Local Government Professionals Making an Impact
When the young, aristocratic French lawyer Alexis de Tocqueville stepped onto the soil of the American colonies in 1831, he was struck by what he found: local governments at work. “A nation may establish a system of free government,” he wrote in his subsequent book, Democracy in America, “but without the spirit of municipal institutions it cannot have the spirit of liberty.” At the town level, he observed citizens working together in thriving communities. Here, he discovered, was the heart of American democracy.
For more than 50 years, the BYU Marriott MPA program has been breathing life into America’s democracy by training exceptional local government professionals. The curriculum is renowned for being practical, rigorous, and experiential, and students leave prepared to tackle all aspects of local government, including budgeting, planning, human resources, and management. Robert Christensen, the Romney Institute’s director, got his start in local government at Orem City Attorney’s Office. Christensen is a strong supporter of the local government track, and MPA professors and staff are committed to training students to give exceptional service in their communities. “The emphasis gives students the opportunity to feel grounded in their community and not only to personally build up Zion in their own neighborhood, town, or city but also to coordinate and work with others to collectively make an impact,” says MPA assistant professor Travis B. Ruddle.
Here’s how eight alumni have put their MPAs to work in their local governments, reflecting the strength of the program through their dedicated and resourceful service.
Relying on a Great Team
Only months after her 2021 graduation from the MPA program, Moira Facer found herself in a unique situation: deciding how to allocate a substantial amount of funds. Her employer—the vibrant waterfront city of Norfolk, Virginia—was overburdened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and money from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 promised relief. Determined to find ways that the funds could revitalize the city and boost the community, Facer and her colleagues pushed through remote work settings and unpredictable circumstances to create a useful set of recommendations.
As one of the city’s budget and policy analysts, Facer also headed an initiative to educate the citizens of Norfolk about the funds and discover how they would like them to be invested. She says that “while the process was difficult, we received the greatest response for budget-related public engagement that anyone could remember, which was very exciting.” The final investment plan has put the funds to work transforming two city parks, constructing a floodwall, supporting local nonprofits, and providing gap financing for affordable housing, among other projects.
“This project defined much of my first year of working for local government,” Facer says. “My time in the MPA program set me up to be a successful, involved team member and collaborate with folks in all sorts of different situations.”
Diverting a Crisis
In the spring of 1983, Salt Lake City was on the verge of a major disaster. Record-setting snowpack was melting quickly, and runoff infrastructure was overwhelmed. But the city’s chief administrative officer, 1972 MPA graduate Albert E. Haines, was ready. As early as September of the previous year, he had been preparing—thanks to spiritual direction—to mitigate and manage “the incredibly stressful and amazing experience” of the floods that 2022–23 annual report swept through the city that spring. “At almost every turn where I didn’t have answers, there was clear communication from on high!” Haines recalls.
By directing emergency management efforts during the flooding, Haines diverted citywide disasters— sometimes literally. In one case, to cope with the f looding of City Creek, more than 10,000 volunteers helped sandbag a man-made river that flowed through downtown streets for thirteen days.
Haines used to think of his career successes as the tangible results, such as improving transportation, managing crises, and developing systems. “Now,” he says, “I think my contribution was more in the relationships sphere: those moments when I was fortunate to engage in compassionate service with individuals who really cared, listened, and served.” Similarly, Haines has found that the MPA program has infused his career with meaning: “I have come to appreciate the value of the program as an important and transferable element of my wonderfully fulfilling career experiences.
Enabling Others to Serve
When 2004 EMPA graduate Kena Jo Mathews heard about plans to build an all-abilities playground in Orem, Utah, in 2016, she jumped at the opportunity to get involved. The project resonated deeply with her because she has an autistic niece. After Mathews reached out to the city to see how her employer, Habitat for Humanity, could help, she was named the project’s volunteer coordinator. Mathews spent the next several months preparing for the project. When everything was ready, she helped manage the more than 4,500 volunteers who built the playground in only seven days.
“This playground is amazing. It is so well loved and so well used even now,” she says. “It makes me smile every time I drive by and see how many children of all abilities in our community are able to play and be kids.” After spending more than twenty years in the nonprofit sector, Mathews is now the community services manager for the city of Orem, largely due to the success of the playground project. In her new role, she works closely with nonprofit organizations to run projects for residents in need. This position allows her to blend the nonprofit and local government sectors—something the EMPA program prepared her well for—and do something that she loves in a new way. “Service brings people together,” she says. “I think that’s really an important piece of an MPA degree: we should be bringing people together.” Mathews is still involved with the playground, managing volunteers at quarterly cleanups.
Making Humble Connections
Clayton Fulton, a 2008 MPA graduate, grew up working for the small construction company his father owned and operated. In addition to learning the trade, Fulton interacted and worked with homeowners, builders, and subcontractors, which required him to connect with people from various backgrounds and education levels. Now, as assistant city manager of Hurst, Texas, he uses those communication skills in what he calls a “humble, blue-collar approach” to interact with city departments and citizens who come into city hall.
