2. Table of Contents
Executive summary .......................................................................... page 3
Statement of purpose ........................................................................ page 4
Resume ............................................................................................. page 5
Artifacts ............................................................................................ page 6
Artifact 1: POLSC700, Fall 2014, Research Project .......... page 6
Artifact 2: POLSC702, Fall 2014, Case Study .......... page 8
Artifact 3: POLSC799, Fall 2014, Strategic Plan .......... page 10
Artifact 4: POLSC710, Fall 2013, Policy Analysis .......... page 12
Artifact 5: POLSC710, Fall 2013, Memo .......... page 14
2 table of contents
3. Executive summary
This portfolio provides five examples of the skills, knowledge and
experience I’ve acquired through the MPA program at Kansas State
University that make me an excellent candidate for a position within
any organization within the nonprofit sector.
When selecting these artifacts, I focused on five core areas: research,
internal auditing, strategic planning, analysis, and communication. It is
my belief that possessing these skills and abilities is crucial if an ad-
ministrator hopes to effectively and efficiently managing any organiza-
tion.
These artifacts also reflect the topics that motivated and inspired me to
pursue a MPA, as well as employment within the nonprofit sector.
Further explanation of my reasoning will be provided in a brief caption
prior to each entry.
Thank you.
3 executive summary
4. Statement of purpose
For as long as I can remember, nonprofit organizations have motivated
me in a way no other sector has. From local domestic abuse shelters to
the United Way to Boys and Girls Clubs of America, I have witnessed
others (and myself) benefit from the amazing work of those individuals
who sacrifice so much while receiving so little.
Sadly, I’ve also seen what can happen when passionate nonprofit em-
ployees (full- or part-time) and volunteers are poorly managed. These
people, once invigorated by the idea of bettering the world around
them, transform into apathetic shells of their former selves and begin
treating their work as something that can be done with a 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. mentality.
I sought out the MPA degree from Kansas State University because I
saw the need for positive managers in the nonprofit sector. I felt that
the program would enrich my knowledge of public and private sector
management, policy analysis, and budgeting in a way that would maxi-
mize my efficiency and effectiveness in future projects and campaigns.
When coupled with my BA degree in mass communications, the MPA
provides me with a platform on which I declare my statement of pur-
pose: contribute not only to creating a positive work environment that
enhances the quality of services, but also to the global conversation on
social issues by utilizing ever-evolving story-telling and media tech-
niques.
4 statement of purpose
5. Erin B. Poppe
erinbpoppe@gmail.com
(360) 540-0876
Master’s of Public Administration | December 2015
Kansas State Univeristy (Manhattan, Kansas)
B.A. Mass Communications | May 2013
Kansas State Univeristy (Manhattan, Kansas)
Collegian Managing Copy Chief | August 2013 - Present
Collegian Media Group (Manhattan, Kansas)
Manage staff of six-nine copy editors and facilitate
editing process of all articles, photos and pages
published by The Collegian.
Program Leader | August 2014 - Present
Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan (Manhattan, Kansas)
Plan and facilitate engaging lesson for children ages
5-11 that adhere to organization’s mission and goals,
as well as various grant requirements.
Intern | May 2014 to August 2014
Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan (Manhattan, Kansas)
Assisted director of operations with daily operations,
planning major community and club events, and
research. Also assisted marketing director with
multimedia materials (photos, videos, brochures,
social media posts, presentations, etc.)
Editor in Chief | August 2012 to May 2013
Collegian Media Group (Manhattan, Kansas)
Oversaw production and marketing of 360-page
publication, the Royal Purple, with staff of 20+
university students. Was hands-on in design, editing,
photography, board meetings and marketing ventures
(of which included increasing social media traffic).
Publication’s sales increased by 300 percent within
first three sale weeks.
Technical Skills
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Indesign
Adobe Lightroom
M.S.Word
SPSS Statistics
Canon 50D
M.S. Excel
M.S. Powerpoint
Internal Skills
Deadline oriented
Organization
Facilitation
Research
Problem-solving
Verbal comm.
