The Public Service Project

48:38

On Being Mayor of Arvada, CO with Lauren Simpson

The Public Service Project ·

2026/10/07

Mayor Lauren Simpson is the first directly elected female Mayor of the City of Arvada, Colorado. She’s also a Mom to a human daughter and countless foster kittens, all of whom benefit from her unique brand of curiosity and compassion. An international relations and comms expert by training and a true diplomat by nature, Mayor Lauren sat down to talk with us about a life and career that took her from Texas to DC to Colorado, and that challenged her to not only make sense of a complicated world, but

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34:47

On Working for America with Shifra Goldenberg

The Public Service Project ·

2026/09/30

Shifra Goldenberg is Chief Program Officer at Work for America, a nonpartisan nonprofit working to make public service a more desirable, accessible, and stable career path. Think matchmaker for aspiring public servants and city, state, and county employers. It's been their mission since 2024 to keep public servants in public service, and on this episode, Shifra makes an exciting ANNOUNCEMENT: WfA's Civic Match program is expanding eligibility and bringing new public servants into service, too

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48:41

On Being Mayor of Canton, NC with Zeb Smathers

The Public Service Project ·

2026/09/23

Homegrown Mayor Zeb Smathers loves tending to his backyard in Canton, North Carolina. Before assuming office, he started as a community advocate at his family-run legal practice, Smathers & Smathers. Since 2013, he's represented Canton through numerous challenges, including a global pandemic, economic transition, and, more recently, Hurricane Helene. As we enter another hurricane season, we're sitting down with Mayor Zeb to find out what animates him, and how he’s learned to “GSD” (get shit

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45:52

On Being Mayor of Chapel Hill, NC with Jess Anderson

The Public Service Project ·

2026/09/16

Jess Anderson is Mayor of Chapel Hill.Many know her as a public policy analyst, a Professor, a Mom, a wife, a friend, etc. but she's also the child of two clinical psychologists. After her own little demi-rebellion in high school, she tapped into her innate curiosity about people (again, psychologist parents!) and decided to explore how systems make life better or worse. Listen in for highlights from the journey, insights into the job of being mayor (spoiler: failure to pass a budget is not an

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35:23

On City and State Diplomacy with Ambassador Nina...

The Public Service Project ·

2026/09/09

Nina Hachigian was the first U.S. Ambassador for City and State Diplomacy from 2022-2025, the first Deputy Mayor for International Affairs in the City of Los Angeles, and she currently leads the Alliance for Local Leaders International (ALLIES), which is a nonpartisan nonprofit that brings together professionals from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to solve the big challenges facing our cities, our country, and our planet. So naturally, Ambassador Hachigian is the perfect person to help

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46:09

On Care and Community and Modern Masculinity with...

The Public Service Project ·

2026/07/15

Gary Barker, PhD, is President, CEO and Co-Founder of Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice. A quick Google search reveals how wildly impressive Gary is, so we'll skip the recap and go right into the questions driving this conversation: Why and how is Gary Barker so compassionate, resilient, and deeply principled? Where did that come from? How did his childhood experience witnessing gun violence shape how he thought about safety, and what predisposed him to look upstream for the

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58:39

On Grief and Moxie with Maryum Saifee

The Public Service Project ·

2026/07/08

Maryum Saifee is living, becoming, rethinking and rewriting the American dream. She is her parents' greatest wish come to life, and she holds herself to the highest possible standard when it comes to serving the country that made her. She challenges herself, and all those around her, to face each day with conscience, courage, and moral clarity, and she does it with humanity and grace. Her credentials are impressive, from time spent serving with PeaceCorps to AmeriCorps to the U.S. Foreign Service

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57:25

On Policy and Public Affairs with Jeffrey Levy

The Public Service Project ·

2026/06/24

Jeffrey Levy served the public in the U.S. federal civil service for 31 years, through 21 years at EPA and 5 each at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the State Department. With a background in Physics and Environmental Policy, his digital communications career came as a surprise. His impulse to embrace the web as a powerful tool for connecting the American public with the agencies that serve them became a life and career defining choice, and now one year into retirement, Jeffrey is

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46:54

On Human Rights and Civilian Security with Uzra Zeya

The Public Service Project ·

2026/06/17

Uzra Zeya is President and CEO of Human Rights First, and former Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Human Rights, and Democracy - the pillar tasked with advancing human rights, strengthening the rule of law, supporting refugees, elevating the fight against corruption, and combatting transnational crime and human trafficking. Her distinguished diplomatic career has included assignments in France, India, Syria, Egypt, Oman, and Jamaica, as well as roles advising Secretaries of State Rice

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61:23

On Youth and Social Movements with Sarah Sladen

The Public Service Project ·

2026/06/10

Sarah Sladen is a Senior global leader with 20+ years developing and implementing strategies at the intersection of social impact, youth and community development, economic opportunity and wellbeing across government, philanthropy, and civil society. As a current Senior Fellow at Georgetown University and the most recent Senior Advisor for Youth at USAID, Sarah knows what she's talking about when it comes to implementing a Positive Youth Development framework, leading everything from training and

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56:12

On Dignity and the Rising Tide with Christina Sass

The Public Service Project ·

2026/06/03

Christina is a powerhouse. She has spent over two decades tackling challenges in global development through an ever-sharpening focus on youth employment. She's here today to share the why and the how - from her father's improbable capture of the American dream, to her own journey as a co-founder and CEO. She believes with a fiery passion that identifying and upskilling young talent and aligning their potential to the needs of industry is the most direct way to solve for so many problems that derive

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29:25

On Philanthropy and Enlightened Self Interest with...

