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In Support of the Public Service Pipeline
The American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) has released the following statement supporting those who aspire to work in the civil service.
For eight-plus decades, ASPA has brought its mission—advancing excellence in public service—to life by educating, publishing and convening. We support and encourage our members’ work at every level of government, providing them with the knowledge, skills and expertise they need to serve their communities well. As important, we have the responsibility to sound the alarm when a well-trained and professional civil service is put at risk.
Recent actions by the Trump Administration to decimate the public service pipeline—impacting those at the outset of their careers, those in the middle and those transitioning roles—are a disservice to these professionals, the policymakers for whom they work, the public they serve and the constitutional order that is the foundation of public service.
The elimination of the Presidential Management Fellows program strikes at the heart of building a workforce of the future with individuals serving a noble cause. The shuttering of the Federal Executive Institute sends the clear message that the administration does not prioritize developing a competent, expert public service. And, adding partisan essays as part of the federal hiring process needlessly politicizes functions across agencies, trading accountability and professionalism for the spoils system.
These actions are wrong. The PMF program should be reinstated, FEI should be reopened and hiring should be based on competence, not personal loyalty. We support efforts by Members of Congress to do just that. But, most important, we say this to every individual who has considered public service for their profession: Continue to dedicate yourself to this calling. It is through your work at all levels of government and in the nonprofit sector that you will help our communities thrive. Even in the absence of the programs and regulatory bodies that have strengthened the public service, this pipeline can—and must—continue and grow. The interests of the public are far more important than narrow political interests.
ASPA 2026 Annual Conference Call for Proposals Closes September 19
ASPA's 2026 Annual Conference will take place March 20-24, 2026, in Hollywood! The theme will be, "Building a Bridge to Renewal and Resilience." The Call for Proposals will accept all proposals through next Friday, September 19, 2025, at midnight (ET). Submit yours by the deadline for consideration.
Far more than an esoteric concept, “public administration” conveys so much in just two words. This work provides for our communities in big ways and small, no matter the policy choices or political winds swirling around us. From emergency management to public finance to public services to transportation to community support and more, public administration makes “it” happen.
During times like these, as change swarms and dominates, public administration holds steady, providing continuity, showing the pride in public service and ensuring that public needs are met. It takes special skill, motivation and talent to do this work. We are called to it. And we are called to come together to learn from each other—public servants, researchers, scholars, students, professors, nonprofit experts and policymakers—to navigate this environment. We are called to provide hope, trust, connection and purpose for our communities, states, country and world.
The 2026 Annual Conference aims to begin building the bridge we need to take us from today’s environment to what comes next. We can do “it” better. It is up to us to figure out how. It is up to us to share our knowledge, build our networks and be ready to help our communities, our workforce and our teams be more efficient, effective, economical, ethical and equitable. In short: Be resilient. We are living in a time of change and uncertainty; now is the time to plan for our renewal.
Seven tracks will guide our conversations and provide space for both research and practice:
- Citizen engagement and participation
- AI and digital transformation
- Public workforce, HR and organizational culture
- Democratic governance and public trust
- Emergency management
- Environmental sustainability and crisis response
- Public finance and economics
- Global governance and administration
Workshops, student learning, full research panels and “promising practices” studies are welcome. These proposals will form the bulk of the sessions presented during the conference and provide attendees with learning objectives throughout the event.
View our Presenters Guidelines here to learn more to help you shape a perfect proposal. View our Frequently Asked Questions here. Registration rates and other details will be announced in the coming weeks. Check our website to stay updated!
Contact [email protected] with any questions.
Remember: All proposals are due September 19, 2025. Finalize and submit yours today.
E-Learning at Your Fingertips
ASPA staff work tirelessly to keep your skills up to date and the information flowing all year long through our e-learning program. Visit our website to see more details about upcoming KeepingCurrent, BookTalk and Student and New Professional series programming.
BookTalk: Achieving Social Equity: From Problems to Solutions
September 16 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT
Sponsored by ASPA's Frederickson Center for Social Equity
Speakers:
Mary Guy, Professor, University of Colorado Denver
Sean McCandless, Associate Professor, University of Texas at Dallas
Good government requires attention to equity in the same way it requires attention to effectiveness, efficiency and economy. But equity is elevated above other imperatives because it focuses on people and how they are affected. This BookTalk, sponsored by ASPA's Frederickson Center for Social Equity, is about how to identify issues impacting fairness for everyone and how to audit for progress in today’s environment. Looking toward a goal of sustainability, challenges ranging from health care and housing to public transit and environmental justice are considered.