But most of Fulton’s work happens behind the curtain. “I ensure that finances are well managed, the computers work, and data is safe,” he says. “And we continue to keep the water clean and the streets clear.” His quiet but important work allows other departments to focus on serving the community. Fulton also strives to bring departments that don’t directly serve the community into alignment with the city council’s strategic priorities, helping employees understand how they, too, impact citizens every day.
“Working for local government isn’t easy. It takes grit, tact, and wisdom,” Fulton says. “The foundation I built while attending BYU allows me to engage in different methods with diverse audiences where solutions may not be simple. I rely upon divine guidance when applying the principles I learned through the MPA program."
Leading By Faith
Most students assume their career-defining moment will come in the years that follow graduation, but for 2003 graduate Peni Basalusalu, that moment happened at an MPA event during his first year in the program. “The program sent a few of us to an ICMA [International City/County Management Association] conference held in Philadelphia,” Basalusalu says. “There, via the BYU alumni dinner, I met the city manager of Manteca, California. He accepted my request for him to be my mentor.”
Fast forward more than 20 years, and Basalusalu now works for the city of Manteca as deputy director of public works. And his mentor? He’s retired but he lives close by, and Basalusalu still relies on him for guidance.
Basalusalu credits the MPA program for much more than introducing him to his career-long mentor and leading him to his current position. His degree is a daily reminder that he can do hard things, and it has laid the foundation for his faith-based leadership approach in his work. “[My MPA] helps me stay grounded and humble,” he says. “It is how people decide to use [their MPA] that is impactful.”
Focusing on People
Erin Wells, a 2013 graduate from the MPA program, takes seriously BYU’s charge to “go forth to serve,” particularly in her current role as city administrator for Highland City, Utah. Her personal work philosophy is to make the city a great place to live and work. “I want the residents of Highland to love their hometown as much as I loved my hometown as a child,” says Wells, a native of Tooele, Utah, “and I want the employees at Highland City to love the organization they work for.”
Since becoming city administrator in November 2022, Wells has refined the budget, rallied buy-in across staff and elected officials, and developed a team environment in which each employee knows they are valued. “Keeping this bigger perspective [of serving] helps me feel fulfilled,” she says.
Wells thanks the mpa program for much of her success. While studying in the Romney Institute, she interned for Highland City, which set her on the path to become city administrator. The program also taught her important people-based skills she uses “constantly” and helped her create her work philosophy. She shares, “[In the MPA,] you get the chance to interact with phenomenal professors and dedicated students and to take the first steps in learning how to truly make a difference in the world.” And in one city at least, Wells is making an important difference.
Budgeting Behind the Scenes
Kelly Pfost, a 2006 graduate, began the MPA program with every intention of working with nonprofits. But after a summer internship with the city of Orem, Utah, she found the behind-the-scenes aspect of the job so rewarding that she pursued local government instead. That decision eventually led her to her current position as management and budget director for Gilbert, Arizona, where she has made her biggest backstage contribution yet.
Long before pandemic became a buzzword, Pfost led Gilbert to adopt a conservative budget in anticipation of an upcoming economic slowdown. So when COVID-19 hit, the city was prepared. “Gilbert didn’t have to do emergency budget cuts,” Pfost says. “Our budget was still balanced.” When it came time to revisit the budget, Pfost’s team was ready again, this time with metrics that helped them respond to changing data from pandemic-related uncertainties.
Pfost considers the budget’s success during the pandemic to be one of her greatest accomplishments. The city thinks so too: Pfost was named Gilbert’s Employee of the Year in 2021. “My MPA degree has opened doors to career opportunities that I never expected for myself,” she says. “As a girl from smalltown Idaho, I would never have imagined myself helping a town of 280,000 residents manage a $2 billion budget. And I love it.”
Going Forth to Serve
More than 20 years ago, Bryan Montgomery (MPA 1994) boarded a plane to Guadalajara, Mexico—but not to sample the local cuisine or snap photos of colonial architecture. Traveling in partnership with the ICMA, he was on a volunteer undertaking to consult with and educate local leaders on how to professionalize their governments. “The principles of good government bless the lives of people,” he says. “I wanted to be a part of the big effort to improve the systems of government closest to and most needed by the people.”
That was the first of more than 25 trips that have led him across Mexico and the United States and have brought him to Honduras, Colombia, and Tanzania. As city manager of Indio, California, he is well-respected for his service and applies the principles he teaches to his everyday work. In 2015 he was named Volunteer of the Year by the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance. “These volunteer trips are part of giving back and fulfilling my calling as a public servant,” he says.
Montgomery attributes “the spirit of service” at BYU to leading him to volunteer: “I think the MPA program best exemplifies ‘Enter to learn; go forth to serve.’ It is a mindset and dedication that has affected all I do and how I serve. I feel honored to be a BYU MPA alum.”
These eight women and men represent a larger community of MPA alumni who are serving in and impacting their local governments in 49 states and more than 40 countries. Thanks to the solid foundation they gained at the Romney Institute, these dedicated alums are fostering the collaborative, citizen-involved government that de Tocqueville admired nearly two hundred years ago.
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This article was originally published in the MPA 2022–23 annual report, pages 4–9.