PODCAST: Leading With Courage with Acquisition Experts Soraya Correa and Greg Giddens Season · Ep
0:00
1057
PODCAST: Leading With Courage with Acquisition Experts Soraya Correa and Greg Giddens Season · Ep
Podcast
In this episode of Management Matters with James-Christian Blockwood, Carol Weissert, Professor Emerita of Political Science at Florida State University, and Jonathan Womer, Director of the Department of Administration for Rhode Island, discuss the changing role of state governments and implications for policy, budgeting, and public service delivery. The conversation delves into issues of partisanship, federal-state relations, legislative shifts, and the use of data and AI in government opera...
Now Playing
In this episode of Management Matters with James-Christian Blockwood, Carol Weissert, Professor Emerita of Political Science at Florida State University, and Jonathan Womer, Director of the Department of Administration for Rhode Island, discuss the changing role of state governments and implications for policy, budgeting, and public service delivery. The conversation delves into issues of partisanship, federal-state relations, legislative shifts, and the use of data and AI in government operations. It examines the impact of decreasing federal support, the rise of state initiatives, and the increasing public demand for effective governance.
01:25 Exploring Shifts in State Government Roles
02:35 Challenges in Federal-State Relations
05:12 Impact on Healthcare and Social Services
06:53 Innovations in State Management
08:33 Intergovernmental Relations and Expertise
10:37 Public Trust and Government Effectiveness
16:11 Fiscal Strategies and Budgeting
19:08 Advice for State Leaders
21:50 Concluding Thoughts on State Governance
Management Matters is a presentation of the National Academy of Public Administration produced by Lizzie Alwan and Matt Hampton and edited by Matt Hampton.
Support the Podcast Today at: donate@napawash.org or 202-347-3190
Episode music: Hope by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Follow us on YouTube for clips and more: @NAPAWASH_YT
Episode Details
Listen On
Listen Now
Opens in your podcast app
Keep Listening
June 1, 2026
Host James-Christian Blockwood interviews Soraya Correa, President and CEO of the National Industries for the Blind and former Chief Procurement Officer at the US Department of Homeland Security, and Greg Giddens, of Potomac Ridge Consulting, and former Chief Acquisition Officer at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, on how federal acquisition enables mission outcomes beyond compliance. Giddens describes procurement as a strategic bridge between government missions and pr...
May 18, 2026
James-Christian Blockwood discusses U.S. Office of Personnel Management's modernization of federal HR and retirement IT systems with OPM’s Rebecca Ayers and Academy Fellow Brodi Fontenot. Building on a 2021 academy report urging congressional funding to modernize OPM systems, they describe the administration’s goal to build a merit-based workforce and modernize people management through the Federal HR 2.0 initiative. Key elements include moving agencies onto a mandatory single cor...
May 4, 2026
Host James-Christian Blockwood talks with Academy Fellow and McGeorge School of Law Professor Clark Kelso and American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Adam White about why public agencies struggle and what the executive branch does in response. They discuss how checks and balances slow action and make errors hard to undo, while polarization and congressional dysfunction push presidents toward unilateral action, creating separation-of-powers conflicts and court intervention. The conve...