KeepingCurrent: 2025 Jerzy Hauptmann Lecture
September 18 | 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. EDT
In partnership with Park University
Speaker:
Daniel Nexon, Professor, Georgetown University
This annual lecture from Park University will feature Daniel Nexon of Georgetown University as he discusses, "The Great Unraveling: American Decline and the Crisis of Liberal Order."
Student and New Professional: Where Policy Meets People: Leading through Code Compliance
September 24 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT
Speakers:
Linda Nathan, Moderator, ASPA Student Representative and Advocacy Supervisor, DisabilityRightsTexas
Dezirae Rae, Senior Code Compliance Officer, Coppell, Texas
This presentation will explore how MPA graduates can find meaningful and impactful careers in the field of code compliance, while also highlighting the role our profession plays in community well-being, policy implementation and public trust.
KeepingCurrent: Redefining Disaster Response: Strengthening Local and Regional Emergency Management Systems
September 25 | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EDT
Sponsored by ASPA's Section on Emergency and Crisis Management and Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management
Speakers:
Curtis Brown, Former State Coordinator, Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Mona Curry, Former Councilmember, Hawai'i Advisory Council on Emergency Management
Naim Kapucu, Pegasus Professor of Public Administration and Policy, University of Central Florida
Jordan Zendejas, Associate Director of Tribal Management and Emergency Services, University of Nebraska at Omaha
As the national framework for disaster response undergoes significant transformation, the responsibility for managing emergencies is increasingly shifting to state, local and regional entities. This webinar explores how emergency management professionals can adapt to a decentralized model, build resilient systems and foster collaboration across jurisdictions and sectors.
From the Archives
KeepingCurrent: Equity and Public Management
During this webinar, our panelists explored how integrating equity into performance management can drive meaningful change in public service. Sponsored by ASPA's Center for Accountability and Performance. (Members only)
Students and New Professionals: Building a Successful Mentor-Mentee Relationship
This webinar offered useful information to students and new professionals for developing effective mentor-mentee relationships. Our speakers provided tips for becoming an effective mentor, navigating the challenges to a successful mentor-mentee relationship, identifying effective mentor-mentee relationship, approaching potential mentors, lacking defined roles or clear goals/objectives and effective time management for both parties. (Members only)
In Memoriam: Diane M. Disney
With sadness, ASPA shares news of the passing of long-time member and 2018-2024 National Council District II Representative Diane M. Disney.
An ASPA member since 2012, Disney was actively engaged in the national organization as well as the Keystone (Pennsylvania) Chapter and the Section on Personnel Administration and Labor Relations. She served on many national committees, including the Development Committee (of which she was inaugural chair), Bylaws Review Committee, Endowment Board and Founders' Fellows Selection Committee. She received the Donald C. Stone Service to ASPA Award in 2022. She was deeply committed to ASPA and to public service—so much so that her colleagues and friends recently underwrote a Founders’ Fellow seat in her honor. Her commitment to rigorous governance protocol was laudable and her love for the oxford comma was legendary (she'll have to forgive us for following AP style in this memorial).
Disney was a graduate of Stetson University in Deland, Florida. She held a master’s degree from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Rhode Island (URI). She received her doctorate in policy analysis from Brandeis University.
During the Clinton administration, Disney served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for civilian personnel policy at the Department of Defense. In this capacity, she oversaw the development and implementation of policies for managing the department's workforce of nearly 1 million civil service and other employees. Her areas of responsibility included staffing, training and education, compensation, labor and employee relations, systems modernization and regionalization, and rightsizing. She served on the U.S.-Portugal Bilateral Commission; chaired committees for the U.S.-Chilean Consultative Commission, the U.S.-Argentina Bilateral Commission and the U.S.-Brazil Bilateral Commission; provided technical assistance to the Defense Ministries of Slovenia, Croatia, Chile and Argentina; and headed U.S. delegations negotiating with Germany on tax and employment issues and with Portugal and Korea on labor issues.