Collaboration
Written comm.
Gallup Clifton StrengthsFinder
Experience
Education
1. Positivity | Relationship Building
“People strong in the Positivity theme have an
enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and
can get others excited about what they are going to
do.” (StrengthsFinder, 2014)
2. Developer | Relationship Building
“People strong in the Developer theme recognize and
cultivate the potential in others. They spot the signs of
each small improvement and derive satisfaction from
these improvements.” (StrengthsFinder, 2014)
3. Winning Others Over (WOO) | Influencing
“People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge
of meeting new people and winning them over. They
derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making
a connection with another person.” (StrengthsFinder,
2014)
4. Input | Strategic Thinking
“People strong in the Input theme have a craving to
know more. Often they like to collect and archive all
kinds of information.” (StrengthsFinder, 2014)
5. Empathy | Relationship Building
“People strong in the Empathy theme can sense the
feelings of other people by imagining themselves in
others’ lives or others’ situations.” (StrengthsFinder,
2014)
References
Patsy Martin | Executive Director Port of Skagit
(360) 757-0011, patsy@portofskagit.com
Kelly Carmody | Director of Operations BGC of MHK
(785) 539-1947, kellyc@bgclubmanhattan.com
Andy Rao | Financial Professional at Prudential Financial
(913) 940-4952, arao@ksu.edu
827 Moro St.
Manhattan, KS 66502
Facebook: erinpoppe
Instagram: @erinbpoppe
Twitter: @erinpoppe
Pinterest: epoppe
5 resume
6. Artifact 1: POLSC700, Fall 2014, Research Project
“Identifying Motivations for Volunteering”
My first artifact is the abstract from a research proposal I completed as
the final project for the MPA course, Research Methods. In the pro-
posal, I advocated for the need to further research the motivations of
volunteers in the nonprofit sector. I argued that as many nonprofits rely
on the free services of volunteers to maintain operations on a limited
budget, identifying what does and does not motivate these individuals
and tailoring our management interactions accordingly will benefit the
sector as a whole.
I focused on nonprofits with Manhattan, Kansas as the nonprofits in
the area are often able to see the direct impact of their services within
the surrounding communities – a common motivator for many. It was
my hypothesis that in comparing nonprofit volunteers in Manhattan,
those that would volunteer regardless of recognition require private
and intrinsic recognition, whereas those that use volunteering to fulfill
a requirement require extrinsic, public rewards.
To collect data, I suggested a low-cost Likert scale questionnaire. To
evaluate the data, I recommended easy to understand frequency distri-
butions in a cross-tabular analysis.
6 research artifact
7. IDENTIFYING MOTIVATIONS FOR VOLUNTEERING ! Poppe2
Abstract
Volunteers serve an important function within our society. In 2012, 64.5 million Ameri-
cans volunteered nearly 7.9 billion hours – time that saved nearly $175 billion in labor costs
(AmeriCorps, 2013). In 2013, however, the United State’s volunteer rate reached its lowest point
in over a decade (BLS, 2014). This is worrisome for organizations that rely on volunteers to
ease financial and operational burdens, such as those within the public and non-profit sectors
that provide our society with goods that cannot be easily offered by the government (i.e., youth
development, affordable housing, animal welfare, etc.).
It is because of this that volunteer motivation in these organizations has ben a particular
interest for researchers. The literature agrees that there are ultimately two categories of volun-
teers – altruistic volunteers and egotistic volunteers – though much of it lacks unifying positions
on what specifically motivates them to continue donating their time (Cnaan and Goldberg-Glen,
1991). With the currently increasing demand for and declining number of volunteers, there is a
need to further research to expand the knowledge base on volunteer motivations.
