capstone students participated in a professional development session with a few members of the NKU MPA Advisory Board in preparation for the next stage of their public service careers. It was an informative, interesting and fun experience, especially with our online students engaging from various parts of Kentucky and Ohio.  

Many thanks to our Advisory Board members who prepared for and participated in this session: Juliana Baquero McGuinn, Director of the North Central Area Health Education Center; Tim Haizlip, Vice President of Maintenance and Asset Management, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport; and T.J. White, Executive Director, Center for Local Government.  

The NKU spotlight focused on MPA student Ron Mosby in January! First, Ron was recognized as a "Hometown Hero" at the Northern Kentucky University Men's Basketball game on Saturday night. He received tickets to attend the game with his family and, at the start of the second half, was recognized by the announcer and the crowd.  

In addition, Ron was featured on the Tactically Acquired podcast, which is produced in partnership by the NKU Veterans Resource Station - Northern Kentucky University and the Northern Kentucky University: History Department. The podcast's goal is "to document military connected living history in a fun and easy environment."  

In this Tactically Acquired episode, Ron discusses his previous role as a U.S. Navy Officer and his current role as a graduate student in the NKU MPA program. The full episode (42 minutes) is available here.

Congratulations, Ron, on this well-deserved recognition of your public service career and contributions! And thank you for your service!

Nick Wade (MPA student) is the new Campaign Manager with ArtsWave. This nonprofit's mission is "to fuel a more vibrant regional economy and connected community through the arts" in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky through funding, services and advocacy.  

Nick previously served as Executive Director of Renaissance Covington for nearly four years. This nonprofit's mission involved "amplifying the vibrancy of Downtown Covington’s evolving community" with arts and cultural events and other programming. Renaissance Covington leaders recently declared "mission accomplished" and decided to shut down the organization after 20 years of operations.  

LINK NKY published a couple of articles related to these transitions and changes. The first is a brief story related to Nick's decision to take the ArtsWave position.

The second is a lengthy article that focuses on Renaissance Covington, particularly its impact on the city, businesses, neighborhoods, and residents.  

In case you haven't heard, Clayton Castle (MPA student) has started The Norse Up Podcast with Jude Noel, and their first few guests have MPA connections.   

In their first episode, Clayton and Jude interviewed Dr. Ryan Salzman about his research on creative placemaking, his service as a local city councilmember, and his observations and opinions related to the 2022 elections.  

In the third episode, The Norse Up Podcast featured Nick Bliven (MPA 2022), who currently serves as Program Coordinator of FUEL NKU. Nick talked about this on-campus pantry, including the various ways it serves students. Also, he discussed FUEL NKU's Friendsgiving Celebration, which will take place on Monday, November 21, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.  

FYI, Clayton is a Public Relations Specialist at NKU, and Jude is a Communications Specialist at the university. Be sure to check out their Norse Up Podcast, and consider liking and subscribing.  

As Executive Director of Renaissance Covington, Nick Wade (MPA student) worked on the development of the NKY Innovator Gallery, which officially opened over the summer. This public art installation is a 36-by-36-foot mural depicting portraits of 13 early entrepreneurs in Covington -- including inventors, scientists, and civil rights leaders -- painted by 13 local artists.

Renaissance Covington is a nonprofit organization with a mission to "amplify the vibrancy of Downtown Covington’s evolving community." Its programming includes the Pike Street Pop-Up Shop, Covington Farmers Market, "Lov the Cov" e-gift cards for local businesses, and various arts and cultural events.

This Soapbox Cincinnati article provides a great overview of the NKY Innovator Gallery and another major public art project in Covington! To learn more about Renaissance Covington, you can visit its web site at (rcov.org) and follow it on social media.

Dr. Kobena Osam taught our Data Analysis class (PAD 616) in an online synchronous format over the summer, which allowed for students to engage with each other and with a community partner on a service-learning project.

Dr. Osam immersed his students in a live dataset from the Village of Woodlawn, Ohio, in partnership with Village Manager Anson Turley (MPA 2022). The dataset was a 60-item survey of Village employees measuring various aspects of their work experiences including job satisfaction, engagement, pay and benefits perception, diversity, leadership, and development opportunities. The students conducted analyses and made data-driven recommendations on organizational culture and performance.  

On the final day of class, the students presented their findings to Anson and Dr. Osam, and Dr. Darrin Wilson attended to provide additional feedback and insight (screenshot below). It looks -- and sounds -- as if everyone enjoyed working on this project while learning about data analysis. Great job, everyone!  

MPA student Mark Takigiku is working on a couple fronts with the City of Covington, Kentucky. Mark is currently serving as the City’s Economic Development Intern and, for his Capstone project, he is conducting research on businesses in Covington with a focus on evaluating the effects of buying locally within the community. If you own or manage a business in Covington, please consider completing the survey for this project which should take about 15 minutes.  

In Spring 2022, Amanda Johnston developed a Volunteer Handbook for the Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub as her capstone project. The Hub is a new nonprofit and is currently run by the board members and volunteers. The handbook contained detailed information that offers important and relevant information to current and prospective volunteers including responsibilities, rights, and specific organization policies.

Michele Adams is currently working on a Fall capstone project that involves surveying NKU students who are taking courses online to identify strategies to engage them. Currently, NKU’s Center for Student Engagement has many different in-person events planned for the traditional students. The survey is geared to get feedback from online students regarding their interest to engage in these current events and to identify new events that they would be interested to participate.  

Many of our MPA classes involve experiential learning, for which students work with public and nonprofit organizations in our region to apply their newly-acquired knowledge and skills. During our Resource Acquisition & Management class (PAD 621) in the Spring semester, students worked with ReNewport, MoBo Bicycle Co-op, and The Village Green Foundation to share fundraising information and ideas.  

