My Incredible Coworkers

The other day during Sunday dinner I told my family that the people I work with were throwing me a baby shower the following day. My brother in law Drew looked up at me with a surprised expression and said, "Where do you work?," almost as if he didn't know that I either: A) have a job, or B) work in an office with people. It was quite funny. Perhaps he was just surprised that I work with people kind enough to throw me a baby shower. My coworkers are amazing--some of the greatest people I know. They helped make my two years in graduate school quite enjoyable and very rewarding. Here are a few cameos:


This is Tricia--spunky, smart and Scottish. I give her complete credit for my success in our Administrative Law class. She was a graduate assistant with me last year, but now officially works for CPPA (the Center for Public Policy and Administration, the umbrella organization over the Master of Public Administration program that I work for) as a research assistant. Her policy perspectives pieces made the media come chasing after her for interviews in the past few months and although she loathes the attention, she does a great job. She is a great friend.

These are the three wise men, or wise guys depending on who you ask (sorry about the pathetic picture). Rick Green, on the left, is the Director of the MPA program. He is enthusiastic, caring and a proud Grandpa. Dave Patton, in the middle, is the director of CPPA and my boss. He loves to joke and sometimes we poor graduate assistants (four total) don't catch on as fast as we should. My growing baby belly has brought quite a few laughs to the office over the past few months because of Dave. He makes it fun to go to work. Ken Embly, on the right, handles outreach for CPPA. He is one of the most vibrant people I know--he loves his job. Most of my work with the Westside Leadership Institute has been with Ken. He's a great mentor.

Linda. What would we do without her. She is the Administrative Assistant for the MPA program. In my Practice of Public Management class last semester we were discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the MPA program and one of my classmates said, "Linda is our greatest asset." Her attention to detail in every aspect of her work is incredible. Just look at the two sets of hand-crocheted receiving blankets, burp cloths and bibs she gave us. (For those of you who have never crocheted, you should measure the time it took to do this like itunes measures the amount of music on your system, in days rather than hours). To think that our little guy will just spit up on these items!





This is Sarah. She is one of the great policy analysts working for CPPA. She has the best laugh and is great at playing the devil's advocate role during staff meetings. She just completed the NY marathon last fall with an incredible time. She is heading up the betting pool for when the baby will come and how much he will weigh. Everyone put in a dollar with their guesses. Some staff members bet that I only had five days to go. Yikes.


Holly, on my right, is the graduate assistant that has been working with me since day one. She is an awesome person--the kind of environmentally conscious citizen who spends their Spring Break helping save a forest in Oregon and petitions her apartment building to have a recycling bin. She is great. She just scored an awesome internship in Ralph Becker's (SLC's new mayor) office. Jenny, on the left, heads up the policy group for CPPA. She just had a little baby girl and has been an awesome daily resource for me and Bruiser. She is so thoughtful and is always complimentary and encouraging about my work.

And...this is me. :) See Drew, I do have a job and I do work with people, even if my cubicle is located behind the bookcases in the reference room. There is no place I would rather be. I feel bad that I am missing pictures of some really key players: the other GAs Lissy and Jamee; Angie and Melissa, the MPP and MPA program coordinators; Janice, policy analyst and mother of twins who has left me with some wonderful hand-me-downs (including a pair of Utah sweats for the little guy...) and Cathy, Julie, Jolaine, Shelly Megan, the other CPPA's super-heroes. I'll have to get them another day. This job and these people have made my experience at the U incredible. I feel lucky to know them.