PPIA Newsletter: New leadership at PPIA!

Greetings,

I am delighted to serve as chair of the PPIA board of directors for the coming two years and equally delighted that the PPIA national office has just found its new home at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

It has been a pleasure to work with PPIA vice chair Leigh Morris Sloane and outgoing national director Erin Mann during the transition to Minnesota and the Humphrey School. We'll be welcoming PPIA's new National Director, Simone Gbolo, who joins us officially on April 15 - first with a trip to Washington D.C. and then a move into her office space here at the Humphrey School the following week. For those of you in the Twin Cities area, stay tuned as we'll have a meet-and-greet for Simone at the Humphrey School towards the end of April. Simone brings a tremendous amount of knowledge, experience, and vision to the organization and if you are not able to meet her here in person, I encourage you to reach out and connect with her as we build on our shared work.

The Humphrey School has been a long-time member and supporter of PPIA and its mission, having hosted a Junior Summer Institute in PPIA's early years during the 80's, and more recently participating as an active member of the PPIA Consortium. We're looking forward to hosting a NASPAA/PPIA Public Service Weekend in spring 2017 and my hope as chair and as dean of a member institution is to continue to support and strengthen PPIA's mission, strategic goals and vision in the years to come. I see no more important objective than to exercise diligence and creativity as we continue to make the world of public affairs, including participation in public affairs graduate education, appealing and accessible to anyone who wishes to participate, and particularly to members of underrepresented communities. It is my belief that it is imperative that those who graduate from our programs not only understand, but are representative of, the diversity of people, ideology and beliefs that are reflected in communities in which they will serve.

I very much look forward to celebrating the success and future of PPIA at the 35th anniversary celebration taking place in Washington, D.C. on Friday, July 15th.

Sincerely,

Eric Schwartz
Chair, PPIA Board of Directors
Dean, Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Meet PPIA National Director Simone Gbolo

SIMONE GBOLO

Simone comes to PPIA from the University of Minnesota Medical School's Office of Admissions, where she has served as director of its Pipeline Programs since 2013. In this role Simone has led the initiatives that assist students from broadly diverse backgrounds to successfully matriculate to medical school. Prior to this, she served as associate program director of the North Star STEM Alliance at the University of Minnesota where she helped socialize students to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and STEM careers. Her professional background has included varied experiences in higher education and nonprofit organizations including Century College, St. Catherine University, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the American Lung Association. In all of her work Simone has demonstrated a deep commitment to developing meaningful initiatives that cultivate and engage students as they pursue careers that impact social change and transformation and providing service to others in addressing the social challenges in the world.

Simone has a B.S., an M.Ed. (youth development leadership) and an M.A. (multicultural college teaching and learning) from the University of Minnesota, and is earning her Doctorate of Philosophy, also from the University of Minnesota. The PPIA national office is located at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota.

To learn more about Simone click here.

PPIA prepares to welcome 2016 Fellows!

This summer, PPIA is welcoming an impressive cohort of fellows to our Junior Summer Institutes. 100 students from across the country have been selected from a pool of over 500 applicants. These outstanding individuals join a network of over 4000 alumni who are committed to building a brighter future for the people in their communities.

This cohort comes from 25 states and over 70 universities. They are majoring in everything from Anthropology to Women's Studies and bring with them a wide array of experiences that will enrich the experience for their peers. We look forward to getting to know each fellow individually and helping them strengthen their capacity to make an impact!

For more information about the PPIA Fellowship, visit our website at www.ppiaprogram.org.

SAVE THE DATE

The annual Public Service Expo will be held on Friday, July 15, 2016 at the Marvin Center in Washington DC!

Stay tuned for more information to register to attend or become and exhibitor.

Email Simone Gbolo
at ppia.office@ppiaprogram.org with any questions.

You're Invited! Join PPIA to celebrate 35 years of public service.

Join us for a celebratory dinner at 6pm!

Nominate outstanding alumni to be recognized at the 35th celebration!

Our fellowship alumni are making PPIA's mission a reality. At the gala dinner on July 15, we will recognize and celebrate PPIA alumni who are doing outstanding work in their chosen field. Please help us by nominating alumni you know who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the public service. The nomination submission deadline is Tuesday, May 31, 2016.

Please click the following links to make a nomination. You may nominate up to two (2) alumni for each award:

EMERGING LEADER AWARD

A Fellow being nominated for an Emerging Leader Recognition Award should:

Demonstrate leadership in the public service domain.
Demonstrate a commitment to making a difference in their area of focus.
Represent the ideals of PPIA by championing diversity and inclusion wherever they can.
Have attended a PPIA Junior Summer institute between summer 2006 and summer 2015.

PPIA ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

A Fellow being nominated for the PPIA Achievement Award should:

Currently hold, or have held in the past, a leadership position in an institutional setting such as non-profit, government, or an international organization.
Serve as an inspiration and mentor to others
Represent the ideals of PPIA by championing diversity and inclusion wherever they can.
Have attended a PPIA Junior Summer Institute between summer 1981 and summer 2005.

Nominations may also come from individuals, organizations and institutions. Self-nominations will not be accepted. A total of two nominations per award may be submitted per individual\institution\organization.

If you have any questions, please contact Kalima Johnson, PPIA 35th Anniversary Co-Chair at Kalimajohnson2@gmail.com.

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