Representatives of these local nonprofits attended the students' end-of-semester presentations and provided assessments of their presentations and written materials. The following are a few quotes from these assessments:

"These students have done a great job delving into our small but extremely complicated organization. They managed to very clearly break down our core programming and how it relates to our mission & vision ... ."

"There was also helpful info in presentation and paper on how relaying this information clearly and consistently to potential donors will help them connect to our cause and activate their 'joy of giving.'"

"This was a great project, and has lots of actionable ideas, practical advice, and ready to use (with light modification) materials. ... All of the outputs, including the presentation, come off as informed and professional."

"Just an overall really great presentation filled with info that we will absolutely be using moving forward! Thank you again for providing it for our organization!"  

Kudos to the students for being so committed to these small local nonprofits, especially in finding ways to enhance their organizational capacity! And thanks again to ReNewport, MoBo, and Village Green for working with us on this service learning experience!

Also during the spring semester, our Foundations of Public Service class (PAD 500) participated in NKU's Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project with funds from ArtsWave. Students in this online class were charged with researching, writing, assessing, and discussing nonprofit organizations that provide arts programming in northern Kentucky. They focused on nonprofits with an emphasis on social equity, which is a pillar of public administration.

Ultimately, the PAD 500 class selected two nonprofits for $1,000 grant awards -- Esperanza Latino Center of NKY and Pones. Esperanza is a one-stop center that provides services and resources to the growing Hispanic/Latino community in our region. Pones provides artistic opportunities for community growth and powerful change by creating new ways for audiences to experience dance and performance art.  

For this online class, the Mayerson project encourages students to learn more about nonprofit organizations, including how they interact with government agencies, communities, and community members. The experiential philanthropy process also helps engage students in our region and makes the course content more meaningful -- that is, "brings it to life"! Read more about the Mayerson projects from Spring 2022 here.  

Tony Stieritz (MPA student), CEO of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, was interviewed by Spectrum News 1 Ohio about the possible resettlement of Ukrainians in Ohio. Catholic Charities is the official agency for refugee resettlement in Greater Cincinnati, working in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State.  

According to the article, Tony said it may take months or even years before Ukrainian refugees resettle in Ohio and other states. People must apply for refugee status with the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, and this status typically indicates there is no hope of ever returning to their home country. Many Ukrainians are not ready to take that step, after a few weeks into the Russian invasion.

Since 1980, Catholic Charities of Southwestern Ohio has helped more than 12,000 refugees find housing and jobs, enroll in school, and get acclimated to their new communities. In recent years, the nonprofit has assisted people mostly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Read more in the Spectrum article here.

Nick Bliven, MPA student and FUEL NKU Coordinator, was part of some media stories about the "Souper Bowl Food Drive," which is designed to collect items for the on-campus food pantry around the Cincinnati Bengals' historic appearance in the Super Bowl this year. See this story out of ABC 36/WTVQ in Lexington, Kentucky.)  

Prysmian Group set a goal of collecting 1,989 items for FUEL NKU ... a goal that recognizes the last year the Bengals made it to the Super Bowl. Prysmian is an Italian company with its North American operations based in Highland Heights which, of course, is home to NKU. “I was really pleased to learn Prysmian was collecting items for us because we get a lot of support from churches and community groups but not a lot through donation drives,” Nick said.  

FUEL is an acronym for "Feeding the University and Enriching Lives," and the pantry provides fresh produce, other food items, and hygiene products to all NKU students. The only requirements are having an NKU All Card and being enrolled in courses. Visit FUEL's web site to learn more.

Many of our MPA classes engage in service learning, student philanthropy, and other projects involving local and regional organizations. During the Fall 2021 semester, students in our Grant Research, Writing & Management class (PAD 623) engaged in multiple community-based experiences to enhance their knowledge, understanding, and skills related the grants world. Many thanks to these local organizations and leaders!  

Specifically, PAD 623 students worked with ReNewport, The Village Green Foundation (VGF), and MoBo Bicycle Co-op to research potential grantmakers, draft grant proposals/applications, and design evaluation frameworks.   

In addition to these service learning projects, the class was involved with two student philanthropy experiences through NKU's Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project. First, students reviewed and assessed grant applications submitted by local nonprofits to the Duke Energy Foundation. Second, with financial support from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF), the students worked through a direct grantmaking process, selecting one local organization for a $1,000 grant award while learning lessons about grantmaking and grant writing.  

Last but not least, representatives of key funders in our region met with students to discuss important issues and trends, such as equity-based grantmaking, trust-based philanthropy, and the importance of data and storytelling. These guests included Laura Menge of GCF, Casey Ruschman of the Scripps Howard Foundation, and Jena Bradly and Amy Weber of the United Way. Thanks to all!  

Congratulations to MPA student Doug Mollett on becoming Director of Economic Empowerment Programs at Easterseals Serving Greater Cincinnati. In this role, Doug oversees two programs working to achieve one goal - removing barriers to employment that prevent families from long-term financial stability. These barriers can include lack of stable transportation, unstable housing, lack of childcare, criminal records, etc. Doug and his team partner with various agencies in the community to address these barriers and offer high-demand job trainings in areas such as State Tested Nursing Assistants, phlebotomy, manufacturing and construction, etc.  

For nearly 100 years, Easterseals has provided services to help children and adults with disabilities and/or special needs as well as support to their families. Today, Easterseals assists more than one million individuals and their families annually at more than 550 Easterseals service sites across the country. Each center provides top-quality, innovative services tailored to meet the specific needs of the people they serve.

