Humans of Public Service

Katie Ritchie Phoenix, Arizona She/Her Post 2/3 Government youth leadership programs tend to attract students who are already natural-born leaders. You see the same hundred faces rotating through different programs. As someone who's been in that circle, I understand both its value and its limitations. Now, as Co-Advisor to the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council in Tempe, AZ, I work with 30 high school students on their community projects. My goal isn't just to support these projects, it's to reshape how we think about youth leadership. This summer, I interned at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Communications and Outreach in DC. I worked on Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion initiatives, Back to School programs, family engagement – all these crucial touchpoints between government and community. What struck me most was how these programs could shape young leaders' outlooks on the world. That's what drives me now, expanding these opportunities beyond the usual suspects. How do we reach the quiet kid with brilliant ideas? The student who's never seen themselves as a leader? Public service is about building bridges and opening doors for others to walk through. Thank you to our partner The Volcker Alliance for spotlighting Katie.

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Katie Ritchie Phoenix, Arizona She/Her Post 1/3 I was a freshman in high school when the pandemic hit. While other students were trying to adjust to virtual learning, I found myself drawn to something unexpected, our district's governing board meetings. There was something fascinating about watching policies being shaped in real-time, decisions that would directly impact my peers and me. I'd sit there listening to debates about school budgets and curriculum reshaping, and something clicked. This wasn't just administrative work – this was where real change happened. This was where voices could make a difference. That curiosity led me to the Arizona Governor's Youth Commission, where I became the Education Workgroup Chair. Suddenly, I wasn't just observing anymore, I was developing programs to share Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) resources with underserved communities, creating pathways to post-secondary education for students who might not see college as an option. Almost four years later, I still believe those school board meetings are where young people can find their voice. It's where I learned that advocacy isn't just about speaking up, it's about showing up, listening, and understanding how to create change from within the system.

Tessa Baber Guymon, Oklahoma Post 2/2 A lot of people think that the Oklahoma Department of Human Services is just Child Welfare Services. But that's not all we are. I love being able to educate my community about our resources. We're bridging gaps. Instead of making families come to an office when they need help, which can feel embarrassing. We can meet them at school or in their homes. We're offering something more personal. I had this case with a little boy who desperately needed dental work. Being in a rural area, we couldn't find help locally, he needed pediatric anesthesia, specialized equipment. After some research, I found a dental office two hours away that would accept his insurance. We arranged transportation, got him there and back. Now he's thriving because he's not in pain anymore. He's got this beautiful smile. There was another family I helped apply for Social Security disability. They didn't think they'd qualify, thought it would be too hard. I sat with them at their kitchen table, helped them apply, do their interview, and submit all the documents. In this economy, that money made all the difference for their child. The way I see it, these children in public schools are our future. If they learn young that it's okay to ask for help, we all need help sometimes, that's powerful. We just need to be there, ready to support them, ready to show them what being a good human looks like. There are hard days, sure. But the good days far outweigh the tough ones. Twenty years ago, when I became a first generation 4 year college graduate, I dreamed of being a social worker in schools, but those positions didn't exist, the need wasn't recognized. Now here I am, serving the community that raised me. I'm on cloud nine.

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Tessa Baber Guymon, Oklahoma (Post 1/2) After high school, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. My mom worked part-time at the Panhandle Area Sheltered Workshop, helping adults with developmental disabilities. I'd visit her sometimes, bringing her lunch, watching as she cared for the residents in the group home. Something about it just felt right. As soon as I turned 18, I applied. For six years, I worked as a Habilitation Training Specialist, teaching social skills, housekeeping, personal hygiene, and financial literacy. We'd take them grocery shopping, help them budget, do laundry. I volunteered with the Special Olympics all six years too. After graduating from Oklahoma Panhandle State University, I spent four years as a social service coordinator at a nursing home. That's where I really learned about the human side of care. When you're putting a loved one in a nursing home, that's incredibly hard. I got to see the ugly, but I also got to see the really good. To this day, I'm still connected with some of the families. Those relationships stick with you. Ten years ago, I joined the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Now I'm a school-based specialist, working across elementary and middle schools in my hometown district – the same one where I grew up, where my kids go now. I'm giving back to the district that helped raise me. That's something I really cherish. People sometimes ask how I do this work. Honestly, I couldn't imagine doing anything else. It just comes natural to me to want to help. That's all I know. I've never really thought about another career.