Disney headed the Rhode Island Office of Defense Economic Adjustment and developed the New England Defense Adjustment Project. For several years, she was director of the Research Center on Business and Economics at URI, where she was an associate professor of management. Active in economic development, she was a principal researcher for the state's Workforce 2000 Council through URI's Labor Research Center, as well as a member of the Governor's JOBS-RI Council. She also had an adjunct appointment to the graduate faculty of the Heller School at Brandeis University, headed the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and worked as Rhode Island associate for the Urban Institute's Nonprofit Sector Project.
Disney joined Penn State as professor of management and dean of Commonwealth College in 2009; she retired in 2011 and joined the Brandywine campus as professor of management, where she stayed for more than 10 years.
In addition to serving as a management consultant to numerous governmental agencies and private concerns, Disney was a board or committee member for more than 30 nonprofit organizations, including the Naval War College Foundation and the National Federation of State Humanities Councils. She served on the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the Federal Human Resources Technology Council, the Governor's Personnel System Review Committee, the Rhode Island Human Resource Investment Council, five state legislative commissions and the Civil Justice Advisory Board for the U.S. District Court (as vice-chair). She also was a director of Providence Energy Corporation. She was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 1997, where she served as board chair from 2012-2013.
Disney wrote and edited publications on various aspects of management and was a book review editor of Compensation & Benefits Management. Her most recent book was The Sourcebook on Postretirement Health Care Benefits. In 1994, she was named the Rhode Island Woman of the Year; in 2000 she was named to the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Stetson University (1999); the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service (2001); and the Director's Citation for Exemplary Public Service from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (2001). She also was awarded the Exceptional Public Service Award from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service. The Naval War College presents the annual Diane M. Disney award to students who work diligently to improve their writing skills throughout the course.
Happily married to writer/musician Chuck Glore until his passing in 2013, Disney and Glore enjoyed a side-career writing mystery novels together (under the pseudonym Diane Charles).
Disney will be remembered for many things: her love of newspapers, the importance of medallions and her passion for public service are just three. She was one of a kind and will be missed greatly.
In Memoriam: Sallyanne Harper
Sallyanne Harper, married to Francis J. Nathans, Jr. for 45 years, died peacefully at her home in Annandale, Virginia on September 1, 2025.
Harper was a member of and affiliated with ASPA since 2010. She was a member of the National Capital Area Chapter and the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management, as well as the Section for Women in Public Administration and Section on Public Performance and Management. She received the National Public Service Award—a joint award given by ASPA and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)—in 2010.
Harper was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. She joined one of the first classes at LaSalle University that permitted women students. While a student there, she helped organize the Women's Center, helped arrange child care on campus and was the first captain of the field hockey team. She was an outspoken advocate for women's sports and other activities on campus, and credited her LaSalle experience with shaping her life. She was in the honors program and graduated magna cum laude with her bachelor's degree; she received her MBA at The George Washington University; and she graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Senior Manager in Government program, which led her into numerous leadership roles in the federal government.
Harper worked at the Naval Air Systems Command before being confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be chief financial officer and deputy assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, a post she held for 10 years. Thereafter, she became chief financial officer of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a legislative branch independent agency that serves as a Congressional watchdog on behalf of Congress and the American people.
After retiring from the federal government, Harper worked for AOC Solutions, a veteran-owned business that consulted with federal agencies on management solutions. She also was a co-founder and officer of the Association of Federal Enterprise Risk Management Association and taught at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. She served as a board member for the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board from 2019-2024. She was an elected fellow of NAPA, where she served as treasurer and a member of the Board of Trustees.
Harper was a standout many times in her life. LaSalle honored her with its first LaSalle University Women's Leadership Award and an honorary Doctorate of Human Letters degree. Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School awarded her its Trocaire Leadership Award in 2016 for her ability to inspire and motivate others while exhibiting leadership.
Harper will be missed by all who knew her and benefited from her generous spirit.
You may read her official obituary online here.
Fall Is the Perfect Time to Join ASPA!
The summer months are almost behind us and everyone is speeding up for the fall—which means it is time to add new resources to your library and encourage those around you to do the same! The good news is so many resources you need are included in ASPA membership, whether in webinar, article, conference or journal format, saving you time and effort in finding the expertise you need to overcome your challenges.
ASPA's mission is to advance excellence in public service; when you join ASPA, you're not only gaining access to all of our resources but also supporting public service as a profession. Now more than ever, we need to join together in promoting the great things public service makes happen across society.
If you've been meaning to rejoin ASPA, now's the time to do it. If you are a professor and have classrooms full of students, now is the time to sign them up! If you have never joined ASPA, try it now and see what you've been missing.