A few months ago, Abby Fritsch (MPA student) started as Project Manager at the Community Health Alliance in Fairfield, Ohio. This is the next step in her career in the field of health and human services -- to a management role. Congratulations and best wishes, Abby!   

The Community Health Alliance represents the merging of two organizations (Sojourner Recovery Services and TLC), which serve people with chemical dependency needs, mental health needs, or both. It provides psychiatric services, individual and group counseling, employment programs, court outreach, mental health residential treatment, homeless outreach, and more.  

Prior to this role, Abby was a Social Service Worker for Butler County, Ohio, where she maintained a caseload of families in need of supportive services and investigated cases of child abuse and neglect. And previously, she worked at The Gathering Place in Denver, Colorado, which is the region's only drop-in center that serves women, transgender individuals, and their children who are experiencing poverty and often homelessness.

Congratulations to Haley Jacobs for securing a Graduate Assistant (GA) position in Housing!  

As an Assistant Residence Life Coordinator, Haley will assist with departmental opening and closing processes, facilitating community development, coordinating staff programming efforts, serving as a referral agent for students, and assisting in the selection and supervision of RA staff.  

GA positions in housing come with many perks! The GA receives a furnished, private apartment, nine credit hour tuition waiver, $4,000 stipend, and a $1,000 declining balance meal plan each semester. Students interested in learning more about GA positions in housing or other areas on campus can reach out to Missy Gish at gishm@nku.edu.  

MPA students were busy taking classes and making progress toward their degrees this summer! Six MPA classes were offered in a variety of summer sessions and formats, including Arts Administration, Volunteer Management, and Human Resources Management.

About a dozen of our Volunteer Management (PAD 622) students gave virtual presentations of their interviews with volunteer directors, managers, and coordinators in August. The remaining students in the class, who couldn't attend the live session, participated in asynchronous online activities.  

Thanks to MPA alumni and other folks who served as interviewees or helped make connections! We learned a lot about volunteer programs and volunteer management in a range of organizations such as Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Newport Aquarium, YMCA of Greater Cincinnati, St. Vincent de Paul - Cincinnati, Covington Partners, and Mentoring Plus.  

Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio is a local nonprofit organization that's helping resettle some of the 82,000 people who've fled Afghanistan during the past couple weeks. Tony Stieritz, CEO of Catholic Charities and NKU MPA student, said people in Greater Cincinnati have been generous with financial contributions and other support for these refugees and immigrants.

"We couldn’t do this without the help of the community, and it’s really underscored. Something that we all know is that Cincinnati is really a welcoming community,” Tony told LOCAL 12, WKRC-TV.

Catholic Charities is the official refugee resettlement agency for Greater Cincinnati, to which the U.S. Department of State directs Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, refugees, and families. Since 1980, this local nonprofit has helped resettle more 12,000 refugees in our region.

Check out "Empowering Refugees: Welcoming New Neighbors" on Catholic Charities web site to learn more, including how to donate, volunteer, and advocate on their behalf.

The Foundations of Public Administration class (PAD 500) participated in the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project during the Spring semester. In doing so, the students focused on nonprofit organizations in the Northern Kentucky / Greater Cincinnati region with programs and services that address systemic racism and social inequities. In the end, they selected two nonprofits to award a $1,000 grant each -- The Center for Closing the Health Gap and the Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC).  

The Mayerson experience provided PAD 500 students with the opportunity to go beyond reading about racism and inequities and writing about and discussing them in traditional ways in a class. During the semester, they engaged actively and locally in these issues by identifying, researching, writing about, discussing, and assessing nonprofit organizations doing this work in our region ... and ultimately selecting two of them for grants.  

Congrats to Health Gap and OJPC and kudos to the PAD 500 students on their good work! And many thanks to the NKU Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement for leading the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project for more than 20 years.

MPA student Angie Livesay was appointed as Executive Assistant to Clermont County Administrator Thomas Eigel, who earned an NKU MPA degree in 2003. Congrats to Angie, and good wishes to her and Tom!  

Prior to this position, Angie served as Program Coordinator for the Clermont County Juvenile Family Dependency Treatment Court. This is a specialized docket of addiction, abuse and neglect cases that emphasizes treatment over punishment in order to expedite family reunification.  

Clermont County is east of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, and it's home to more than 200,000 residents. Clermont County, Ohio - Government has about 400 employees who provide a range of services including public safety, emergency  management, community and economic development, job and family services, and water resources.

MPA student Nick Bliven has been selected as the Program Coordinator for FUEL NKU, which is the on-campus pantry that provides food and other necessities to support our students and their families. Prior to taking on this role, he had served in an AmeriCorps VISTA position at FUEL NKU.  

As some of you know, FUEL NKU has expanded significantly during the past couple years, thanks to a partnership between Northern Kentucky University and Kroger. The Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Food Pantry is about 2,300 square-feet, which is seven times the size of the previous on-campus pantry. It serves more than 1,000 students every year.

Colerain Township has developed a Management Analyst Internship for work on various special projects and administrative tasks. MPA student Corey Foister is the first person selected to serve in this internship.  

This summer, Corey has been working closely with Assistant Administrator Jeff Weckbach, who is an NKU alumnus. Thanks to Colerain Township for developing this opportunity!

Congratulations to MPA student, Colton Simpson, on his promotion to Grant County Deputy Judge-Executive! In his new role, Colton will help oversee county revenues, including payroll taxes and business licenses, communicate with the state in carrying out county functions and obtaining information, coordinate with various county department heads to provide excellent services and be an additional representative from the Grant County Fiscal Court to facilitate the community’s desires and goals.  

“I consider it an honor to serve Grant County in this capacity,” Simpson said. “It was thrilling to know that I will continue to work for the betterment of our community in a broader way. I’m extremely grateful that Judge-Executive Chuck Dills has given me a great opportunity to continue doing what I enjoy.”  

