ASPA Newsletter Spring 2022

In consideration of the overwhelming sense of concern about the Pandemic and its impact on our lives, The South Florida Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration Inc has had a very productive second half of its fiscal year of operation. We began with the successful execution of its annual program agenda to date In February in celebration of Black History Month we executed a very successful Best Practices Conference our 18th Annual though in a virtual format We followed that up by attending the Annual Conference of the American Society for Public Administration where we had a very strong contingent of our membership in attendance and participation as presenters, moderators, and panelists in our annual exhibition of our parent organization’s excellence in the production of this event well into its 80th decade of representing public servants

On our return we executed our feature event in the month of March, our Women’s History Month event where we honor women who have excelled in their fields of endeavor, and this year there were six distinguished women as recipients. A hallmark of all our events is the distribution of scholarships representing individuals who have made significant contributions to public administration Scholarships are critical to the academic life of future public servants, and we are committed to expanding our ability to assist this population in whatever way we can Our fundraising efforts will continue to be expansive as we strive to accomplish our goals.

We are looking forward to our Annual Awards Reception taking place on June 23, 2022.

MEMBERS SPOTLIGHT

HONORING CARRIE MEEK

FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE

Carrie P Meek was an educator and politician, a native of Florida born and raised in Tallahassee. She attended Florida A&M University and received her MS degree from University of Michigan, She taught at Bethune Cookman University and Florida A&M University before moving to Miami and working at Miami Dade Community College in 1961 Carrie Meek’s political career started when she ran for the Florida House of Representatives as a Democrat where she served until 1982. In 1983 she became a Florida State Senator and served until 1992. She served the 17th Congressional District and became the first black member of Congress from Florida since reconstruction She was a pioneer within the Miami community advocating on behalf of South Florida Black communities, Haitian immigrants and the working poor

Although her term ended in 2003 at age 76, she continued to make a life long impact in the South Florida community. Through her foundation, the Carrie Meek Foundation, she continued to focus on issues of equity in Miami Dade county providing opportunities for grants, civic engagement and community development

Carrie Meek's legacy continues to live on through her foundation and her family. Through the generous support of the Carrie Meek Foundation, the ASPA South Florida Chapter is able to provide a scholarship to dedicated and exception students in South Florida. See page 4 for information on this year ' s recipient

Please visit carriemeekfoundation.org for more information.

"I wanted to see things changed, and wanted to assist any movement to help with changing it."

Carrie Meek (seated) on February 20, 2015 at the Best Practice's Conference at Florida Memorial College.

Quote and photo credit: United States House of Representatives

MEMBERS SPOTLIGHT

HONORING JOHNATHAN WEST

FORMER PROFESSOR, POLITICAL SCIENCE DIRECTOR, MPA PROGRAM UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

Dr Johnathan West was a beloved teacher, mentor and professor at the University of Miami. He dedicated his career toward developing future public servants. For over 40 years, Dr. West served as MPA Director at the University of Miami where he was instrumental in developing the program to give students a "professional edge" by teaching essential components of public service leadership, ethics and techniques in a stimulating seminar style environment In addition to his role as MPA Director, Dr. West served as head of the newly developed MPP program and taught courses in human resource management, public policy and implementation and politics and ethics

Dr. West was an accomplished scholar, mentor and public servant. He was a member of the Iron Arrow Society and received numerous awards and recognitions including the lifetime achievement award from ASPA's Section on Ethics and the Luis Glaser

Award

West's legacy lives on through his family,

an endowment fund at the University of Miami.

to the Jonathan P. West Graduate

Educational

"Dr. West was a remarkable scholar, teacher, professor and mentor. He will be missed by our entire community."

-Roslyn Alic-Batson, ASPA SF President

RECOGNITION -

DIRECTOR, MAURICE A FERRÉ INSTITUTE FOR CIVIC LEADERSHIP ASSOCIATE TEACHING PROFESSOR, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Dr Agatha Caraballo was recognized for her outstanding achievements to the community by recieving a proclamation from the Miami Dade County Office of the Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners for Dr Agatha Caraballo Day on January 17, 2022.

ROSLYN ALIC-BATSON

ASPA SOUTH FLORIDA PRESID STRATEGIC PROCUREMENT DI MIAMI DADE COUNTY

Roslyn Alic Batson received the Joan Fiss Bishop Service to ASPA award from the Section for Women in Public Administration honoring her service to ASPA, public service, and community engagement.

HONOREES

PAST EVENTS

Members of the South Florida Chapter at the ASPA National Conference in Jacksonville, FL. Members presented on a range of topics including gender equity, good governance and comparative government.

ALLEN ROSENBAUM

GLENN JOHNSON, ROSLYN ALIC BATSON AND TERRY MURPHY

BEST PRACTICES CONFERENCE

FEBRUARY

Our 16th annual Best Practices Conference featured professional and academic speakers from different public, private and nonprofit backgrounds. The conference theme, Recognizing the Value of Public Service: Leading the Recovery, sparked conversations about revitalizing public trust, strengthening democracy, and reforming community health. Some of our notable presenters included Javier Betancourt from the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust; Aneisha Daniel, Assistant City Manager for the City of North Miami; Joe Scott, Supervisor of Elections for Broward County; and the Honorable Daniella Levine-Cava from Miami-Dade County.

PAST EVENTS BEST PRACTICES AWARD RECIPIENTS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT

RTHA HENRY, COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, BROWARD COUNTY

MYRLANDIE MYRBEL DEWEY W KNIGHT JR MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT

MORDIA JOHNSON (LEFT)

EBONY MONCHOIR (RIGHT)

DONNA COMRIE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

ABOU

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PUBLIC ADMINIST

SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER

The ASPA South Florida Chapter's mission is to enhance p administration, promote the profession and preserve the p trust by providing expertise, direction, and leadership for members and other stakeholders. For more information o please visit http://aspasouthfl.org.

BOARD MEMBERS

ROSLYN ALIC BATSON, MSM, CPPB President

EVELYN RODRIGUEZ PLESA, PHD President Elect

ANGELA MILLER, MPA Recording Secretary

GLENN JOSEPH, MPA, MBA

KAILA WITKOWSKI, PHD, MSW, MPA Treasurer Corresponding Secretary

ISIDORO LOPEZ, ESQ., MPA

VERNISE ESTORCIEN, MPA Immediate Past President Student Representative

BOARD MEMBERS

Seraphin Bernard, MPA (2022)

Rina Gomez, BBA, MPA, PHR, SHRM CP (2023)

Tom Hotz, BA, MPA (2022)

Jorene Jameson, PhD, (2022)

Sharon McIntyre, PhD, (2023)

Terry Murphy, PhD, (2023)

Benjamin Paley, MPA (2023)

Jean M Pierre, PhD (2022)

William Solomon, Esq (2022)

Charles Scurr, PhD, (2023)

NATIONAL LIAISONS

Allan Rosenbaum, PhD, National President District 3 Representative: Terry Murphy, PhD Miriam Singer

Become a member today

aspasouthfl.org for more information

Editor: KAILA WITKOWSKI