Last month, we put out a call for a new set of community bloggers – and you responded with vigor. Over 50 people from all walks of government and industry life sent in great ideas for posts, about everything from technology challenges in city government to using Twitter to monitor food safety in your city.
It was a tough process, but we were able to whittle down the entries to the following writers. Read on to meet the new GovLoop Featured Bloggers, who will be posting once a week for the next three months. We’re excited to introduce them to you – and even more excited to read what they’ll be writing about. You can follow along with all Featured Blogger posts at this link. (And you’ll know if what you’re reading is by a featured blogger by the nifty banner at the top.)
(Want to be a featured blogger but didn’t make it this time or didn’t apply by the deadline? Worry not – we’ll be hosting this challenge every three months. Make sure to check back in July for details on the next cycle.)
Alain Lemay (@Alain_Lemay69)
One of the first Government of Canada employees to be assigned full time to the emerging field of Social Media, Alain Lemay is a Senior Web Analyst – Social Media at Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada where he wrote the department’s Social Media Policy and developed a series of tools for the department’s employees.
Ashley Z. Hand, AIA, LEED AP BD+C was appointed to be the City of Kansas City’s first Chief Innovation Officer by Mayor Sly James in January 2013. This appointment made KCMO the first city to hire a female Chief Innovation Officer in the country. Working collaboratively across departments, Ashley focuses on process improvement at City Hall through strategic planning, staff involvement and the application of lean methodology for continuous improvement.
Condrey has worked in the Information Technology field for over 30 years. He has held many technical and leadership positions over the years in both private industry and government. After appointment as the first Chief Information Officer for Chesterfield County Virginia in 2006, he pursued initiatives that open government to citizens and provide services based on a citizen centric view of government. Under his leadership Chesterfield has been twice recognized as the #1 digital county in the nation and winner of the Best of the Web awards as well as numerous other state technology awards.
Chaeny Emanavin
Chaeny Emanavin is a PMI certified project manager with over 14 years of experience as a contractor and federal employee. He specializes in agile software development with a focus on business analysis, business process re-engineering, usability and security. His current focus is on providing better collaboration tools for government and constituents.
Deadra Welcome (@dhwelcome)
Deadra Welcome currently works in the federal government at the Department of Energy. She has 23 years of federal experience with 18 years related to learning and development as a strategist, business partner, program manager, instructional designer, and facilitator. Deadra is a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) and Certified Performance Consultant. She utilizes her skills in instructional design, performance consulting, knowledge management, organizational development, and evaluation in her current position as a Senior Learning and Development (L&D) Strategist.
David Grinberg (@DBGrinberg)
David’s career combines high-level work in government, politics, communications and journalism. He has worked in the White House, Congress, federal agencies, national news organizations and global political consulting firms. David’s federal service includes nearly two decades at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where he managed media relations for EEOC headquarters and 53 field offices nationwide for 15 years. David is currently the Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications in the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations, which oversees the government-wide EEO program.
David Rehr (@drehr)
Rehr, who has a doctorate in economics from George Mason University, has over 25 years experience in governance, policy, performance based management, marketing, and communications. Rehr is Interim Research Director, Center for Democracy and a Media Commentator on politics and policy at the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) where he is an adjunct professor.
Donna Dyer (@DDyerCareers)
Donna Dyer has been Director of Career Services at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University since 1997. Prior to Duke, she worked in local government and ran a nonprofit dedicated to low-income housing development in NC. Donna has a BA in public policy from Duke and an MPA from NC State University, and she is also a certified mediator and holds the Global Career Development Facilitator certification. Many Sanford alumni have pursued meaningful careers in public service, and Donna has followed their careers both in and out of government.
Erica’s expertise begins with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Rice University. At Rice University, she designed, synthesized, and characterized small peptides. During graduate studies at Rice, she completed an industrial internship with Monsanto in St. Louis, Missouri, where she examined the rheological properties of herbicide dispersions and made recommendations on how herbicide formulations might be improved. This experience was an important exposure to agricultural chemistry, a passion upon which she followed up when she joined USDA as a research chemist in 2011.
Hope Horner has worked in the public sector for over 15 years serving in various capacities for the City of Santa Clarita, California–the third largest City in Los Angeles County located 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles. She currently oversees the City’s Graffiti Task Force, Outreach & Neighborhood Services, Volunteer Program, Youth Employment Services, Community Court, and the community services grants.
Jera Brown (@EmilyJera)
Jera Brown has worked for the City of Bloomington as a Usability and User Interface Specialist for the past seven years. In the fall, she will start an MFA program for creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.
Jay Bhatt (@bhangrajay)
Dr. Jay Bhatt serves as the first ever Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). His vision is to bring together health systems, community based organizations, the private sector and CDPH to advance population health using big data, multi-sector and agency collaborations, predictive analytics, innovation, and upstream solutions.
Nick Halliday (@nickmhalliday)
Nick Halliday is Head of Digital Channels at the National Audit Office in London. He’s responsible for leading all of NAO’s digital channels ranging from the website to social media as well as creation of the NAO’s digital communications strategy.
Priyanka R. Oza is a first-year Associate with the Public Health Associate Program (PHAP) class of 2013, with the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (OSTLTS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has been assigned to the Tuberculosis (TB) Surveillance Unit, New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) since July 2013. Before joining PHAP, Priyanka conducted public health research abroad in Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Sabrina Delay (@leadconnectnews)
Sabrina is a 2011 Presidential Management Fellow, an early adopter of the GovLoop Mentors Program and a graduate of the College at the University of Chicago. She works in Fort Worth, TX in the Office of Public and Indian Housing as a program analyst. In her spare time she works as competitive volleyball coach and supports a company called Leadership Connection.
Aileen Crowe Nandi
Aileen Crowe Nandi will arrive in El Salvador in late July 2014 to assume the position of Regional Senior Commercial Officer for Central America. She will manage the U.S. Department of Commerce’s operations in El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras and will oversee partnership programs with the State Department on commercial activities in Belize and Nicaragua. Ms. Nandi currently serves in the San Jose (Silicon Valley) Export Assistance Center, where she leads innovation initiatives for Global Markets (a unit of 2000 employees) in the International Trade Administration.
What a great set of bloggers! Can’t wait to read their posts!
Glad to see I am in such great company! The next few months should be very interesting!