Colton has served in previous roles including tax administrator, county payroll clerk and assistant parks director. You can read more about Colton, his new role, and Grant County in this article.

NKU MPA student Marci McNay was recently named Executive Director of the Campbell County Consolidated Dispatch Center (CCCDC), which is responsible for enhanced 911 service for the entire county, including the cities of Newport and Fort Thomas. Marci has been serving as Assistant Director since 2015.  

Marci is taking over for Dale Edmondson, who is retiring after serving as CCCDC Executive Director since 2004. Dale graduated from our MPA program in 2008. Prior to the CCCDC, Dale worked in the City of Fort Thomas Fire Department for 25 years, including some years as Fire Chief.

In this RCNKY article, Campbell County Judge Executive Steve Pendery said, "While we will miss Dale and his contributions to the community, we should take comfort in knowing we are in Marci’s capable hands. Marci has the experience, knowledge and character to lead the Campbell County Consolidated Dispatch Center and I wish her well.”  

Our Resource Acquisition and Management class (PAD 621) this semester is working on service-learning projects with two small nonprofit organizations in our region -- Artsville and EC Learn. Specifically, PAD 621 students are developing fundraising strategies and tools related to the case for support, individual giving programs, and grant research. (This is a screenshot of the first meeting with Artsville Director Kathy Garrison.)  

Artsville is based in Madisonville, which is one of 52 neighborhoods in the City of Cincinnati. This nonprofit is dedicated to promoting personal growth, self-expression, and appreciation of the visual, healing, literary, and performing arts. EC Learn -- short for the Early Childhood Learning Education Assessment Resource Network -- was established in June 2020. This nonprofit provides critical early childhood education resources to families, early childhood professionals, and employers in eight counties in Northern Kentucky.  

Congrats and kudos to MPA student Susan Landis and her team at Maslow's Army for their new day center for people experiencing homelessness! Its official title is the "Maslow's Army Todd B. Portune Memorial Winter Day Center," named after the nonprofit organization and the late Hamilton County Commissioner and Cincinnati City Councilmember.  

The center is located in the old Queensgate Correctional Facility, which is a 20,000-square-foot building just west of downtown Cincinnati. It is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Read more about it in this WLWT article.
 

NKU’s MPA Public Administration Student Society (PASS) partnered with Maslow’s Army prior to the center opening and served to-go meals, hygiene items, and clothing at Hamilton County Justice Center Plaza.  

Congratulations to MPA students who secured graduate assistantship (GA) positions at NKU during the 2020-2021 academic year! Corey Foister and Amanda Johnston are working on projects in the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program and Sydney Renner is completing her assistantship in the MPA program.

If you know someone interested in applying to the MPA program but they are concerned about the financial commitment, a graduate assistantship is an excellent option! For more information on GA positions, please email Missy Gish at gishm@nku.edu.

Despite being in a fully-online format this academic year due to the pandemic, MPA students in Data Analysis (PAD 616) still engaged in a service-learning project involving the City of Dayton, Kentucky.  

Dr. Kobena Osam, who teaches PAD 616, said his students started with data from a survey of Dayton citizens, analyzed the data using inferential and descriptive statistics, and developed data-driven recommendations.  

City leaders can use these statistics and recommendations in creating an economic development plan for their community. "I fully expect that some of the ideas that my class came up with will materialize as Dayton moves to activate their commercial district using arts, culture, and community engagement," said Dr. Osam.  

MPA student Dennia Palmer served as a Recovery Casework Team Member Intern with the American Red Cross Cincinnati Dayton Region over the summer. In this role, she provided mass care shelter recovery casework to families who had been displaced by natural disasters and conducted follow-up casework to guide clients through the recovery process. In addition to these duties, Dennia also completed mass care trainings to qualify for deployments during natural disasters.  

Dennia has continued to volunteer with the Red Cross and was one of 1,400 American Red Cross disaster workers deployed to Louisiana to support relief efforts following hurricane Laura which made landfall on August 27. Keep up the amazing work, Dennia!

You can read more about the Red Cross work in Louisiana here.

Congrats to MPA student Simon Boxall! He was selected for the Neighborhood Services Internship in Covington, Kentucky Government. In this role, he is working on a variety of projects and initiatives related to federal grants, housing issues, code enforcement, early learning, parks and recreation, and solid waste and recycling.

Previously, Simon served for two years as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member at the Brighton Center. He supported the Safety Net Alliance of Northern Kentucky, which is a collaborative of government and nonprofit organizations designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of safety net services, such as homeless shelters, subsidized housing, utility bill assistance, health insurance, food stamps, and other assistance.

Simon earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science from NKU Political Science, Criminal Justice and Organizational Leadership. During that time, he was very active in the Model United Nations, serving as president for three years.  

Tony Stieritz, MPA student and CEO of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, has been very busy providing services to our community during the COVID-19 pandemic.This FOX19 story focuses on Catholic Charities efforts to get fruit, vegetables, and other fresh foods from farmers to people in need.

“We’ve really stepped up our game in trying to respond to the emergency needs of people,” Tony said. "As long as these needs are there, we want to be part of the picture providing relief."

For more information on Catholic Charities response to COVID-19, visit their web site. The site provides opportunities to volunteer and donate for those who are interested. It also has resources and information for those in need, including food assistance, employment services, health promotion services, mental health counseling, parenting classes, immigrant family assistance, and more.  

Check out this article about Catholic Charities foodbank.

