September 15, 2016Event Recap

Results for America Local Government Fellows Support #WhatWorks Because…

Local/ Local Government Fellows/ 2016/

The first Local Government Fellows Convening for the second cohort was held in Washington, DC on September 15-16 with local leaders from 15 cities and counties. At this Convening, our Fellows shared some personal stories and some of the reasons why they support #WhatWorks. Check back weekly for new stories and great photos!

RFA Local Government Fellow Kate Joncas, Deputy Mayor of Operations, City of Seattle, a What Works Cities participant

Kate Joncas “It is exciting to be working for a Mayor who has put good governance as a priority. I come from the private sector and was used to accountability measures being part of every strategic plan and program design, so it is very rewarding to work with great City teams to match that private sector mindset with public sector values and realities. Last year we focused on transparency, giving Seattle citizens information on our performance implementing tax initiatives they passed for transportation and parks. Our research shows that performance management efforts have come and gone at the City, but our whole Cabinet team is committed to making this new mindset our way of doing business.” – RFA Local Government Fellow Kate Joncas, Deputy Mayor of Operations, City of Seattle, a What Works Cities participant

Andrew Kleine, Budget Director, City of Baltimore, MD 

Andrew Kleine “During my graduate school internship at the Michigan Department of Social Services, I evaluated a job training program. I found that the main predictor of trainees getting and keeping a job was owning a car. So, after graduating, I wrote a white paper about how DOT could play a role in helping people move from welfare to work. Four years later, I was working at the White House Office of Management and Budget when Linda Lawson, a senior official at DOT called. ‘Andrew, the transportation reauthorization bill includes funding for a new program called Job Access and Reverse Commute,’ she said. ‘The program will help inner-city welfare clients reach jobs in the suburbs. It all started with your white paper.’ Twenty years later, that call remains one of the best I’ve ever received, and still motivates me to use data and evidence to make government work better for the people who need it most.” – RFA Local Government Fellow Andrew Kleine, Budget Director, City of Baltimore, MD.

Anjali Chainani, Director of Policy, City of Philadelphia, PA

Anjali Chainani“What matters most to me, in my life, is that I want each person who interacts with me to be left feeling understood, and inspired to make a difference for someone else. As a person representing Philadelphia, I also often think about what I want to see for our City, and the people who live, work and visit Philadelphia. I hate seeing people struggle. Each of us working and representing our City have an opportunity to make a real difference for someone else – when they interact with us for services, have a question, or a concern they need to address. I support#WHATWORKS because I am invested in seeing others succeed, and to improving the quality of the experience each person has in their interactions with Philadelphia. I want people to feel understood by their local government.” – RFA Local Government Fellow Anjali Chainani, Director of Policy, City of Philadelphia, PA.

Matt Klein, Director Of Budget, Executive Director, Center for Economic Opportunity And Senior Advisor for Service Innovation Mayor’s Office of Operations, New York City, NY

Matt Klein“I believe deeply in the core American ideal that where you start out in life should not dictate where you end up. I grew up in Boston and went to public schools during the height of court-ordered busing to address unconstitutional segregation, and am grateful to have benefited from integrated schools, along with many other students who otherwise would likely have grown up with a narrower worldview and a worse education. The decisions of public officials shape the context of our lives – and we know that policies and programs exist which can effectively reduce poverty, improve economic mobility, and help people achieve their full potential. One of government’s central obligations is to protect the American value of genuine equality of opportunity, and for me, #WhatWorks is about doing everything we can to move us closer to realizing this ideal.” – RFA Local Government Fellow Matt Klein, Director Of Budget, Executive Director, Center for Economic Opportunity And Senior Advisor for Service Innovation Mayor’s Office of Operations, New York City, NY.

Jennifer Reed, Chief Performance Officer, Washington, D.C.

