Tell us about a woman who inspires you.
Lynn Pasquerella has inspired me since she became President of Mount Holyoke College, my alma mater. She put programs in place to encourage and assist Mount Holyoke women to become citizens of the world and world leaders. The college recruits a highly diverse student body, including many from abroad. As an example, through Lynn’s initiative Mount Holyoke now promises every student a summer internship accompanied by a grant to cover costs. I believe these women will each make their mark as they move to the future stages of their lives.
Lynn is now President of the American Association of Universities and Colleges.
Who is a woman that you believe has enhanced the field of public administration? And how?
The Academy awarded Roz Kleeman its “Keeper of the Flame” award several years ago. She certainly was. She worked well through her 80s. I met Roz while I was Staff Director of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee working on civil service and public administration legislation. Excellence in public service was her goal and focus. Roz set up a forum at the Academy for government managers to meet and discuss issues of importance to them in carrying out their responsibilities. Roz promoted the concerns and solutions developed by the government managers with labor leaders, SES leaders and other stakeholders to produce consensus on solutions.
Roz was one of our team working with me on the National Commission on the Public Service, established by former Federal Reserve Board Chair Paul Volcker in 2002. Her knowledge, know-how and reputation were of tremendous value to the Commission.
The theme of Women’s History Month for 2022 is “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” Is there a woman who you believe embodies this theme?
Oprah Winfrey (pictured right) has provided healing, promoted hope, and modeled respect for millions of women.
If you could choose any woman, dead or alive, to sit down and have dinner with, who would you choose? And what would you want to talk about?
Eleanor Roosevelt would be a wonderful dinner companion. She cared deeply about others and devoted her life to correcting wrongs where she saw them. I am interested in learning how she approached government and government leaders to achieve her policy goals. What were her strategies? Her tactics? How did being a woman help or hinder her success? Being the wife of the president isn’t enough.
What is a women’s issue that is important to you, and why?
The issue I have worked on for the past 15 or more years is the care of our planet. Every day we are faced with the dangers caused by climate change. This is not just a women’s issue, but women have embraced it. I am excited by the number of women I meet on environmental study trips who have gone into the environmental sciences. They are out there, working in the field (on an island in Lake Erie) doing the research needed to impact climate change.
I have used my experience in government to be an advocate for good conservation practices. I am Vice Chair of the Board of Friends of Acadia and Chair of its Advocacy Committee. We focus on the environmental health of Acadia National Park today and for future generations. We advocate effectively for adequate funding for our National Parks and against environmental damage from all sources.
The Garden Club of America was established by a group of conservation-oriented women to “Save the Redwoods” at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, 1,800 women strong, it is regarded as a conservation advocacy powerhouse. I worked with the GCA on their legislative goals and was delighted that after several years’ work Congress passed our legislation to require government to use native plants wherever possible in its plantings. This will give a significant boost to the use of native plants and thus our ability to adapt to climate change.
Hannah Sistare has extensively addressed issues of public policy and public administration as a U.S. Senate staff member, as an executive with non-profit institutions, and as an adjunct professor at George Washington University and American University.
Ms. Sistare served as Staff Director and Counsel of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. She was Special Counsel to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. On leaving the Hill, she became Executive Director of the National Commission on the Public Service, chaired by former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A. Volcker. In 2003 the Volcker Commission issued its recommendations for reform and renewal of the operations, organization, and leadership of the Executive Branch. Ms. Sistare subsequently established the Volcker Commission Implementation Initiative at the National Academy of Public Administration, working to promote the Commission’s recommendations to legislative and executive leaders.
Sistare now uses her legislative and policy background in Maine where she became a conservation advocate. She is Vice Chair of the Board of Friends of Acadia, a highly regarded and effective nonprofit established to preserve and protect Acadia National Park for current and future generations.
Ms. Sistare graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a major in political science and economics. She received her JD from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.