The 2024 American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) Annual Conference was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota this April. The theme of the conference was “Building Resilient Communities.” This theme reflected the various ways communities face hardship and their ability to weather these storms. The papers presented at the conference were on the ways our communities can survive and thrive in the interconnected world of public service.

Two of Evergreen’s faculty presented at the ASPA conference. Meghan Doughty, PhD presented in the Social Equity for Children session. Her topic was on Child Protective Services in the state of Washington. The presentation was co-authored with another Evergreen faculty member, Spencer Brien, PhD. The second presenting faculty member was Lachezar “Lucky” Anguelov, PhD. He participated on two panels at the conference: the Resilient and Networked Communities session and the Resilient Procurement Systems: Competition, Collaboration and Performance. Lucky’s work covered the roles of intergovernmental organizations and contracting and procurement systems in creating resilient communities.

ASPA’s annual conference is an opportunity to hear about the latest best practices and research on public administration. It provides the space for researchers and practitioners to connect and discuss the pressing issues in public service. If you are interested in hearing about the Evergreen chapter of ASPA, please contact President Lucky Anguelov at evergreenaspa@gmail.com.