Not to diminish the lessons from kindergarten and other formal education settings, the experiences and life lessons I gained while working at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) are priceless.
33 years, 3 months and 3 days ago I arrived for my first day on the job as a GS 7 thinking my 16 years of education had fully prepared me for a career in government service. That naive 23-year-old had so much to learn!
One of the first things I learned was how to type and how to use a computer. In 1987, we only had typewriters but soon got word processors and finally computers. This was all shared equipment, of course. We even shared phone lines but the phones were not rotary dial phones. I remember preparing for Y2K and the fear that our systems would all crash on January 1, 2000! And it has been amazing to see how email and the internet have influenced our work life.
In my early years I worked in Child Nutrition, focusing on community programs. After an “automatic” promotion to grade 9, I competed for a promotion to grade 11 and then grade 12 where I had supervisory responsibility as a team lead. I fondly remember daily technical assistance calls with state colleagues who became my earliest work mentors. Their challenging questions and their insight into local operations helped me build expertise in CACFP which led to many opportunities to train and speak in front of national audiences. During this time I helped develop the guidance documents “Summertime Snacks” and “What’s in a Meal?” that became widely used around the country. These were the days before Team Nutrition and the amazing resources they now provide.
My early days also included participation in Toastmasters, a popular mid-level management course in Lancaster, PA, and participating in and graduating from the second cohort of the Leadership Institute (LI). While in the LI, I had a temporary assignment in our Financial Management (FM) office and I coordinated a training conference for our Child Nutrition State partners covering guidance on reporting, audits, procurement and other FM topics. I maintained close ties with the LI serving as a mentor to several future participants and also as a learning coach. My final project included an exploration of on-line training options which were non-existent in the late 90’s and essentially turned out to be sharing files on a CD rom!
Next up was an opportunity to move from a team lead position to a supervisor. After applying for a GS13 seven different times, I finally landed the promotion I was hoping for. (Ironically, one of the jobs I didn’t qualify for was the regional nutritionist job. Although I had a degree in nutrition, I didn’t have the exact credentials needed.)
Over the next two years I proudly carried a badge and supervised 12 investigators covering a 20 state territory. I received some of the best training of my career at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. My children were quite young at the time and they were dismayed to learn that their mom learned how to tell if someone is lying! On a happier note, this was during a time when Rick was a stay at home dad and he and the kids joined me on several business trips. With my 50 mile commute, this extra family time was especially nice. I started thinking about ways I could improve my work life balance and dreamed of working as an administrative review officer. This was the only position in the agency that had a work from home option. I even considered law school to increase my chances.
Instead, I responded to an opportunity to become the WIC Director. Here I learned about the challenge of funding a grant program, the most unique feature that separates WIC from the rest of FNS’ 14 other nutrition assistance programs. I became a breastfeeding advocate and I finally worked in the one program I had learned about in college. While in WIC, I witnessed Michigan’s early adoption of EBT in WIC and showcased Illinois’ food centers when our administrator and other political officials came to town.
During this time, I wrote my first set of Executive Qualifications (ECQs) to apply for a Senior Executive Service (SES) position in Denver. The position didn’t get filled but I was thrilled to learn that I made the qualifications list as a GS 14.
I still dreamed of working from home and when I was turned down for an administrative review officer job, I remember crying to my mentor and telling her that I just wanted to have breakfast with my kids! With her encouragement, I figured out a way to flex my schedule so I could see them off to school and work late. Of course, my supportive husband Rick helped make this possible. We made a great team.
After 4 years in WIC, our RA asked me to take a lateral position in Special Nutrition. My experience in Community Nutrition served me well and I quickly learned all about School Lunch and the Food Distribution Programs. I arrived at the heels of nutrient standard menu planning and helped lead the most significant meal pattern changes in the history of the National School Lunch Program. We prepared schools with a national recognition program called the Healthier U.S. School Challenge and it was a time of intense travel as we visited schools to recognize their valiant efforts to improve the health of millions of school children. I also did a lot of work to promote School Breakfast and I fondly remember convincing Indiana’s State Superintendent to amend his instructional policies to allow for breakfast in the classroom. This was a huge win.
