why I do what I do

This little career path that I'm on (some call it public administration, some call it city government, some call it "Elle Woods Saving the World"... ahem, Bekah), but it confuses a lot of people, because most don't understand why I would willingly choose to work in such an "inefficient" environment, building little but a really great pension plan.  Well, I'm still at a non-profit, and I'm not quite there yet, but it's actually not as bad as you might think.

When I worked for the City of Raleigh, I won't lie, it was a relaxed atmosphere.  There are a lot of jokes made at citizen expense, and some people really enjoyed working within driving distance of the city's main Krispy Kreme.  But that's the way it is because when your job is to push and push for a better community on a daily basis, only to be met by budget crises and an unhappy public, you have to have a few vices to get through the day.  But that's also what makes working in city government so exciting.  If you can learn to accept a complaint as a challenge instead of a criticism, and if you can see the potential in a neighborhood even when the money isn't there yet, it becomes a little bit more than the daily grind.  I see and hear it everyday from the city managers and department heads that I'm in contact with.  Most of them genuinely care about their communities, because, believe me, no one goes into city government for the money or the praise.

Recently, ICMA put together this video for our "Life, Well Run" campaign, and I just think it sums things up really well.  So, enjoy hearing a little bit about why I think this path was important enough for me to relocate my life to DC!