Sammies 2018 Parimal Kopardekar
Rep. Sylvia Garcia’s Guide to Good Constituent Services
June 23, 2023 | 40 min
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives involves much more than debating policy and voting on legislation on Capitol Hill. It also requires a great deal of listening to and engaging the constituents living in local districts. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia joins this episode of “Profiles in Public Service” alongside Enrique Garcia, a constituent services representative from her district office in Houston, Texas. In 2019, Garcia became the first Hispanic member of the Houston congressional delegation and one of the first two Latinas to represent Texas in Congress. Previously, she worked in various roles in the Texas state government, and as a social worker and legal aid lawyer. Enrique and Rep. Garcia will talk about their work to increase trust in the federal government by delivering excellent customer service to their constituents and meeting the diverse needs of the communities they serve.
Listening to Communities to Advance Environmental Justice
May 25, 2023 | 37 min
Two leaders committed to ensuring equity in both federal and local environmental justice initiatives join “Profiles in Public Service” to speak about their collaborative efforts to address public health issues for communities on the West Coast and beyond. Laura Ebbert works in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9 office based in San Francisco, where she leads environmental justice, equity and policy programs. Lauren Boitel runs ImpactNV, a statewide sustainability nonprofit and coalition builder in Las Vegas, Nevada. A recent recipient of the EPA’s environmental justice grant program, ImpactNV is using federal funds to support transformational investments to improve air quality and mitigate the impact of severe heat on predominantly Latinx communities in East Las Vegas. Ebbert and Boitel describe how listening to the lived experiences of community members is leading to more equitable statewide and federal solutions to environmental justice concerns.
Moving $3 Billion Boulders to Invest in American Communities
May 9, 2023 | 39 min
The third season of “Profiles in Public Service” is off to an exciting start as we highlight all that our federal government does to strengthen local communities across America. In our first episode, Craig Buerstatte, a program and policy leader at the Economic Development Administration, shares how he and his team managed to equitably distribute $3 billion in American Rescue Plan funding to 780 projects that assist local communities in creating more robust and resilient regional economies. These efforts included the EDA’s $500 million Good Jobs Challenge, led by Lauren Starks, and benefited organizations like the Illinois-based nonprofit, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, led by Patrick Combs.
Rep. Andy Kim on Strengthening Democracy Through Service
January 20, 2023 | 47 min
“Profiles in Public Service” is honored to have Rep. Andy Kim from New Jersey’s 3rd District join us as the final guest of our second season. Congressman Kim is committed to empowering a greater belief in service, democracy, and a more mission-driven government. In 2018, Kim chose to apply his unique combination of experiences working as a career public servant at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House National Security Council to run for a seat in the House of Representatives. Once elected, he became the first Korean American Democrat elected to Congress. In this episode, Congressman Kim discusses his professional journey in public service, what he is doing to build greater trust in government among not only his constituents, but among all Americans, and his proposed legislation to aimed at “supercharging national service” and creating more pathways for all to enter government work.