It was around this time that I applied for a Senior Executive Candidate Development Program at USDA. At the time, FNS was only allotted 5 spots and I got cut in the third of the 5 stages in the process. I later applied for an RA position in Boston which I did not get selected for.
During my SNP director years (Part 1), I also worked with the Indian Tribal Organizations and learned a lot about Indian culture and the FDPIR. When the administration started its plan to improve the nutritional quality of the food package, including the proposed removal of butter without consulting tribal leadership, an enormous controversy followed. The tribal members felt disrespected and it was one of many lessons learned.
Eight years ago, the regions reorganized and WIC merged with Child Nutrition and Food Distribution. I was promoted to the SNP Director position (this is Part 2) and the scope of my responsibilities expanded. I continued to travel a lot and my WIC background came in handy especially during the 3-week shutdown in 2013. I remember daily calls with our WIC State Health Departments and our national policy officials as we calculated how many more days we could fund the program. Another highlight during this time was the challenge of growing the Summer Meals program. I visited park parties where I was interviewed on live TV and I read to goats at a mobile read and feed site. I also met sports celebrities at hunger fundraisers and I enjoyed post conference concerts at the annual NSLP conferences. There were lots of great perks to balance the challenging work.
While in SNP, I had the privilege of attending a four-week development program at the Federal Executive Institute (FEI). This challenged me in new ways and I worked with the most amazing team. It has been nice staying in touch with these dear friends and mentors. It was around this time that I gave up on my SES dream and started planning for a 2020 retirement and a consulting business. My husband Rick passed in a tragic work accident 2 years later, changing the course of my retirement plan.
Shortly after my FEI experience, I had the opportunity to fill in for 3 months at our WRO office. This offered another great growth experience and the chance to get to know more of my FNS colleague better. Living and working in San Francisco was one of my favorite experiences at FNS. Other special assignments included 2 years as an EEO Counselor and working on customer experience initiatives.
And then there was SNAP. My last 2 years have brought me full circle, being able to work in all FNS program areas. SNAP is certainly the most complicated and challenging of them all and I am so grateful to my team for embracing me and patiently helping me in my transition as their director. My success in SNAP would not have been possible without the incredible expertise of our MWRO SNAP team.
While in SNAP I’ve been able to build on my vision for a non-profit food ministry that will allow me to tap into my food assistance experiences at USDA while also honoring the life of my late husband Rick. He lived by the motto “Make Tym”, always making time for his family. Make Them Yummy Meals will be our legacy.
Who knew that I would end my career finally working at home full time!? Responding to a global health pandemic by launching new programs like pandemic EBT and approving waivers, rule adjustments and emergency allotments has been exhausting, but so rewarding. And then we experienced a derecho, a kind of storm I had never heard of before. This led to another new experience for me – operating a disaster SNAP program in Iowa, the newest state in our region and my future home state.
I served under the Reagan administration, both Bush administrations, Clinton, Obama and Trump. So many training and work experiences and diversity and inclusion workshops have helped shape my political views and opened my eyes to oppression and poverty in our world. I witnessed firsthand what hunger and malnutrition look like. I learned from advocates and I have heard stories that made me sad and stories that brought me joy.
As a supervisor I floundered and I thrived. I’m grateful for the grace I received along the way as I learned better ways to ensure accountability and to provide meaningful feedback to my direct reports.
I have worked with and learned from so many smart, selfless and hard-working civil servants. I’m truly in awe of the talent that I have been surrounded by during the past 33 years. I’ve had the best mentors and some wonderful bosses. Interestingly, every one of my supervisors has been male and nearly all of my mentors have been female.
It’s been the greatest honor to serve and LEARN at the Food and Nutrition Service. Thanks for the many lessons, FNS!