Jennifer-Reed“I’ve always wanted a career in public service. Growing up, my mother was the Director of the Maine Human Rights Commission and my father was a Maine State Legislator so how to help others through public service was always part of the conversation growing up. I am so excited that now, each day, I get to collaborate with amazing people across government to try and continuously improve our services. For example, we recently dug into DC’s 311 system to learn about its performance with our new Office of Unified Communications Director. We noticed that calls were taking more than 5 minutes on average to answer, way too long. She came up with a new staffing proposal and nine months later she sent us a note showing that it now takes 29 seconds on average to answer! When we use data and evidence to drive decisions, we get to see real results in action. And there is nothing better than knowing you helped make a difference.” – RFA Local Government Fellow Jennifer Reed, Chief Performance Officer, Washington, D.C.

Carrie Cihak, Chief of Policy, King County, WA

Carrie Cihak“What drives me in my work is creating connection and belonging between people and their government. Belonging is something that everyone needs, and, like each of us, I carry the sting of childhood experiences that made me feel like an outsider. But it was later in life – living as a foreigner in the Japanese countryside, working as a young woman in a male-dominated field – that I gained insight into what it is like to experience a sustained labelling as “other”. I draw on this in my work every day to build connection with people whose backgrounds differ from my own. Creating a sense of belonging requires a concerted and sustained effort to build trust. People need to feel heard and understood, and see that their government can and will work to improve their lives. That’s why a focus on results is so critical – it’s about people believing their government belongs to them again.” – RFA Local Government Fellow Carrie Cihak, Chief of Policy, King County, WA.

Gilbert Montano, Chief Of Staff, City of Albuquerque, NM

Gilbert Montano“As an MBA grad and small business owner, I never pictured myself working as a government bureaucrat perpetuating the red tape mentality and making inflated, ill-informed policies. However, now as a City Administrator, I have found ways to innovate within the public sector to make local government more nimble and responsive to the people we serve. Through the creative use of data and technology we are able to do anything from helping a small business obtain a license, to cleaning up graffiti within a matter of hours. Our wins as a city are all rooted in data and technology; this will always be one of the things I am proudest of during my time as a public servant.” – RFA Local Government Fellow Gilbert Montano, Chief of Staff, City of Albuquerque, NM.

David Gottesman, Countystat Manager, Montgomery County, MD

David Gottesman“Over the past decade we have witnessed the demise of local government management by gut feeling or intuition. Scarce public resources plus educated and engaged residents means that we all must embody the famous quote “In God we trust, all others bring data.” Those of us in public sector performance management and data analytics are on the front lines of this effort, advocating for more thoughtful and data- and evidence-driven service provision. The crossroads of metrics and management is a place with the potential to change peoples’ lives; it’s an exciting place to be and I’m grateful to be engaged in this kind of work.” – RFA Local Government Fellow David Gottesman, CountyStat Manager, Montgomery County, MD.

Mark Mcdaniel, Assistant City Manager, City of Dallas, TX
Mark McDaniel“I can’t remember a time when I was not driven to serve a purpose larger than myself. Problem was, I didn’t know how. As one of the youngest children in a large family, I came from humble beginnings. Still, I was taught that anything is possible if you work hard enough. Scared, but excited, I would be the first my family to attend college at a four-year university. Trying to navigate toward a career, I tried a lot of academic and other ventures but I couldn’t seem to find my way. While I was seriously considering yet another path, this time in landscape architecture of all things, a voice said to me ‘you are kidding yourself, you were meant to directly serve others.’ Now, over thirty years later and a career that spans six different Texas cities, I still have that ‘fire in the belly’ for this noble and rewarding profession that we call public service.”- RFA Local Government Fellow Mark McDaniel, Assistant City Manager, City of Dallas, TX.

