Statement of the National Academy of Public Administration

Standing Panel on Social Equity in Governance

The convergence of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement amplifies centuries of struggle – the ideal of the conceptually embraced value of equality within democracy and the reality of its shortcomings relative to implementation. To achieve equitable outcomes in government policies, from policing to housing to health care to transportation and more, those programs must be free from racism and other forms of discrimination. The National Academy of Public Administration recognized the importance of these issues when it created the Standing Panel on Social Equity in Governance. The Academy’s Standing Panels focus on issues that are of such importance to effective government that they require constant attention. We plan to make social equity a higher priority by examining racial/ethnic and other disparities, by focusing on best practices to eradicate the epidemic of racism and other types of discrimination, and by collaborating with other standing panels in the Academy, government agencies, and other interested parties. We support NAPA efforts to address the Grand Challenges in Public Administration, particularly the way in which NAPA fosters social equity, supports diversity and inclusion and examines systemic racism in public administration.

We, the undersigned members of the Academy’s Standing Panel on Social Equity in Governance and other NAPA Fellows who believe this issue requires far more attention and action, stand resolved to help eliminate systemic racism, unconscious bias, and every form of discrimination in the development, implementation, and evaluation of policy in the . This is not work we can accomplish on our own. Government, and society itself, must change. We can, however, leverage our collective commitment, expertise, and experience to provide the practical and intellectual frameworks to redress racial and ethnic disparities that shape different outcomes for people based on the color of their skin. We, therefore, commit urgently and immediately to the following action agenda:

1. Ensure that Academy evaluations of governmental programs, whether administered at the Federal, state, or local level, identify and recommend elimination of policies and practices that have unjust racial impacts on individuals and families.

2. Develop and promote a framework to identify and eliminate policies and practices in existing and pending laws, regulations, and policies that have unjust racial impacts on individuals and families.

3. Hold Public Administrators and elected officials accountable for dismantling systemic racism and eliminating bias as well as achieving equitable results.

4. Reimagine how programs are administered to focus on the desired outcomes, rather than what’s easy to measure. For instance, while it is important to know how many people are served by a particular program, it is far more important to know what percentage of the population are thriving based upon that program.

5. Ensure racial equity is not marginalized within discussions on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

6. Ensure that our own organizations are led and staffed to represent the diversity of the populations they serve, and that our programs are free of bias, and encourage everyone in government to do the same.

7. Use the Academy’s convening ability to promote action on issues that foster social equity by educating others and ourselves about new perspectives and best practices, by sponsoring an ongoing series of publicly accessible programs online, and when circumstances permit, in person, and invite everyone reading this statement to participate in this agenda.

8. Affirm that we are totally transparent and accountable to the public in how we achieve each of these principles.

We realize that overcoming embedded racism and other biases may take time, but that there is an urgency that cannot be ignored. Such issues as white privilege, systematic racism, microaggressions, implicit as well as explicit racial bias, and a lack of cultural competence are far more real than we may want to admit. We ask that every administrator and elected official ensure that the voices of all people are included in every decision and that when we say “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people”, we truly mean it. Finally, we remind our leaders that equality for all includes racial equality. It has been an omission of American democracy for far too long.

The National Academy of Public Administration is a congressionally chartered, non-profit, non- partisan organization with a vision to make government work and work for all, and that charter demands that we examine and address critical issues in governance. We, as fellows of the Academy, have been elected based upon our achievements in public service in government, academia, and related areas. All of us have devoted our entire careers to helping governments serve the needs of the public and to teach and inform the people who provide these services. The Academy stands ready to provide leadership and assistance in realizing our democratic ideal of equality.