The Cincinnati Business Courier published an article on Uptown Consortium Inc. (UCI) being awarded a $10,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation for the "Innovation Greenway." Brooke Duncan (MPA 2020) is Community Development Director at UCI, and she worked on this grant application for her Capstone project in the MPA program.

UCI is a nonprofit organization that focuses on vibrant development of Uptown Cincinnati, which consists of the neighborhoods of Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, Mount Auburn and "CUF" (Clifton Heights, University Heights, and Fairview). It represents a partnership between key organizations in the area such as Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, and TriHealth.  

UCI produced a vision for the Uptown Innovation Corridor to advance mixed-use development at the interchange of I-71 and Martin Luther King Drive. As part of that vision, the Innovation Greenway will be comprised of 4 to 5 acres that will include small "pocket parks" and walking and biking trails. UCI expects to finalize designs for the Innovation Greenway in 2021, and then to begin development of it in early 2022.

Read more about Innovation Greenway here.  

MPA student Dennia Palmer is currently serving as a Recovery Casework Team Member Intern with the American Red Cross Greater Cincinnati-Dayton Region. In this role, she provides mass care shelter recovery casework to families who have been displaced by natural disasters and conducts follow-up casework to guide clients through the recovery process.

Dennia's internship is a perfect fit with her academic pursuits in the NKU Master of Public Administration. She is working toward three "stackable" credentials -- the Disaster Readiness micro-credential, the Emergency Management graduate certificate, and the MPA degree. She came to our MPA program from Los Angeles, where she earned a bachelor's degree in political science and government at California State University.

Recently, Dennia's internship with the Red Cross has involved her becoming the Campaign Lead in this region for the national "Sound the Alarm" campaign. At the national level, the goal was to install 100,000 smoke alarms between April 10 and May 11. In our region, the goal was to install 1,000 smoke alarms.

For "Sound the Alarm" in Greater Cincinnati and Dayton, Dennia is in charge of volunteer recruitment, event promotion, phone-call coordination, and map design. Also, she is managing logistics with participating fire departments and corporate partners.

Rosie Polter and Joe Ewald developed and implemented a very creative project – the Cincinnati Cultural Heritage Project – in the Capstone class this Spring. Cultural heritage is an expression of how people live and what they value, and it is developed and maintained through objects, beliefs, traditions, practices, artistic expressions and significant places. 

Rosie and Joe focused on three Cincinnati neighborhoods: Walnut Hills, Price Hill, and Camp Washington. They collected data around cultural heritage by engaging residents in pop-up exhibits and storytelling nights at establishments in these neighborhoods. They recorded this information using an inventory form developed for the Cincinnati Heritage Project (CHP).  Altogether, they completed 15 of these inventories.  Examples of cultural heritage artifacts are the Walnut Hills Street Food Festival, the Palm Room in Walnut Hills, Union Baptist Cemetery in Price Hill, Sebastian’s Greek Restaurant in Price Hill, and Camp Washington Chili.

Please consider liking the CHP's new Facebook page and following its progress.

Also, the CHP was selected for Artists Lead!, which was developed by ArtPlaceAmerica to support "creative people with great ideas for collaborative solutions to community needs." Artists Lead! enables crowdfunding of creative placemaking projects, and it matches donations dollar-for-dollar up to $15,000. Here's the link to the CHP's page.

Taylor Singleton has been pursuing the Nonprofit Management graduate certificate while working as a front-line public servant and starting a new enterprise.

Taylor is a Therapeutic Recreation (TR) Program and Inclusion Specialist for the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, and normally she provides TR services to children with disabilities. But recreation centers have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so she has taken on essential work such as distributing meals to senior citizens at a center.

In addition, Taylor has been working to open an autism-friendly gym in Cincinnati for children on the spectrum as well as neuro-typical children. The inclusive gym is located in Deer Park, and it's part of the We Rock the Spectrum (WRTS) franchise. It will have 10 pieces of specialized equipment to help children develop skills and abilities such as strength, movement, sensory processing, and social interactions. The equipment includes a zip line, crash pit, trampoline, climbing structure, tunnel, and hammock swing.

Kamara Douglas, Administrative and Community Affairs Director for City Councilman Chris Seelbach, spent time with volunteers at the Cincinnati Art Museum discussing her role in the new Cincinnati ordinance that makes it illegal to discriminate against people with natural hair.

During her presentation, Kamara shared her story of being forced to remove her braids at a previous place of employment because they didn’t fit the look that the employer wanted. Kamara said, “Changing my identity to appease my employer made me feel insecure and, unfortunately, a lot of women are in the same place as me. A lot of black women specifically.”

After Kamara initially shared her story with Councilman Seelbach, they started working with others on the natural hair anti-discrimination ordinance. This ordinance bans discrimination against natural hair and hairstyles associated with race -- such as Afros, braids and cornrows -- in schools, workplaces and other situations. Cincinnati City Council eventually passed it by a vote of 7-1. While New York and California have passed legislation banning discrimination based on hairstyle, Cincinnati is the first city in the country to do so.

Special thanks to Kamara for sharing her story with the community and for her work with Councilman Seelbach and others in getting this anti-discrimination ban passed.  

During the Spring 2020 semester, Dr. Julie Olberding's Resource Acquisition and Management class (PAD 621) partnered with the Foundation for Ohio River Education (FORE) on several service learning projects designed to help this small nonprofit with building relationships and/or raising funds. The projects involved online philanthropy (or e-philanthropy), special events, and grant research.

The semester began with the class meeting in-person with Heather Mayfield, FORE's Executive Director, to learn about the organization and discuss ideas. In the months that followed, the students worked in small teams to develop projects and proposals, which included e-newsletter templates, event flyers, and more.

