THE VOLCKER ALLIANCE is a nonprofit organization founded by former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A. Volcker dedicated to advancing his vision of an empowered public sector workforce. We promote innovation in public service education, empower leaders to build the democracy of our future, connect talent to city, state, and federal government jobs, and inspire others with the story of Mr. Volcker’s commitment to public service. Our mission is to empower the public sector workforce to solve the challenges facing our nation.
Reflection from the Chairman and the President
At a time when division dominates the national narrative, the Volcker Alliance is strengthening democracy by bringing people together. Our portfolio of work focuses on the people at the core of public service and, by doing so, serves as a steadfast source of optimism.
The example set by our founder, Paul A. Volcker, anchors our efforts and motivates our team. As a public servant, Chairman Volcker never allowed politics to influence his pursuit of smart policy. He valued partnership over partisanship. He built deep connections with thinkers and leaders of all kinds. As part of his legacy, we uplift the value of working together toward the public good.
Throughout 2023, we deepened our networks—of public servants, students, higher education leaders, philanthropists, and nonprofit peers— to coordinate and amplify our impact on public service. We designed and implemented initiatives to ensure our democracy has leaders at the helm who understand the imperative of service. Through our work, we are building a bench of changemakers who represent the diversity of our country and stand ready to collaboratively shape its future.
Democracy is a project in which we all have a stake. Together we can make it more reflective, responsive, and resilient.
We envision a public sector workforce with the experience, preparation, and commitment to ensure government is accountable and delivers with excellence.
Senator Bill Bradley, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Sara Mogulescu, President
Educate Connect
Deans Summit
The Deans Summit is a network of over 70 deans and directors of the nation’s schools of public service who shed their competitive posture in favor of collective action and innovation.
Constructive
Dialogue Curriculum Initiative (CDCI)
The Constructive Dialogue Curriculum Initiative drives the design of innovative curricula that prepare the next generation of public service leaders to bridge divides and work collaboratively across differences.
Conversations
for Leaders of Schools of Public Service (CLSPS)
Conversations for Leaders of Schools of Public Service is a virtual forum for candid conversation and peer-to-peer exchange among deans and directors of schools of public service.
Future Leaders of Schools of Public Service (FLSPS)
Future Leaders of Schools of Public Service is a mentorship program designed to create more racially and ethnically diverse leadership in schools of public service.
University Leadership Council on Diversity and Inclusion in International Affairs
University Leadership Council on Diversity and Inclusion in International Affairs helps academic leaders share strategies for fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion at their respective institutions.
Safety and Justice Challenge Future Leaders Network
The Safety and Justice Challenge Future Leaders Network aims to assemble a leadership pipeline of underrepresented criminal justice talent by targeting each stage of the employee life cycle—from entry level to middle management to leadership.
Government to University (G2U)
The Government to University Initiative (G2U) is a collaborative network of government, university, and nonprofit partners dedicated to connecting job seekers to government careers.
Virtual Career Fairs
Virtual career fairs connect hundreds of diverse, highly skilled job seekers to government employers urgently seeking talent.
Empower Inspire Volcker Alliance Initiatives
Special Briefing Series
The Special Briefing Series of webinars and podcasts brings federal, state, and local government leaders together with prominent researchers, economists, and investors to reflect on today’s most critical public finance issues.
Richard Ravitch Public Finance Initiative
The Richard Ravitch Public Finance Initiative seeks to catalyze intergovernmental collaboration to improve state and local budget practices.
Next Generation Service Corps
Next Generation Service Corps programs introduce undergraduates from all majors to public service values and build practical, collaborative leadership skills.
State and Local Budgeting in the COVID Era
This series of issue papers focuses on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on state and local budgeting and fiscal health.
The Paul A. Volcker Government Internship Award provides funding to students participating in internships with local, state, or federal government.
Paul A. Volcker Government Internship Award
Featured Initiative
The Deans Summit provides a space for deans and directors of the nation’s schools of public service to shed their competitive posture in favor of collective action. It is a powerful vehicle to propel innovation in the field of public service education
DEANS SUMMIT VALUES
1 Increase the socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic diversity of public service leadership at all levels of government;
2 Empower collaboration across disciplines, sectors, ideologies, and party lines in pursuit of solutions to the complex challenges of our time;
3 Instill a national culture of service and commitment to advance the common good;
4 Protect the core values upon which a stable democracy is based, including equity, equality, representativeness, accountability, transparency, respect, truth, and just administration of the rule of law;
5 Assist in the implementation of policies that are grounded in evidence and that leverage cutting-edge technology;
6 Expand civic participation; and
7 Ensure that leaders in all sectors meaningfully engage with the communities and citizens they serve.
Constructive Dialogue Curriculum Initiative
In the face of an alarming growth of political polarization on campuses and around the nation, the Constructive Dialogue Curriculum Initiative, launched by the Deans Summit, helps schools of public service implement innovative curricula that prepare the next generation of public service leaders to bridge divides and work collaboratively across differences.