The Public Service Project ·

2026/05/27

Gil Gillenwater is the founder of the award-winning Rancho Feliz Charitable Foundation, which has reimagined border philanthropy, empowering communities through reciprocal giving and shared dignity since 1987. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards for volunteerism and philanthropy, and one of his projects was selected by former President Bill Clinton as a featured initiative at Clinton Global Initiative, a gathering of the world’s leading thinkers, philanthropists and changemakers. Gil

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50:43

On Culture and Conflict (and sexy policy work) with...

The Public Service Project ·

2026/05/20

CJ Pine is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, teaching about the United Naitons Security Council. He previously worked as a civil servant at the U.S. Mission to the UN, and at the State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. CJ is here to dispel myths about peace studies, explain how (and why) countries negotiate at the UN, and tell us all about his childhood misadventure selling lemonade in China. His experiences as a "third culture kid" shaped the way he

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47:25

On Courage and Vocation with Ambassador Barbara Leaf

The Public Service Project ·

2026/05/06

Ambassador Barbara Leaf is a career public servant with over 3 decades of experience, most recently serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, where she was responsible for the U.S. relationship with 18 countries from Morocco to the Arabian Peninsula. She's a frequent guest on media outlets as an expert on the Middle East, but she's here to speak candidly about her life and career. She shares a bit about her childhood, reflects on experiences (and moments of career malaise)

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34:28

On Fatherhood, Friendship, and Fine Living with Dr....

The Public Service Project ·

2026/04/29

Dr. Corey Holmes is a diplomat, an academic, a father, an author, a friend. He is here to talk less about his achievements (there are many!) and more about the questions, observations, and new discoveries that are shaping this chapter in his life. We discuss male friendships and vulnerability, the divine (and exhausting) experience of fatherhood, the exercise of writing, and the moments that shift your course in life. His book (Golf, Cigars, and Scotch: Balancing Fatherhood, Friendship, and

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39:50

On Democracy and Subnational Diplomacy with Jon Temin

The Public Service Project ·

2026/04/22

Jon Temin works across government, research and the non-profit sector to advance democracy, good governance, conflict resolution, and US-Africa relations. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University SNF Agora Institute, where he is researching the future of U.S. democracy assistance. Previously, he was the Director of the Africa programs at Freedom House and at the US Institute of Peace, a member of the US Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, and Vice President of Policy

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43:46

On History and Context with Amanda Van Dort

The Public Service Project ·

2026/04/08

Amanda Van Dort is a McCain Institute American Democracy and Technology Fellow, and an Adjunct Professor for Johns Hopkins and GWU teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on issues related to Women, Peace, and Security. She's also a former diplomat, most recently serving the Department of State as Chief of Staff in the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues, building on her background advancing the rights of women globally and addressing the needs of survivors of conflict-related sexual

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47:28

On Peace and Propportunities with Kat Fotovat

The Public Service Project ·

2026/03/25

Katrina "Kat" Fotovat is Co-Founder of Peace Pays, a global initiative that harnesses artificial intelligence to prevent violence, strengthen democratic resilience, and advance women-led peacebuilding worldwide. Kat is a former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues with over 30 years of experience in fragile settings, overseeing more than $5 billion in programs supporting democracy, human rights, and marginalized populations. Today, she's harnessing her wildly impressive experience, her

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37:29

On Techxiety and Corporate Social Responsibility with...

The Public Service Project ·

2026/03/18

Russell York is the Founder and CEO of Cosmo Technologies - one of the fastest growing family tech brands, creating purpose-built, safe devices that help kids stay connected, while giving parents peace of mind. Russell joined me for a conversation about tech, parenting, and the public good. We discuss the pervasive techxiety that is driving our parenting strategies; the need for ethical tech leadership and real solutions; the essential nature of an outdoor childhood; cultivating resilience; creating

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37:19

On Pivots and Portfolios with Kristen Cordell

The Public Service Project ·

2026/03/11

Kristen Cordell serves as Grand Challenges Canada's inaugural Senior Director for Policy and Learning. Before joining GCC, she held senior roles at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Department of State, and USAID. Her commitment to service and support of U.S. geopolitical objectives has earned her awards from the Secretary of State, and USAID Administrator. She's a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a true thought leader, an innovator, and a creator. Kristen joins

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