Uniting the Federal Community Through the FEDforum
On the latest episode of FEDtalk, our sister newsletter FEDmanager’s FEDforum partners discuss the initiative’s role in uniting voices across the federal community. The FEDforum partnership among federal workforce organizations is a space for federal employee groups to share their organizations’ initiatives, insights, and activities with the FEDmanager audience.
Host Jason Briefel welcomes FEDforum contributors Brenna Isman, Director of Academy Studies at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA); Chad Hooper, Executive Director of the Professional Managers Association (PMA); Alice Mercer, National Chair of Blacks In Government (BIG); and Joseph Annelli, Executive Vice President at the National Association of Federal Veterinarians (NAFV).
A representative of BIG, Mercer, emphasizes that the organization has multifaceted objectives, including combating prejudice, promoting black excellence, disseminating accurate information, and being non-partisan. BIG also strives to provide resources, education, and mentoring to young black Americans in government. Mercer further launches into the benefits of FEDforum to “assist members and nonmembers, and to stand with likeminded organizations.”
Approximately 3,000 veterinarians work for the federal government, and directly impact the American public daily. Federal veterinarians enforce standards in food safety to make sure diseases don’t make it to your dining room table and monitoring the spread of COVID-19. Annelli explains that the FEDforum allows NAFV to spread awareness and disseminate knowledge of the federal veterinarians’ efforts to benefit the public.
Annelli further emphasized “the future of work is ensuring recruitment and retention.”
Despite the Internal Revenue Service's current strained conditions, PMA's mission is to ensure a well-functioning, efficient, and equitable tax system for Americans. To develop a stronger workforce and ensure that the public gets what they deserve, the service must break down barriers and modernize their outlook.
“How do we broaden the playing field for folks to come in and lead?” Hooper stated.
As a congressional charted academy with members, NAPA acts as a unique non-profit organization that leverages an incredible cast of fellows and professional staff that develop systems of opportunity for federal agencies. According to Isman, action-oriented partnerships like the ones found in FEDforum truly bolster the federal workforce and highlight avenues for progress.
The FEDforum partners remark on their efforts to make progress: pressing for change in federal government to service employees and the American public. The guests continue to discuss highlights from this year's FEDforum columns, events and activities hosted in 2021, and issues on the horizon as the new year approaches.
To hear to the full discussion between the FEDforum partners, listen to the full FEDtalk episode now on Federal News Network, Podcast One, Apple Podcast, or Spotify.
You can stream the show online anytime via the Federal News Network app and listen to the FEDtalk podcast on PodcastOne and Apple Podcasts.
FEDtalk is a live talk show produced by Shaw Bransford & Roth P.C., a federal employment law firm. Bringing you the insider’s perspective from leaders in the federal community since 1993.
FEDtalk is sponsored by the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). The FLTCIP is sponsored by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, insured by John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company, under a group long term care insurance policy, and administered by Long Term Care Partners, LLC (doing business as FedPoint).