In partnership with the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI), fourteen schools of public service are developing new courses or adapting existing ones to teach skills that enable working across difference, embedding CDI’s signature Perspectives program within their larger curricula.
The Volcker Alliance expects to release a white paper in summer 2025 that will share qualitative and quantitative data on the outcomes of the project and implications for public service education.
PARTICIPANTS
Carnegie Mellon University
Cornell University
Indiana University
Tulane University
University of Arkansas
University of California, Berkeley
University of Illinois Chicago
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of Pittsburgh
University of Texas at Dallas
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Featured Initiative
The Next Generation Service Corps (NextGen Service) is a network of programs at universities across the country that inspire and prepare students to serve their communities and nation.
NextGen Service was inspired by the Public Service Academy at Arizona State University Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. Each participating NextGen Service school has adopted aspects of the academy’s pioneering model while customizing its approach to leverage the unique assets of its community. Some schools have designed entirely new programs; others have enhanced existing courses, credentials, or resources. Many continue to add new elements as their programs mature.
The Volcker Alliance offers schools a range of support to propel design and implementation of NextGen Service programs, including seed funding, coaching, and structured opportunities to share progress and lessons learned.
NATIONAL STUDENT NETWORK
NextGen Service students are committed to serving their communities and charting the future of our democracy.
The NextGen Service National Student Network program brings students together on campus, across campuses, and virtually to provide networking and servicelearning opportunities.
WEST
ARIZONA
Arizona State University
NEW MEXICO
University of New Mexico
WASHINGTON
University of Washington
MIDWEST
INDIANA
Indiana University
NEBRASKA
University of Nebraska Omaha
TEXAS
Texas Southern University
University of Houston
WISCONSIN
University of Wisconsin–Madison
NORTHEAST
NEW YORK
Baruch College
City College of New York
Syracuse University
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania State University
University of Pittsburgh
NEW JERSEY
Montclair State University
MARYLAND
University of Baltimore
SOUTHEAST
GEORGIA
Albany State University
Clark Atlanta University
Georgia State University
FLORIDA
Florida International University
NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina Central University
VIRGINIA
James Madison University
Featured Initiative
Virtual Career Fairs
Through partnerships with the Presidential Management Fellows Program, the Partnership for Public Service, the Tech Talent Project, and the State of North Carolina, the Volcker Alliance’s virtual career fairs have connected over 6,000 job seekers with representatives from more than 300 government agencies, fellowship programs, and nonprofits.
CAREER FAIR LOBBY
State and Local Budgeting in the COVID Era Issue Paper Series
The State and Local Budgeting in the COVID Era issue paper series focuses on the impact of the pandemic and resulting recession on states and localities. The series explores how states’ prepandemic budgeting policies affected how well they handled the crisis. It also identifies risks and opportunities that will contribute to states’ ability to successfully recover from the financial implications of COVID-19. Last, it recommends concrete policy improvements.
Featured Initiative
Paul A. Volcker Government Internship Award
The Paul A. Volcker Government Internship Award opens the door to careers in public service by providing funding to students participating in an internship with local, state, or federal government.
Arizona State University
Office of the Governor of California
University of Washington
Washington State Department of Health, Adolescent and Young Adults Health Unit
Indiana University Lake Station, Indiana City Hall
Montclair State University (MSU)
MSU College of Education and Human Services, Human Rights Education
Ava Lemke
Arizona State University
Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Care and Treatment Services
Alexia Aguilar
University of Houston
City of Houston, Office of Council Member
Edward Pollard
Georgia State University
Georgia State Senate, Office of Senator Halpern
University of Baltimore
Comptroller of Maryland Hearing and Appeals Division
Omayma Jabara
Sabrina Pereira
Jordan Madden
Ethan Fragoso
Efren Trejo Pantaleon
Koumudi Thanda
2023 RECIPIENTS
In Memoriam: Richard Ravitch
Richard Ravitch, a founding board member of the Volcker Alliance and longtime friend and ally of Paul A. Volcker, died on June 25, 2023, at the age of 89. Ravitch was a dynamic and deeply committed public servant, with an illustrious career that included New York lieutenant governor and chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. From 2011 to 2014, Ravitch and Volcker cochaired the State Budget Crisis Task Force which examined the financial condition of six of the nation’s most-populous states in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The work of the Task Force and Ravitch’s passion for it inspired the Volcker Alliance’s public finance portfolio, which has continued, under Ravitch’s incisive guidance, to improve budget transparency and fiscal sustainability in states and localities nationwide.
Welcome: Jennifer Pahlka
Jennifer Pahlka has joined the Volcker Alliance Board of Directors. Pahlka is the author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center and the Federation of American Scientists. She founded Code for America in 2010 and led the organization for ten years. In 2013, Pahlka took a leave of absence from Code for America to serve as US deputy chief technology officer under President Barack Obama and helped found the United States Digital Service. She served on the Defense Innovation Board under both Presidents Obama and Donald Trump. At the start of the pandemic, she cofounded United States Digital Response, which helps the government meet the needs of the public with volunteer tech support.