Check out our list of benefits and services and then head to our application form to sign up. Professors: ASPA can help you sign up groups of students any time. Contact us for assistance.
Every fall we welcome hundreds of new members to our society. We look forward to counting you, your peers and your colleagues among them in the next few months! Join today!
Boost Your Brand This Fall with ASPA!
Did you know: ASPA hosts advertising opportunities all year long? From a single website placement to a long-term ad in one of our newsletters (like this one!) to targeted email sends, there are so many opportunities to use ASPA's media to promote your brand.
In fact, this newsletter is one of our best placements! Sent to more than 15,000 people and receiving a 45 percent open rate, this is an excellent place for your brand to shine. Placements are available for the October, November and December editions!
Additional options include:
- PA TIMES Online Email and Website
- Distributed via email to 12,000 people per edition with a 37 percent open rate
- 85 percent of website viewers are new
- Email and web placement: $2,150 per month
- Purchase this pair for six months: $10,000
- ASPA’s Website, www.aspanet.org
- Accessed by 30,000 unique viewers per month
- 82 percent of viewers are new
- Side navigation placement: $2,290 per month
- Purchase this for six months: $12,000
- Targeted Email Blasts
- Sent to your desired demographic
- You provide the art, we provide the list!
- $1 per address
We're happy to help you with customized packages, as well—targeted to your specific goals, to get you in front of the people you care about the most.
Placements are available for all of these resources in the coming months. Reach out now and get your brand in front of ASPA's members and beyond!
Proposed Rule Calls for Changing Standards for Student Loan Forgiveness
The Department of Education has issued a draft rule outlining changes for qualifying for federal student loan forgiveness. The consequences could be substantial, not only for students seeking qualifying jobs but also for those currently taking advantage of the program, including forcing borrowers to seek out new employment if their job no longer qualifies and they want to continue pursuing student loan forgiveness.
The new rules, if enacted, would cut off nonprofit or government organizations if the Department of Education determines by a preponderance of evidence “that a qualifying employer has engaged on or after July 1, 2026, in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose.” The proposed regulations define “substantial illegal purpose” to include activities such as providing health care services to transgender youth, facilitating the violation of federal immigration laws, violating state laws or engaging in activity that facilitates illegal discrimination.
Check out more details via the Federal Register.
Many observers expect there to be legal challenges once the new regulations are finalized next year.
Comments are being accepted for one more week, through September 17. Submit yours as soon as possible.
NAPA and GovExec Professional Development Academy Partner for Agile
The National Academy of Public Administration is launching a new educational program, Leading Agile Transformation, in partnership with GovExec’s Professional Development Academy, a respected platform dedicated to developing public sector leaders.
This Leading Agile program:
- Is conducted virtually over six weeks by world-renowned expert faculty beginning on September 29, 2025
- Equips leaders at each level of government with practical agile skills to meet the needs of service recipients, leverage networks and empower teams
- Qualifies for CPEs and an internationally recognized certification upon successful completion
To learn more and register, please click here. You also can reach out to Joe Mitchell, NAPA's director of strategic initiatives and international programs, with any questions.
Tips, Resources and Updates
Charities Push Feds to Keep Combined Federal Campaign
Executives from just fewer than 400 nonprofits have signed their organizations onto a letter asking the Office of Personnel Management to not cancel the annual Combined Federal Campaign, which has raised nearly $8.7 billion since its inception.
Here Are Your COVID Vaccine Questions Answered
One thing certain about the COVID vaccine right now is that everything about it is changing. New rules are causing confusion over who can and who can't get the updated COVID-19 shot.
In the News
Today's headlines contain plenty of news coverage of some of our nation's most pressing public administration challenges. ASPA has curated some of the most important stories from recent weeks. If you have not seen these yet, make sure you read them now!
Infrastructure
Public Finance
Public Service
Most news related to federal workforce changes by the current administration are being reported in Federal Workforce in Turmoil. Bridge subscribers have been automatically subscribed to that publication; contact us if you need to check about your ASPA email subscriptions.
Social Equity
Members in the News
Don Kettl:
Can Trump Do That?
Don Moynihan:
The Authoritarian Checklist
Howard Risher:
The Forgotten Key to Improving Performance: Culture Change
NYU Wagner School:
New NYU Wagner Dean Polly Trottenberg Makes the Pitch for Public Service
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