Mark A. Abramson, Erik Bergrud, Leadership Inc. Park University

Joseph Adler, RaJade M. Berry-James*, NAPA Fellow North Carolina State University

F. Daniel Ahern, Jr., Dale F. Bertsch, Clarus Group Ohio State University

David Ammons, David S. Birdsell*, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Baruch College

Frank Benest, EdD, Dr. Linda J. Bilmes, Former City Manager of Palo Alto Harvard University

Lisa Blomgren Amsler, Terrell Blodgett, University University of at Austin

Barry B. Anderson, Laura Bloomberg*, Retired, OMB, CBO, OECD University of Minnesota

Kenneth Apfel, Norton N. Bonaparte, Jr.**, University of Maryland City Manager, City of Sanford, Florida

Zal Azmi Lillian Borrone, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Angela Bailey Donald Borut, William F. Baity**, Retired, Executive Director, National NAPA Board of Directors League of Cities

Ambassador Joyce Barr, Jo Ivey Boufford, Virginia Tech New York University

Stephen Barr James S. Bowman, Florida State University John R. Bartle**, University of Nebraska at Omaha Derick W. Brinkerhoff, Emeritus, RTI International Christine Becker Jennifer M. Brinkerhoff, Georges C. Benjamin, MD, George Washington University American Public Health Association Michael Brintnall Susan Benton, Urban Libraries Council Alexander E. Briseño, St. Mary’s University

John M. Bryson, Janine Davidson, University of Minnesota Metropolitan State University of Denver

William G. Burel Robert B. Denhardt, University of Southern California Steven Carter, International City and County Management Martha Ann Dorris, Association Dorris Consulting International

Daniel Chenok, Judith Douglas, IBM Center for The Business of Government NAPA Fellow

Gary A. Christopherson, Melvin Dubnick Founder, Thrive! Joseph W. Dyer, Harold Clarke Independent Consultant

Steven R. Cohen, Robert Ebel, NAPA Fellow NAPA Fellow

Nani A. Coloretti, Mary Jane England, Urban Institute Boston University

Stephen Condrey, Judy England-Joseph**, Condrey and Associates, INC NAPA Fellow

Larry Cooley**, Tracy Wareing Evans, MSI President Emeritus American Public Humans Services Association Phillip J. Cooper, Portland State University Mary K. Feeney, State University Terry L. Cooper, University of Southern California Andrew Feldman, Grant Thornton Clarence Crawford, American University Jonathan Fiechter**

Douglas Criscitello, Patricia S. Florestano, PhD Grant Thorton LLC Richard L. Fogel, George Cunningham NAPA Fellow

Dr. Edwin C. Daley, Scott Fosler, NAPA Fellow NAPA Fellow

Jane Fountain**, Hermann Habermann, University of Amherst Former Office of Management and Budget

Alton Frye, Stephen A. Hamill, Council on Foreign Relations Public Purchasing Exchange

Mark Funkhouser, Mary R. Hamilton, Funkhouser and Associates University of Nebraska at Omaha

Ted A. Gaebler, Sallyanne Harper, Senior Advisor, ICMA NAPA Fellow

Gerald E. Galloway, Thelma Hite Harris University of Maryland Nick Hart, Data Coalition Teresa Gerton, President, NAPA Doris Hausser, PhD, CCP, HR Consultant Gary Glickman* Chair, Standing Panel on Social Equity in James Hendler, Governance Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)

Ellen Glover Laurin L. Henry

Edie Goldenberg, Eric L, Hirschhorn, The University of Former Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Basil I. Gooden, Virginia Commonwealth University Matthew Holden, Jr., NAPA Fellow Susan Gooden*, Virginia Commonwealth University James G. Huse, Jr., NAPA Fellow Kay Collett Goss, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Peter Hutchinson Metropolitan College of New York Patricia Wallace Ingraham, Anthony H. Griffin, Binghamton University Retired County Executive Susan Jacobs Marcelo M. Giugale NAPA Fellow Sarah (Sally) Jaggar, NAPA Fellow David Gragan Justin Johnson, Mary E. Guy, NAPA Fellow University of Colorado Denver

Jocelyn M. Johnston, William H. Leighty, American University NAPA Fellow

Patria de Lancer Julnes, PhD, Valerie A. Lemmie Baruch College, CUNY Bel Leong-Hong** Jong S. Jun, California State University Michael Lipsky, Former Professor at MIT John M. Kamensky, IBM Center for The Business of Government Michael Maccoby, The Maccoby Group Sid Kaplan James Keene, David Mader**, NAPA Fellow NAPA Board Member