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the class to transition to a completely online format ... and the students adapted, adjusted and overcame! They presented their final projects via Zoom and submitted written reports to Heather Mayfield. "I really enjoyed reading them and got excited about the potential projects we can hopefully kick off," she said. "It was a wonderful experience overall!"

MPA professor Darrin Wilson and MPA student Rosie Polter co-authored a chapter in the new book "Public Affairs Practicum." Their chapter is titled "Applying Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) to Sustainable Local Economic Development (SLED)."

Their chapter makes connections between the two approaches -- ABCD and SLED -- in identifying community assets and strengthening them for sustainable development. Community assets can be physical, financial, human, social, cultural, political, and environmental. SLED focuses on core values or principles including quality of life, fairness and equity, participation and partnership, and care for the environment.

Amanda Johnson, Coordinator, NKU’s office of Parents Attending College, continues her efforts to support students.  One way she demonstrated that was through her capstone project which focused on student parents and their needs.  Her project involved two major components: completion of a profile/list of resources at NKU for students who are parents or who are pregnant, and conducting a survey of student parents to understand their needs and knowledge of available support services available at NKU.

The survey was administered to 1,888 student-parents, and resulted in a 13% response rate. Based on the survey responses, Amanda identified four major goals for the Office for Parents Attending College: 1) develop a plan to market current services that NKU offers, 2) develop a child-friendly study space on campus, 3) develop an emergency fund for student-parents, and 4) expand current on-campus childcare center to include drop-in care.

In the Fall 2019 semester, the Foundations of Public Administration class (PAD 500) participated in the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project for the first time. It was a great way to learn – by giving – about governance, particularly the interactions among governments, nonprofit organizations, community groups, and individuals in identifying needs, delivering services, engaging with one other, and strengthening social bonds and networks.

The students awarded a $1,000 grant to two nonprofit organizations. The grant to Children, Inc. will go toward its service learning programs in primary and secondary schools, and the one to Isaiah House will help provide food to anyone in need at its monthly outreach events at St. Elizabeth's in Covington and Ludlow Vets in Ludlow (last Saturday of every month).

Check out this great article in NKU Magazine about MPA student Rosie Polter and her efforts to preserve cultural heritage in the City of Cincinnati and beyond!

Rosie has initiated the Cincinnati Heritage Project (CHP) in response to the rapid redevelopment in some neighborhoods, which can result in the displacement of long-term residents and the loss of cultural heritage. Using a community-based approach called "creative placekeeping," she is working to engage residents in developing an inventory of social and cultural assets in their own neighborhoods.

Rosie is collaborating with her classmate Joe Ewald to pilot the CHP in Camp Washington, Price Hill, and Walnut Hills for their Capstone project in the MPA program. This Spring, they will hold pop-up events where residents can share their stories and identify cultural assets. Also, an online inventory will be available on the City of Cincinnati's website.

During the Fall semester, two MPA classes developed and implemented a citizen satisfaction survey for the City of Edgewood and then analyzed the results. Professors Darrin Wilson and Kobena Osam presented the results with students at the Edgewood City Council meeting in December 2019.

Brian Dehner, City Administrative Officer of Edgewood, said the service learning project was excellent. "The students were very professional, engaged and inquisitive," he said. "I could see they were taking what was learned in the classroom and connecting the concepts with a reality of what is happening in our society."  

Mr. Dehner said the survey results support the city's current budget priorities, which include public safety, infrastructure, and green space. He added that the MPA students provided several useful recommendations, which city leaders and administrators will consider this year.

Students in the MPA Capstone course continue to strengthen the program’s partnership with internal and external stakeholders and community through completing significant and impactful projects.  For example, In Fall 2019, Courtney Gilliam worked with NKU FUEL to develop a volunteer handbook for the food pantry. The handbook includes the pantry’s mission and vision statements, program description, policies on professionalism and ethics, risk management, social media policy, and so on. 

In addition, several students in the Fall 2019 class wrote and submitted grants to secure funding for nonprofit organizations.   

MPA student Victoria Short traveled to Frankfort in January to see Governor Andy Beshear sign a proclamation recognizing January as Hunger-Free Month in Kentucky and to meet with other leaders in the state capitol.

In her second semester of our MPA program, Victoria is the Communications Manager for MASTER Provisions. This is a faith-based nonprofit organization that connects food and other resources to people in need via partner agencies including schools, pantries, and other nonprofits.

Locally, Master Provisions distributes millions of pounds of food each year to more than 100 agencies. Internationally, it sends donated clothing and other resources to partner organizations and also leads short-term mission trips to work alongside some of them. These international partners include a nonprofit organization in Haiti, a school in Kosova, and a sustainable coffee farm in Honduras.

Photo credit: MASTER Provisions

As Coordinator of NKU's Veterans Resource Station (VRS), MPA student Travis Roy led the "Fill the Boot" campaign. This effort resulted in the collection of more than $3,000 in non-perishable food and personal hygiene items for service members overseas.

Learn more about the successful campaign and the VRS in this NKU news article.

Some of our MPA students attended the final debate in the 2019 Kentucky governor's race, which was held on Northern Kentucky University's campus. A few students were interviewed by the Government Watchdog Reporter for the Enquirer - Cincinnati and Kentucky.

NKU MPA student Rosie Polter was part of the inaugural class of Student ambassadors for the Midwest Public Affairs Conference (MPAC). These seven emerging scholars presented their research and assisted with the conference, which was held on September 19-20 at IUPUI in Indianapolis.

Rosie started the NKU MPA program in Fall 2018 with an interest in the preservation and redevelopment of historic buildings, including the impacts on local economic development. She has been working with Dr. Darrin Wilson on research in this area, some of which will be presented at MPAC.

