Why Public Service Matters: Now and Always

By Tracy Wareing Evans, President & CEO, American Public Human Services Association and Academy Fellow

In a time of dynamic global economies, stormy political discourse, and a highly polarized country, the need to ground our focus in what undergirds us all has been top of mind for health and human service leaders. At the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), we have been intentionally lifting up three collective principles to which we are always committed:

• People and public service
• Building common ground
• Partnering across sectors

These simple principles are core to our collective ability to work together to achieve our strategic vision whether in good times or challenging times.

As the entire world now wrestles with the COVID-19 pandemic, I keep coming back to the significance of these commitments to combating it in the United States and to the herculean efforts underway in states and communities across our country to stem its tide. Today, as we practice social distancing and adjust to working from home, the foundational role that the public sector plays in our ability to function as a vibrant, civil society is in full view. As leaders on the ground work in real time to literally save lives, innovate methods of service delivery on the fly, and continuously adjust to what is needed for their communities during this pandemic, we must shine a light on what is making it possible:

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