October 2017


Contents

 

Monthly calendar
October calendar on Page 5

Page 2 of 5

Fresh Faces in Fellowships

by Jennifer Montrose, Marketing and Technology Specialist

Local government is not necessarily synonymous with the younger generation, or as some people refer to them as, Millennials. However, Hannah Osborne and Elizabeth ‘Libba’ McKinsey are looking to change that perception here in Henrico County through two different fellowship programs Henrico County has partnered with this year.

Hannah is a participant in the ICMA Fellowship—a competitive career-development opportunity that is designed to generate interest in local government careers among recent graduates of master’s degree programs. After a rigorous screening process, ICMA Fellows are placed in positions to be shaped and mentored by senior government leaders with the goal of helping to build the future of local government management.


Wilder School Fellow Libba McKinsey
The Wilder School’s Graduate Scholars Fellowship, of which Libba is a 2017 member, is a program structured to place fellows with employers around the Richmond region including nonprofits, government agencies and businesses with the goal of gaining professional work experience while being afforded the opportunity to apply their talents to issues and organizations that advance the public good.

Both fellowships are unique in that this is the first year Henrico County has hosted a fellow from either of these two programs. It speaks volumes to the goal Henrico has in developing younger generations intent on serving their community and local government directly. “I want to be thrown in and understand how it all works,” said Libba, who within her first four days in Community Revitalization had already been out in the field with co-workers three times. As a first-year master’s student in Urban and Regional Planning at VCU, Libba has already put her passion into Henrico, working 20 hours a week on top of a full class schedule and volunteering on the weekends with such projects as Operation Paint Brush. “Working in Henrico made the most sense for what I wanted to study. I feel so lucky that this fellowship worked out. Henrico is diverse and it’s really cool because I feel like it will test me in many ways and I will learn a whole lot,” said Libba.


ICMA Fellow Hannah Osborne
Being a part of the Henrico community was also ICMA fellow, Hannah Osborne’s first choice. She interviewed for four fellowships, was offered three of them and accepted Henrico’s. With a Master’s in Public Administration from UNC Chapel Hill, Hannah has a passion for experiencing first-hand how government serves the public and expanding connections within the community. “Public service was just embedded in me from the beginning,” said Hannah, “that long term visioning, that even if one individual person couldn’t see it, the County, as a whole, was working to see that and prepare for it and create the kind of community they wanted it to be.” Growing up with family who lived in Henrico, and witnessing this vision first hand, was what made Hannah chose the County. Throughout her fellowship, Hannah will have the opportunity to collaborate with all County agencies, work on major projects and truly learn ‘The Henrico Way,’ in hopes that one day she herself can become a County Manager.

With the dedication, commitment and goals these two have, it is no wonder Henrico County moved forward with both fellowships. Making a difference and pumping energy into offices across the County is just the start of showing Millennials that serving local government can have benefits beyond what they think a government job could be. Hannah and Libba are part of a bright, fresh future.