Interview with Gabriel Engeland - Town of Gilbert, AZ
As an intern for the Town Manager’s office in Gilbert, I
have several supervisors; however, there are three staff members that I
interact with the most. All three staff members function as an Assistant-to the
Town Manager and perform a variety of duties. For the purpose of this
assignment, I chose to interview Gabriel Engeland, who fills one of the
Assistant-to the Town Manager positions. Gabe has been with the Town for
approximately 18 months and plays a pivotal role in the Town’s day-to-day
operations. When I asked Gabe to
describe his main job responsibilities he noted that he is basically a
generalist, which means that he works on a variety of tasks that can involve a
multitude of departments. Some of his current responsibilities include policy
drafting, economic development agreements, long range infrastructure planning,
and staff process improvements. Although Gabe is involved with many different
functions of the Town’s operations, internally and externally, his ultimate
responsibility is to implement the will of the Council and the Town Manager.
Although Gabe has excelled during his time at Gilbert, he
didn’t originally envision a career in local government for himself. Early in
his career, when Gabe was living and working in Detroit, he spent a significant
amount of time working with nonprofits. Through his interaction with the
nonprofits, Gabe found himself getting frustrated with local government
operations and began to ponder methods to improve their processes and
procedures. The difficulty Gabe encountered in his dealings with local
governments and nonprofits inspired him to pursue a Masters in Public Administration
at Kansas University.
According to Gabe, and most employers, a Masters in Public
Administration (or a closely related degree) is a necessary qualification for
anyone aspiring to a career in local government management. Although an MPA is
a crucial first step, students need to couple their education with an
internship or fellowship with a public agency. Finally, after a few years in
the profession, local government professionals should seek to add economic
development experience to their resume. While working in economic development
is valuable, Gabe also highly recommends attaining an Economic Development
Certification/Accreditation. Having these qualifications will make any
applicant extremely attractive to any community.
In closing my interview with Gabe, he imparted some
important advice for any person in the field. He stressed the importance of
staying focused on process improvements and the progress being made in the
community. In his words, if you don’t focus on the positive aspects of your
work, the negative comments and rhetoric can become burdensome. Gabe’s words
sum up my interest and rationale for entering the public service profession. Maintaining
zeal for the public service profession can be difficult amongst a worker’s
daily challenges, but if you feel compelled to serve for the betterment of the
community, you know you have found the right profession. Even though I have
only been in my internship for two months, I derive meaning and satisfaction
from my work, and am fairly confident that I will spend the rest of my career
in the public service profession.
Weekend Activities
This weekend I was able to attend Oktoberfest, which was set
up at Tempe Beach Park. Every year it seems that Oktoberfest grows in size and
magnitude, and this year was no exception. There was no entrance fee, which was
a nice perk when compared to the Oktoberfest that was held at Salt River Fields
this past weekend. There were plenty of rides, games, fun foods, and alcoholic
beverages. While I did not get a chance to enjoy a funnel cake or corndog, I
did get to sample some seasonal beer and wines. Overall, I thought the event
was well operated and it provided a great source of entertainment for all ages.
And while I’m not sure of the exact dollar amount, I am sure that the event
provided a nice revenue boost to Tempe’s local economy too!
The Role of Leadership
Leadership plays a crucial role in my internship because I
work in leader-centric environment. Almost every organization has a president,
CEO, or some type of leader that is responsible for making decisions on behalf
of the organization and its employees, and local government is no different. However,
the leadership model in local government is two-fold in that it is mostly
generated from the Manager and the Council. The Council consists of an elected
body of leaders that are selected based on their ideology and capacity to represent
the constituents of their community. It is the Council’s objective to set
directives on local policy, while the Manager is responsible for leading and
directing employees to carry out the will of the Council, while protecting and
promoting the health, safety, and welfare of the community. There is also a
third rail of leadership in local government, which is produced by the
citizens, businesses, and local agencies. These stakeholders are often responsible
for leading other community members, business owners, and agencies, to the
accomplishment of a shared goal.
Although I am only an intern, I have already been given the
latitude to exercise a leadership role. Presently, I am leading an internal
working group that will seek to develop policy and regulations for mobile food
vending (food truck operations) in Gilbert. My supervisors have pushed me to
develop this aspect of my professional skills and often lead me through their own
actions. Whether leadership qualities are innate or developed through
professional experience, every manager needs to be comfortable leading both
staff and the community as a whole.
