#ELGLInspire is headed to Cleveland State University on March 1, 2019! Learn more about our event speakers in these brief profiles, and connect with them on social media before and after the event!
Catherine Tkachyk
Chief Innovation & Performance Officer, Cuyahoga County
What was the very first paying job you held (that you paid taxes on)?
I worked at a bakery
What was your: undergraduate institution? Graduate institution? What was/were your degree(s) in?
Undergraduate: University of Dayton (Political Science, Graduate: University of Kansas (Public Administration)
What class(es) (if any) are applicable to your job today?
Budget, Statistics, Organizational Theory
Do you have a work or life motto? What is it?
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are
What book are you currently reading? Would you recommend it?
“My life on the Road” by Gloria Steinem. So far I would recommend it.
Other than ELGL – do you belong to any other professional associations? Which one(s)?
Alliance for Innovation Next ERA board member.
What’s the best networking advice for job seekers you’ve heard or shared?
Listening and trying to help people you meet solve a problem is a great way to get remembered.
What’s the fastest way to NOT get a job or internship with you? (e.g. what should potential applicants avoid doing if they were to ever interview with you for a position).
Giving me canned answers that you read on interview tip sites. If I ask you about a time you’ve failed, I want to really know about a time you have failed & what you learned from it. Not something that wasn’t really a failure or a situation that was another person’s fault.
Why should an undergraduate student consider a career working in local government?
It is really meaningful work. Working in local government can sometimes be extremely frustrating. But, even on my worst day I get to go home knowing that today I tried to make my community a better place to live. That’s a powerful feeling.