We’re excited to spotlight John Radovan during Veteran’s Day. He leverages his role to make fundamental advances in artificial intelligence to improve Department of the Air Force operations while also addressing broader societal needs. Happy Veteran’s Day! Thank you all for your service! John Radovan Carlisle, MA I am a second generation Filipino American currently stationed in Cambridge, MA. I joined the Air Force in 2002 after the attack on September 11, 2001 as an E-1 Weather Technician. I’ve served for the last 20 years and what has kept me in the military has been the exceptionally high caliber of the individuals I’ve worked with. They have truly become an extended family. I earned my commission in 2011 and today I am the Deputy Director of the Department of the Air Force - MIT Artificial Intelligence Accelerator. I’ve served in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and on both U.S. coasts. Along the way, before standing up my current unit at MIT, I’ve met lifelong friends while serving during the “Surge” in Iraq, lived in Germany on the Mosel River surrounded by wonderful people and world-class vineyards, been stationed on a little slice of paradise in the Pacific, and traveled to the Amazon to participate in the Education with Industry program. Most importantly, my time in the military brought me to my wife 18 years ago, who I met at my first duty station. And I’ve been able to experience all of this with my family: my wife, Michelle, and our three beautiful children: John (12), Kairos, (4), Isabella (1).

Ashley Owens Atlanta, GA She/Her Post 3/3 Public service is evolving toward a more digital-first public experience. The government is at a place where it understands what customer experience means to citizens, not just what it means technically. We're always going to have to check off regulatory or legislative boxes, but there's a human at the end of these things. It's nice to see that in the procurement and acquisition space, we are shifting to making sure that the dollars we spend are focused on those user needs. For anyone looking to start in government, I'd say that whatever you're passionate about, the government has a role for you. You just have to seek it out and find it. Public service is very rewarding, especially when you encounter people that have a better idea of what government does or appreciates government more because of something you did. Sometimes it's an invisible job. Nobody's going to walk down the street and recognize me for my work on a website. But just knowing that when they get home, they're going to have a better experience - it makes it all worth it. I'd tell anyone, especially those coming from a small town like I did, that a role in public service can take you to heights you probably wouldn't even think of. The government is agnostic to who you were before you got there. It really cares about the work you're doing and what you show that you can do for others. Public service means being a steward of the taxpayer dollar and treating citizens as our customers. It's about asking, “How can we make things better?” and acting with urgency around that. Because at the end of the day, we're here to serve the public, and that's a responsibility I take very seriously.

Ashley Owens Atlanta, GA She/Her (Post 2/3) I really do believe in our government. But for it to live up to what it's supposed to be, it has to work. When people complain about the government not working for them, it's not like they can roll up to one place called “the government” and complain. At most their only conduit to complain is an email or a number on a website. The government is the world's largest buyer. The federal government spends about $90 billion annually on information technology. That's a lot of taxpayer dollars. Fortune 500 companies don't spend that annually on their tech. On the other end, that's a lot of funds for small businesses. The government could be an economic beacon for small businesses when we structure our contracts the right way and make sure that our contracts are structured for users of government services. We owe it to the citizens to be using those dollars right. Everything is acquisition adjacent. I always say that. There are about 2 billion visits to federal websites each month. Through my passion to make procurement user-centered, I'm able to help citizens in a twofold way: by improving their experience with government services and by creating opportunities for small businesses. I specialize in real talk because I think if we had more of that in the government, a lot of decisions would be different. When you are nervous or scared, that's when mistakes happen. It's a fundamental principle around Agile to have a blameless culture. If you look at the case studies of major websites that had issues, a lot of it was people scared throughout the organization to say something. But had they said something, a citizen wouldn't have suffered later. That's why I say, “No, we have to bring honesty to the table and make it a safe space.” Every problem that you bring up is on a roadmap. But there's a citizen that doesn't have that roadmap or time to wait. They need to put dinner on the table tonight, or they need their Social Security benefits now. We should always act with a sense of urgency.

Ashley Owens Atlanta, GA She/Her (Post 1/3) I've always been interested in community service and philanthropic work, but I'm an Aquarius, so I do like nice things. When I graduated with my Masters, it was in the middle of the recession. At first, I was just hoping to get a good job with my degree. My MBA is in agribusiness, which is a more unique MBA to have, but I always wanted to do something where I was helping people, too. I ended up landing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because they were a big sponsor of a conference I went to: Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS). I thought, “Okay, this is a way to have a great career with good stability and helping people at the same time.” It felt like a win-win. I could pay off my student debt while making a difference. My focus is on technology. Most people interact with the government digitally now, mainly via websites, and the work I do helps make those interactions better. When people complain about a government experience or that they're trying to get a benefit and it's hard, My goal is to make that experience easier. A lot of people I encounter are already in a harder space in life, or they wouldn't be going to a government website. They're going there because they actually need something from their government to help them. That experience should be easy. I remember this one time, I was getting my lashes done in Vegas for my birthday. The girl doing my lashes asked what I did, and I mentioned a website we had worked on about opioid addiction. She told me she had used that site to help a friend who was addicted to opioids. I wouldn't have thought a 20-something would be saying that to me, but it made me feel so good. Those are the stories that keep me going.