PA 509 Organizational Experience Profile: Jennifer McFarland

Jennifer McFarland
MPA 2009, Specialization in Global Leadership and Management

MPA classes:
Global Leadership and Management
Sustainable Development Implementation
Contemporary Governance
Development Management in Vietnam
Managing Public Programs
Cross-Cultural Communication
Values-Based Management
Program Evaluation and Management

Jen worked for Portland State University as the Project Manager for a Miller Grant project, Public Leadership for Sustainable Development during the spring of 2009. This project was supported by the Hatfield School of Government and the Executive Leadership Institute.

What did your PA 509 Organizational Experience project entail?
I served as the project manager for the "Public Leadership for Sustainable Development" project. My primary tasks were to support Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) faculty in the development of a public leadership for sustainable development framework. I also coordinated the development of a website, organized meetings, wrote reports and grants, assisted with initial conference design, and performed other project implementation tasks aligned with the project goals, including:

--Creating a Sustainability Leadership Collaborative (SLC), a community of scholars and practitioners, who provided a forum for future learning and curricular development.

--Coordinating a public leadership curriculum conference at PSU for domestic and global partners June 9-10, 2009, to co-produce curriculum intended for integration into current coursework.

--Writing a Miller Round II grant proposal for project continuation.

This required building on skills developed during my previous project management experiences, such as time management, attention to detail, report and grant writing, and facilitation. Additionally, this position afforded the unique opportunity to draw on competencies obtained from relevant coursework such as Managing Public Programs (PA 510), Contemporary Governance (PA 510), Global Leadership and Management (PA 514), Development Management in Vietnam (PA 510), and Cross-Cultural Communication (PA 549).

What was your personal goal for choosing this as your PA 509? What did you hope to accomplish?
I selected this project because I have a passion for sustainable development, project management, and bringing diverse groups of people together for a common cause - this project allowed me the opportunity to build upon these passions while also cultivating skills and relationships that I hope will help me achieve my long-term career goals.

How has participating in an internationally-focused organizational experience helped you tie together your MPA experience?
The international component of this project involved collaborating with the Ho Chi Minh Academy (HCMA), an academy in Hanoi, Vietnam, dedicated to building leadership competencies for public leaders throughout Vietnam. Representatives from HCMA attended the project conference in June, and participated in building leadership and sustainable development frameworks. Because I had only recently returned from my first trip to Vietnam, it was a wonderful way to finish my MPA experience.

How has participating in an internationally focused organizational experience helped you in your job search?
Although I haven’t started my job search, this experience was a building block to my future career aspirations.

What do you see yourself doing in the next 5 years? In the next 10 years?
In the next three to five years, I would like to work as a program manager overseas, either for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) or the United States Peace Corps, preferably in Asia, because of my experiences in Kazakhstan and Vietnam. One position of particular interest to me is the Program and Training Officer position at the Peace Corps, which provides strategic planning, program management and analysis, and education policy guidance to the Peace Corps Country Director, and USAID and Embassy staff. Working internationally is just one of many possible career paths I see for myself. As someone passionate about helping others, I am always willing to serve!

What other advice would you give to a current MPA student with an interest in international work?
I think the best thing you can do as an MPA student is maximize your experiences. Meet as many people as possible - students and professionals. If you aren't working - get a job that will help you in your future career endeavors. Get to know your professors - they can be great resources for getting to know the things you need to know, the things that aren't in the textbooks. Take advantage of travelling. The best experience in my two years in the program was going to Vietnam with Dr. Ingle. I wish now I'd been able to go to Washington, D.C., with Dr. Shinn, or Mexico with Dr. Corbett. Even if you don't think you can afford it, these trips are well worth the money because it's always better to have your boots on the ground.