Sally Katzen Kristine Marcy, NAPA Fellow Patrick F. Kennedy, NAPA Fellow Bernard H. Martin, NAPA Fellow Lou Kerr Larry R. Matlack Sharon Kershbaum, Department of Human Services, Local Kymm McCabe, Government NAPA Fellow

Donald F. Kettl, Michael McGuire University of Texas at Austin Stan Meiburg, Anne M. Khademian**, Wake Forest University Virginia Tech Charles E. Menifield*, John A. Koskinen** Rutgers University Newark

Hon. Janice R. Lachance, Shelley H. Metzenbaum, Former Director, U.S. Office of Personnel The BETTER Project Management Octavio A. Hinojosa Mier, Robert J. Lamb Plus Ultra Strategies, LLC.

Gilda Harris Lambert Donald Moynihan, Georgetown University Ellen Lazar Christopher P. Morrill, Clarence A. Lee Government Finance Officers Association

James F. Murley, Kathleen Peroff, Miami-Dade County, Chief Resilience Peroff and Associates Officer James L. Perry, Sylvester Murray*, Indiana University Africa Working Group Honorable Jan Perry, Jeffrey Neal**, NAPA Fellow, Retired Chair, Board of Directors, NAPA William Phillips, Kathryn Newcomer, Retired, KPMG Federal Advisory Leader George Washington University Maureen A. Pirog, Chester Albert Newland, Indiana University University of Southern California Mark Pisano**, Sonia M. Ospina, NAPA Board Member New York University Elsa A. Porter Marc A. Ott Nancy Potok Anne Joseph O’Connell, Stanford Law School Beryl A. Radin

Bob O’Neill, Steve Redburn, Executive in Residence, Riley Center for George Washington University Livable Communities, College of Charleston Franklin S. Reeder Laurence J. O’Toole, University of Georgia Mitchell F. Rice, PhD, Texas A&M University John M. Palguta, Former Federal Executive Alasdair Roberts, University of Massachusetts Amherst Sanjay K. Pandey, George Washington University Reggie Robinson**, Kansas Health Foundation, NAPA Board of Theresa A. Pardo, Directors University at Albany, SUNY Bert Rockman, Gregory Parham, University of Pittsburg Retired, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Michael C. Rogers Jane Smith Patterson, Broadbands Catalysts David H. Rosenbloom, American University

Allan Rosenbaum, Carl Stenberg, Florida International University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Philip Rubin, Camilla Stivers, Haskins Laboratories Cleveland State University

Marilyn Rubin*, Jeanette C. Takamura, Rutgers University Newark Columbia University

Gloria Rubio-Cortés, Charles Tansey, Former President of National Civic League Senior Career Civil Service, Retired

Jodi R. Sandfort, Nancy E. Tate, University of Minnesota Co-chair, 2020 Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative John E. Saunders, III, NAPA Fellow Robert Taub, NAPA Fellow Sheryl Sculley, Retired City Manager Kurt Thurmaier, Northern University Sonal Shah, Georgetown University Robert Tobias, American University Robert Shea, Grant Thornton Public Sector LLC Debra Tomchek, ICF Myra Howze Shiplett, NAPA Fellow Dr. Costis Toregas, George Washington University John F. Shirey, Retired City Manager Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, George Washington University Hannah Sistare, NAPA Fellow Barry L. Van Lare, NAPA Fellow Margaret C. Simms*, Urban Institute David M. Van Slyke**, Syracuse University J.T. Smith, Honorary Fellow John M. Vanyur, PhD

Stan Soloway, David Warm**, CEO, Celero Strategies LLC NAPA Board of Directors

Thomas H. Stanton*, Janet A. Weiss**, Johns Hopkins University University of Michigan

Reginald F. Wells, Harvey L. White* American University Ralph R. Widner, David Wennergren**, NAPA Fellow NAPA Fellow Blue Wooldridge*, Barton Wechsler, Virginia Commonwealth University University of Missouri

Institutional affiliation is provided for identification purposes only. *Standing Panel on Social Equity in Governance Steering Committee Member **National Academy of Public Administration Board Member