2019 MPA Alumni Stories

Brenda Eivens, a Texas State MPA alumna and current City Manager for the City of Cedar Park, Texas, is coordinating multiple city projects between the public and private sector as Cedar Park continues to grow rapidly. She graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor’s in English but after working in human resources she chose to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree at Texas State University. The MPA program allowed her to further her education while she worked as well as focus on her areas of interest, which included human resources and the public sector. Brenda says she learned “that ‘serving’ was different from ‘working,’” and that the program’s focus on administration set Texas State apart from other universities. She credits the MPA for helping her advance her career in HR and helping her network with and learn from local government professionals. Brenda exemplifies the public servant she says cities and states deserve – a passionate, smart and dedicated leader. She encourages young professionals looking to make a difference to explore working in local government, an environment where they “can influence change and progress in [their] own backyard.” Throughout her career she has sought to strengthen professional relationships and develop teams comprised of individuals with “different and complementing strengths,” decisions which have helped her connect with the community and continue to develop Cedar Park. As Cedar Park continues to grow rapidly, Brenda has worked with community leaders and companies to preserve the City’s beauty while meeting the needs of its residents. Recently, she has been overseeing the City’s first redevelopment project that will create space for retail, restaurants, offices, residential areas, a community park and library – in all, a “gathering place that reflects Cedar Park’s identity.”

Jared Werner is the Chief Financial Officer for the City of New Braunfels. Jared was drawn to public service as he learned about family members and relatives serving in the armed forces and as he learned about his aunt’s career at the City of Schertz. He would go on to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree at Texas State University after beginning his career with the city of New Braunfels. He realized that he needed to enhance his knowledge and skills to stand out in public service and that the MPA program provided opportunities to hone his technical writing skills and program and policy evaluation skills among others. Balancing working full time while attending Texas State, he chose courses that benefited his career, ranging from budget administration and program evaluation to ethics and public law. For Jared, the MPA program provided “the opportunity to build skills such as critical thinking, team building, [and] public speaking” among others, all of which can help alumni entering the public administration workforce. Mr. Werner has been hard at work with local government financial leaders on a few projects this year. Along with other members of the City of New Braunfels, Mr. Werner is expanding the financial forecast documents for the City with the hope of creating more opportunities to implement multi-year initiatives. The City’s annual budget development process continues to be improved, with the incorporation of a process of evaluating workload indicators, budget performance, and previously funded initiatives prior to deciding on funding requests for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Lastly, the finance leadership team introduced an innovative annual work plan focused on providing opportunities for staff to develop professionally. Each member of department will have the opportunity to lead or serve on various project teams throughout the year, giving them a break from day-to-day routines and promoting contributions towards projects to make the department more efficient. Reflecting on his time in the MPA program, Jared offered advice to both current and future Texas State MPA students. Developing a “detailed and operationalized career road map” will help individuals reach their professional goals and, while it may be tempting to focus on the “end career goal,” most “careers don’t follow a straight path” and versatility is vital. One of Jared’s most rewarding experiences at Texas State was the Applied Research Project (ARP), which gave him a “a unique opportunity to comprehensively educate [himself] on a subject or issue that could support [him] professionally.” He encourages current and prospective MPA students to choose ARP topics that will benefit them professionally and to be prepared to contribute in meaningful ways to both projects and within an organization, even if they feel taken out of their comfort zone.

Jordan Macha is the current Executive Director and Waterkeeper at Bayou City Waterkeeper. Her directorship at this environmental conservation organization allows her to better protect, preserve, and restore wetlands, which in turn improves regions’ resilience to flood waters and storm surge. She has been featured in local and national newspapers, with an article in the Houston Chronicle detailing her organization’s investigative work and the National Public Radio recognizing the Bayou City Waterkeeper’s concerns over concrete infrastructure in Houston designed to stop storm surges. Jordan works to improve policy and right regulatory failures, particularly as water becomes a greater issue in Texas. Natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey, which hit Houston in 2017, devastate local communities. Hurricane Harvey tied Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cyclone in U.S. history and, beyond the material destruction, took nearly 100 lives in Texas. Flooding along Texas’s coasts displace thousands of citizens and damages communities both directly and indirectly, with businesses stalled or shut down as they recover from water-related issues. Jordan is not only focused on preventing these disasters, but also wants to stimulate ecological restoration in affected areas. Her organization seeks to “utilize nature-based solutions to mitigate against flooding and storm surge” and, while other city planners may favor concrete based infrastructure, Jordan wants citizens and representatives to think about how “to better work with, rather than against, nature.” Pursuing an MPA degree at Texas State provided her with career-specific research opportunities. The program’s Applied Research Project (ARP), a major research paper that requires a committee’s review and approval, was valuable to Jordan Macha. Having joined the MPA program with nearly 10 years of professional experience, Jordan was able to tailor how the “ARP… would most benefit [her] career goals.” Today, she is putting her degrees into practice by working tirelessly to promote clean water, healthy wetlands, and prepared and safe communities throughout Texas’s coastline.