Rosie is a Grants Associate with the Greater Cincinnati Foundation as well as a Historic Preservation Consultant. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Archaeology and a certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Cincinnati.

This Cincinnati Enquirer article talks about MPA student Kamara Douglas's role in a proposed ordinance to add natural hair to the City of Cincinnati's anti-discrimination ordinance. It passed, making Cincinnati only the second city in the country with this type of policy, after New York City.

Kamara is the Administrative and Community Affairs Director for City Councilman Chris Seelbach, who introduced the natural hair policy. It would ban discrimination against natural hair and hairstyles associated with race -- such as Afros, braids and cornrows -- in schools, workplaces and other situations.

California and New York have passed legislation banning discrimination based on hairstyle. Other state and local governments are considering similar legislation in response to stories of discrimination across the country.

This River City News article is about the recent launching of the City of Covington's "story map," including how MPA student Abbey King played a part in its development.

"This super-cool, interactive map represents just one of the many tools and platforms the City can use to tell the Covington story," said Suzann Gettys, the city's business retention and expansion specialist.

During an internship with the City of Covington, Abbey helped develop content for the story map related to residential and commercial development projects, which  have been key to the urban renaissance. After this internship, she got a job in the city's parks and recreation division.

Here's a direct link to Covington's story map.

Our MPA people are doing great work in and for our region! MPA student Nikki Williams is now serving as the Community Relations Director -- and part of the leadership team -- for the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency (CAA). Prior to this, Nikki had worked in communication positions at the Cincinnati chapters of the American Cancer Society and the American Red Cross.

For those who aren't familiar with the CAA, it's a nonprofit organization that offers a broad range of resources to low- and moderate-income individuals so they can improve the quality of life for themselves, their families and their communities. The agency offers services in a holistic approach under one roof -- "a one-stop shop" -- such as job training, rent assistance, Head Start classes, and a public library.

Nikki has only more one class to complete her MPA degree. She is one of our "in-career" students who take one or two classes each semester, on weekday evenings and online.

"I truly believe that the MPA program attributed to my success," said Nikki. "I learned so much and it was such a great program to go through."

MPA student Brooke Duncan spoke at the “All About Women in Cincinnati” forum on Tuesday, May 21, at the Sharonville Convention Center. Brooke is part of the panel titled “Millennial Women: Who are They Becoming and What Can We Learn from Them.” In addition to Brooke’s panel discussion, there was a presentation on healthy lifestyles, a Women of Power Luncheon, an interactive workshop on goal setting and a conversation with Valerie Jarrett, Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama.

Brooke is the Community Development Manager at Uptown Consortium in Cincinnati. Uptown Consortium is “dedicated to the long term sustainability and growth of Uptown Cincinnati’s five core neighborhoods: Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, University Heights, and Mt. Auburn. The Consortium’s efforts have secured more than $400 million in redevelopment, new construction and neighborhood improvements in Uptown Cincinnati.”

Learn more about All About Women in Cincinnati here.  

MPA student Courtney Gilliam co-presented a Six@Six lecture called "The Science of Clean Water" on March 21 at the Carrico/Ft. Thomas Branch of the Campbell County Public Library.

Courtney has served as president of NKU Wine to Water, which is a student organization that supports the international nonprofit Wine To Water. Its mission is to raise funds to combat the global water crisis -- 844 million people living without clean water -- and also to implement programs in the field such as digging and repairing wells, delivering filters, and providing training.

Six@Six is a community lecture series featuring NKU students and faculty talking about their research and creative activity. It is organized by the NKU Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement.

At the Mayerson Awards Ceremony in December 2018, students in the Leading in Diverse Public Environments (PAD 631) class presented grants to two nonprofit organizations – Mortar Cincinnati and the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio. More than 10 other classes at NKU also presented grant awards to more than 20 other nonprofit organizations.

PAD 631 – an online class – was provided with $2,000 to invest in nonprofit organizations that address diversity, inclusion and social equity in the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati region. This project helped students go beyond the online classroom to learn how local organizations are addressing these issues "on the ground" and also to provide financial support to a couple of them.

The students began the process by identifying more than 30 nonprofits in this region with a mission related to diversity, inclusion and/or social equity. Then each student selected one nonprofit to research further and develop an organization profile. Using these profiles, the students selected six "finalists," for which they developed online presentations. Finally, all students in the class assessed the six finalists and selected two of them for a $1,000 grant.  

Brionna Jones and Eric Binford are excited about their Capstone project in the Spring 2019 semester, which involves developing a volunteer handbook for the Mason Food Pantry. The Pantry serves the Mason (Ohio) community by providing food, health care products, household items, and other necessities for individuals and families who are temporarily facing financial hardship. Brionna and Eric have been visiting the Pantry throughout the semester to observe operations and get to know volunteers. Charmetra Bailey, Associate Director of the Pantry, is very appreciative of this project, saying “We are truly excited to partner with you and your students!”

Alex Horan and Angela Wright are working with Boone County, Kentucky, to develop and conduct a citizen satisfaction survey. NKU’s MPA program has partnered with Boone County administrators in the past years to conduct similar surveys.  Alex and Angela have met with administrators several times to finalize the survey instrument. They will use SPSSX to analyze the survey data and then present the findings to the County administrators and commissioners. MPA faculty and staff are honored and happy to continue this mutually-beneficial partnership with Boone County.

MPA student Erin Owen researched and wrote a literature review on employee engagement in her Foundations of Public Administration (PAD 500) in Fall 2016. She was so excited about the topic that she developed a presentation for a conference in her field.

Erin is a Senior Administrative Specialist with Greater Cincinnati Water Works, and she submitted an abstract for consideration to CS Week, which was being held in Tampa, FL this year. CS Week is "the premier annual educational and customer service conference serving electric, gas and water/wastewater utility professionals across North America and around the world."

