Southwest Leadership Program Participant Profile

Albert Elias
Photo by Tricia McInroy, courtesy
Tucson Weekly.

Albert Elias, director of Tucson’s Department of Urban Planning and Design and a recent graduate of the Southwest Leadership Program, admits he was initially skeptical about the value of the program. Once there, however, he was impressed by the quality of presenters, who transformed what at first seemed like it might be familiar subject matter.

The caliber of his classmates added a whole other dimension to the program, Elias notes. “I knew right away that these were all experienced, high-performing people,” he explains. “The relationships you develop with the other participants are among the best aspects of this program.”

Efficient and Effective Government

When you think “government,” what do you picture? Black-suited men and women racing about Capitol Hill?

In fact, 53 percent of government employees are at the local level, and they almost all have one thing in common: “Everywhere in the country we're hearing the same call,” says Paul Melendez, lecturer in Eller’s School of Public Administration and Policy (SPAP) and Southwest Leadership Program director, “the need for efficient and effective local government.”

“Effective” and “efficient” are adjectives more often associated with business management than public service, a fact that ideally positions SPAP — housed within the Eller College of Management —to play a leading role in broadening the skill sets of public administrators through the College's Southwest Leadership Program for public-sector and nonprofit professionals.

With a newly revised curriculum and format, the Program still draws on both academic experts and experienced practitioners for faculty, but now delivers their combined knowledge in a single, concentrated week of learning.

Changes in the curriculum also reflect the fact that the public sector operates more and more like the private sector. The new program adds modules on strategic planning and dealing with the media to a core body of information on leadership and team building, negotiation, human resource management, and communication.

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