Beth Mitchell, Director of Performance & Accountability, Salt Lake County, UT

Beth Mitchell“Government has to provide the structure, services and support for not just one customer with one problem, but for an infinitely diverse customer base with a constantly multiplying array of challenges. And it has a PR problem. And a resource problem, in terms of staffing and budget. On top of all that, we in government have politics to contend with. It’s a wonder we can do anything at all. But look at how much we do! I want to prove that. I want to show our constituency that we’re putting their money where our mouth is, and that we’re investing in what we know – empirically! – improves lives. My commitment is to drive resources toward what works, from a place of knowledge (data and evidence) and with a mindset of new ways of taking action (innovation).” – RFA Local Government Fellow Beth Mitchell, Director of Performance & Accountability, Salt Lake County, UT.

Matt Malament, Director of Budget, Innovation and Performance, Atlanta, GA

Matt Malament“To be honest, I never felt called to public service. My background was entirely in the private sector and I never thought I would end up in government. And even when I was approached and decided to give it a shot, I assumed I wouldn’t like working in government because of all the bureaucracy. Atlanta city government proved me wrong. What I find so exciting about my work…what gets me out of bed every day is that – specifically at the local level – you have the ability to have a tangible impact on the city around you. This fact far surpasses anything else I could want in a job.”- RFA Local Government Fellow Matt Malament, Director of Budget, Innovation and Performance, Atlanta, GA.

Miguel Sangalang, Executive Officer, Budget and Innovation, Los Angeles, CA

Miguel Sangalang“A few years ago, an intern asked why I worked in government. It brought up some old memories: moving to the US when I was four and having to go to ESL classes because I didn’t speak English; being treated by doctors when I was sick (though I hate shots!); learning from my teachers and professors in public school and university. I was lucky to have the support of family AND those working to make their community a better place. I replied that’s why I do what I do—so that others can have the same chance I did. That’s why I support #whatworks.”- RFA Local Government Fellow Miguel Sangalang, Executive Officer, Budget & Innovation, Los Angeles, CA.

Oliver Wise, Director of the Office of Performance and Accountability, New Orleans, LA

Oliver Wise “When we started this work back in 2010, New Orleans city government had been brought to its knees by Hurricane Katrina, a severe budget crisis, and broken IT systems. You see a lot of the people who work in this building, in City Hall, who have weathered the worst of the worst and give all they have to make this city a better place. They were working to keep services going with little more than spit, bubblegum and scotch tape. Everyone who was here was working hard to do their best but they were severely constrained by resources, and working with very little information and support. I see my role as helping city government work smarter and more strategically with the resources we have. Data allows us to do our work better by focusing on those things that work. Because by golly everyone is working hard, so we should be making all that effort count.” – RFA Local Government Fellow Oliver Wise, Director of the Office of Performance and Accountability, New Orleans, LA.

Steven Shaw, Deputy Chief Of Staff, Cook County, IL

Steven Shaw “My mother is a social worker – one of the ‘helping professions.’ So I grew up attuned to helping people, while always being intrigued by business. Unfortunately, I didn’t know of ways to merge business and community service, and saw these as mutually exclusive. In my current position, I use my business training to inform people about policies, mediate situations of competing interests, and connect the County with resources. Now I get to play a role in helping not only the community, but the region move forward. That’s why I enjoy what I do.” – Results for America Local Government Fellow Steven Shaw, Deputy Chief of Staff, Cook County, IL.

Theresa Reno Weber, Chief Performance Officer, City Of Louisville, KY

 Theresa Reno Weber“I constantly get to push the status quo. Not just about the work we do in city government and how we do it, but I get to push individuals to expect more of themselves, their peers, their leaders and their community. I get to walk with people on their journey of discovery and be there when the light bulbs go off. A longtime Public Works Director had come to accept that 30% of his workforce would get injured on the job because of the nature of their work. I encouraged him to look at the data of other Public Works organizations; he was astonished to learn that others had achieved zero workplace injuries over a year. Empowered with this information, he set out to improve the safety for his team and today their injuries are less than 10% and continue to improve.” – Results for America Local Government Fellow Theresa Reno Weber, Chief Performance Officer, City of Louisville, a What Works Cities participant.