Roles for Public Service Professionals in the Climate Crisis

• Author: Angel Wright-Lanier
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X221137322
• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Date: 01 December 2022
• Subject Matter: Perspective Essay

https://doi.org/10.1177/0160323X221137322

State and Local Government Review

2022, Vol. 54(4) 283 –286

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X221137322

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Perspective Essay

Being an only child meant solitude and long

walks in the woods. I grew up on my grandpar-

ents’ 150-acre working farm in Georgia. After

World War II, my grandfather learned how to

farm via the County Extension service. Watching

him till the soil and grow crops taught me an

appreciation for the land. Before starting col-

lege, news coverage documented protests in

Warren County, North Carolina, popularizing

the term environmental justice. After working in

the private sector for many years, I decided to

pursue a Master of Public Administration (MPA)

at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. I

then landed a job with the City of Raleigh, North

Carolina. After working in the Finance

Department for four years, I was promoted to the

City Manager’s office. One of my first projects

allowed me to lead a city-wide effort to develop

Raleigh’s first federal legislative agenda, which

included pursuing federal funding to support

sustainability projects to help Raleigh reduce its

environmental impact, lowering the city’s over-

all effect on the climate.

After working in local government for nearly

20 years, I observed growing political tension

and hostility among council members and the

rejection of affordable housing projects. Local

political culture was changing. Now, in 2022,

the world seems upside down. As a former local

government servant, I ask myself, how can we

create a renewed interest in public service with

all the challenges we face at every level of gov-

ernment? Ultimately, this is not a choice; it is a

mandate. If we value our democracy, we need

dedicated public servants. We also need new

generations to enter into government service.

The stakes are too high. Our collective lives

depend on it.

Now, I serve as the Executive Director of the

Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs,

and Administration (NASPAA). NASPAA’s

twofold mission is to ensure excellence in edu-

cation and training for public service and to pro-

mote the ideals of public service. Shortly after I

began the position at NASPAA, I was intro-

duced to an effort created by the United Nations

(UN) called Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs). The United Nations calls the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a call

to action for all countries. The strategies are a

declaration that work to address climate change

must be coordinated with efforts to address crit-

ical social ills such as poverty and inequalities

in health and education. I quickly realized there

was a disconnect between the UN goals and

local government level sustainability practices.

States and municipalities are doing the work

called for by the SDGs without collaboration

with the UN. My goal with this essay is to bring

attention to this disconnect.

Climate Change and the UN

Sustainable Development

Goals

My experiences with sustainability were influ-

enced by my work with the City of Raleigh.

Raleigh was one of the first cities in the nation

to create a sustainability officer position in

2005. The city joined an effort called Cool

1137322SLGXXX10.1177/0160323X221137322State and Local Government ReviewWright-Lanier

research-article2022

1NASPAA, Washington, DC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Angel Wright-Lanier, NASPAA, 1029 Vermont Avenue,

NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005-3801, USA.

Email: wrightlanier@naspaa.org

Roles for Public Service

Professionals in the Climate

Crisis

Angel Wright-Lanier1