Welcome to the new and (somewhat) improved version of our member introductions. If you are puzzled by the column name, take a minute to watch this scene from Austin Powers.
Background Check
Liza Druck (LinkedIn and Twitter) serves as the Director of Policy and Communications in Councilmember Young’s office in the City of Cincinnati. Her daily work exposes her to a wide array of city issues, but her passion lies in transportation and neighborhood revitalization. While studying Political Science at the University of Cincinnati, she got involved with local politics and developed a renewed enthusiasm for the city where she was born and raised.
Liza currently lives in Walnut Hills. When she’s not at City Hall, she spends much of her time enjoying the city’s magnificent park system and exploring the many neighborhoods that make Cincinnati so unique.
Q & A with Liza
(Complete the sentence) Today is…
…a good day to be alive. The fall weather helps.
Your hometown? What is it best known for?
Cincinnati! We have a lovely river, lots of hills, odd chili, an old baseball team, soap and city charter enthusiasts.
Describe the state of local government in your area.
We have a very active local government scene here in Cincinnati. Our government is very accessible and lots of folks have a strong sense of connection and pride for it as an institution. These days, the city is really on the up and up and there’s a lot of energy going towards making sure we continue moving down that path. As often is the case in times of growth and change, we are experiencing a healthy amount of debate, as different factions vie to have their voices heard, in the shaping of our city’s future. All in all, it’s an exciting time to be involved in the governing process here.
What topics or practitioners would you like to see ELGL profile?
Neat things going on in other cities, best practices, hip new trends in local government- lots of the things I see in Governing magazine, but from the perspective of “emerging leaders” who are involved in making these projects happen.
(Complete these phrases) Best thing about the….
80’s was…… the freedom it gave girls with wavy hair
90’s was…… my pog collection
00’s was…..[ ] (clearly not that exciting)
Last year was….. waking up and going to work in my field the day after receiving my undergraduate degree.
Today is….
- 80% Parks and Rec
- 15% House of Cards
- 4% Veep
- 1% Scandal (<only because I’m wearing a nice dress today)
If you could interview any three people, who would it be?
- Rahm Emanuel
- Franklin Roosevelt
- Frances Perkins
(Complete this sentence) I feel old when I…….. I realize that I was seeing the Spice Girls in concert while my high school interns were in utero.
What are the best things about the internet?
Wikipedia black holes: when you start reading about Vietnamese cooking and before you know it, you’ve clicked so many links embedded in the article that you’re suddenly an expert on Frederick Law Olmsted and you’re making a list of his must see parks before you die.
Parent(s) can be influential in career choices of their kids. What was the career path of your parent(s)?
Both were in service related field. My dad spent his career in the military and mom bounced between working in the juvenile court system, and working as a caterer.
(Complete the sentence) ELGL is…… a neat idea
Where do you hear about ELGL? Poking around the internet
Give us two ideas for attracting and retaining talented individuals to the public sector.
Push for more public admin classes at the undergraduate level in political science departments. That helped craft my interest.
What’s one question that we should ask the next person who completes this profile?
- What brought you to public service?
- What’s the funniest moment of your public service career?
- Give a moment where you life was ripped out of a Parks and Rec script.
(Complete the sentence) Tomorrow is……. going to be cooler than today.
Supplemental Reading