Erin's session was titled "Creating a Culture of Employee Engagement," and it focused on GCWW's strategies to "jumpstart their workforce." It was one of the top-rated workshops at CS Week this year, so organizers asked her to present it in webinar form, which she did a couple weeks ago.

Mayra Sidler Guzman and Rachel Staley are working on a Capstone project to assist Covington Partners, a nonprofit that brings together Covington Independent Public Schools (CIPS) students and families with staff, board members, mentors, volunteers, funders and other stakeholders to support and help the youth of Covington achieve success in every phase of their life.

The project involves conducting an online survey of all teachers and staff members in Covington Schools. The survey is designed to solicit feedback on the use of volunteers, benefits from and challenges with volunteers, and resources to more effectively and efficiently utilize volunteers. Based on these findings, Mayra and Rachel will prepare resource documents for Covington Partners, such as a volunteer handbook. 

John Hennessey’s career goal is to lead a nonprofit organization which will directly help first-generation and underprivileged high school students with their academic enrichment and career aspirations. To that end, he decided to develop his own nonprofit for his Capstone project. The mission of this nonprofit will be to empower individuals to reach their full potential through developing leadership skills, academic enrichment, college/career preparedness, wellness and advocacy.

John is taking a holistic approach by envisioning that the nonprofit will offer a variety of programs such as academic coaching,  tutoring,  advocacy for students with learning differences, one-to-one mentoring for college and career preparedness, peer mentoring, wellness coaching, and community outreach. This nonprofit will partner with area school districts, higher educational institutions, and community organizations in providing services to this client group.

Austin Lee was selected as the 2018 W.D. Heisel Memorial Scholarship recipient from the Center for Local Government! Designed for students pursuing a career in local government management, the scholarship is named in honor of W.D. Heisel, who is considered “the father of public administration” in the Greater Cincinnati.

In his application, Austin wrote, “I aspire to someday be a Chief of Police. Based on the dynamics of the current situation within our police departments nationwide, my personal goals consist of: providing adequate training to assist in police response to mental health and victim advocacy; ensuring that all police personnel are held accountable to laws, their duty to service, and policy and procedure; and continue to practice the values and principles of a community-oriented police department.”

For his Capstone project, Austin is conducting a citizen satisfaction survey for the Delhi Police Department. The township conducted a similar survey in 2002, so Chief of Police Jim Howarth is interested in identifying trends and also areas for improvement.  The survey includes a variety of questions related to citizens’ perception of safety, crime, and the Police Department.

Currently, Austin works as a 911 dispatcher at the Hamilton County Communications Center, and he was recently interviewed on Channel 9 about a tense but remarkable performance in this role. Watch the interview here. 

In the Spring semester, students in Dr. Julie Olberding's Resource Acquisition and Management class (PAD 621) partnered with the Mt. Airy and Mt. Washington Community Development Corporations (CDCs). Their service-learning projects provided information and ideas to these CDCs in the following areas: special events and placemaking; sponsorships, grants and other corporate support; and annual campaigns.

The five student teams gave presentations to Daniel Traicoff, who provides staff support to both CDCs, and Wendy O'Neal, a long-time community volunteer. Daniel said that the students' projects were "beyond helpful" and will go far in guiding these relatively new CDCs as they develop and grow.

For those who aren't aware, CDCs are nonprofit organizations with a mission of providing services that encourage community and economic development in neighborhoods, towns and cities. Mt. Airy and Mt. Washington are two of 52 neighborhoods in the City of Cincinnati.

Congratulations to MPA student, Tom Haggard, for being selected to serve as a 2017-2018 Afterschool Ambassador with the Afterschool Alliance. He is one of only 15 leaders from across the nation chosen for the honor this year.  

As an Afterschool Ambassador, Tom will serve a one-year term, organizing public events, communicating with policy makers, and in other ways increasing support for afterschool and summer learning programs in Kentucky and at the national level.

Tom is currently the Resource Development Coordinator at Covington Partners, a nonprofit that works to bring together community stakeholders with the goal of helping the youth of Covington achieve success in every phase of their life. As the Coordinator, Tom manages the Out-of-School Time Program that serves over 2,000 students and their families from Covington Independent Schools on an annual basis.

“I am thrilled to join in the Afterschool Alliance’s work to build support for afterschool programs,” said Haggard. “In my 10 years working in the field, I’ve seen up close the many ways afterschool programs help students to explore their interests and discover their passions, while giving parents the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children are safe and supervised, with opportunities to learn and grow, after the school day ends. I look forward to raising awareness and support for the out-of-school-time opportunities all students need.”

Congratulations, Tom!!

It's always exciting to see our "pre-career" students get their first positions in public service! Most recently, Brionna Jones was selected for a paid internship with the NKU Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement.  

Brionna is working primarily on the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project, which is one of NKU's flagship programs. Started in 1999, the Mayerson project is a "learn by giving" approach that teaches students about nonprofits and philanthropy.

So far, Brionna has administered the pre-test survey of Mayerson students this semester, and she will do the post-test at the end of the semester. The survey is designed to measure any impacts on students' awareness, beliefs, and intentions -- particularly related to social causes and nonprofit organizations -- as well as any impacts on their interest in and learning of the course material.

"Attention to detail is key," she said. "I didn’t think that this much work went into the Mayerson project, until now. It truly takes a village to get Mayerson going for the semester!"

In the coming months, Brionna will help update the "Student Philanthropy Handbook," which was originally published by the Scripps Howard Center in 2010. The handbook was designed for faculty and staff interested in this teaching strategy, and it has been distributed across the country and the world.