This research proposal focuses on identifying what will effectively motivate volunteers
who serve based on altruistic reasons, compared to those who serve for egotistic reasons. To do
this, of a Likert scale questionnaire – created in respect to the Volunteer Functions Inventory
(VFI) developed by Clary et. al (1992) that identified 6 motivational categories for volunteers –
will be analyzed in a way that rank orders how a volunteer should be extrinsically or intrinsical-
ly rewarded based on if they fall into the category of a altruistic volunteer or an egotistic volun-
teer.
8. Artifact 2: POLSC702, Fall 2014, Case Study
“Understanding Public Service: The Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan
My second artifact is an excerpt of my work contributing to an inter-
nal audit of the Boys and Girls Club of Manhattan. The purpose of the
project was to evaluate a public service organization and determine if
it was successful in providing public service. It was a group project,
completed with two of my peers, and my role was threefold: collect
background information on BGC-MHK via interviews and internal
documents (ex. annual report), identify its weaknesses and strengths,
and decide if the organization can be classified as successful.
At the time of this project, I worked for the organization as both an
intern and program leader. Also, I benefitted from the services of this
nonprofit as a child. For these reasons I had a personal interest and
investment in evaluating the services of BGC-MHK.
I believe internal audits are necessary to keep the organization connect-
ed to its mission and values. Audits give administrators an opportunity
to step back and evaluate their performance from a outsider’s perspec-
tive. These is especially valuable for nonprofits, as many employees
may feel an emotional attachment to the organization that could cloud
their judgement.
8 audit artifact
9. Understanding Public Service: The Boys & Girls Club of Manhattan
Is BGC-MHK a Successful Organization?
There are several qualifications BGC-MHK must fill for us to consider it a successful
organization, in addition to the seven tenets that would identify it as a strong New Public Service
organization. It is our belief that BGC-MHK, as an individual chapter of its parent organization
Boys and Girls Clubs of America, not only meets these standards but excels them as well.
Under the seven tenets of New Public Service, BGC-MHK fills a void based on the needs and
wants of the community (serves rather than steers). The organization provides a service which
serves this public interest (its aim is public interest, not the by-product). BGC-MHK maintains a
careful balance which allows the organization to keep costs to parents low while maintaining a
high quality of service (staff thinks strategically and acts democratically). Its staff considers the
wellbeing of each child they work with (serves citizens, not customers). BGC-MHK acts in
partnership with the local CDS, and holds its staff accountable for reporting behavior or
information shared that could indicate any level of neglect (accountability is not simple). The
primary focus of the organization is providing the service and public good of child well-being
and productive citizens (values people, not just productivity). Finally, BGC-MHK does not take
risks with the funds available to it – however inconsistent – as it must be very conservative and
cautious in order to remain in operation (values citizenship and public service above
entrepreneurship.
Beyond the seven tenets of New Public Service organization, BGC-MHK has proved itself a
successful organization in accordance to Goodsell’s qualifications in “Mission Mystique.” Its
leader, Director of Operations Kelly Carmody, has crafted an service-oriented work environment
where all employees and volunteers are committed to upholding BGC’s mission and values in
their interactions with children. She understands what motivates her staff, both altruistically and
egotistically, and has no problem calling her organization out when it begins to meet just the
status quo. She expects nothing less of her staff than to go above and beyond for the public they
serve. These reasons and more clearly define BGC-MHK as a successful organization.
page 14
10. Artifact 3: POLSC799, Fall 2014, Strategic Plan
“National Archives and Records Administration: St. Louis, Missouri”
My third artifact is a problem identification and SWOT (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis completed as part of
a strategic plan for the National Archives and Records Administration
in St. Louis, Missouri. For the project, as part of the Executive Lead-
ership Problems course, a team that included myself and three other
peers evaluated the NARA on its effectiveness and efficiency, then
made recommendations on how it can improve from here.
It was our recommendation that the St. Louis NARA facility focused
its reform efforts in the areas of personnel, technology and processes
concurrently in hopes of transforming the facility into a highly produc-
tive, valued organization within the U.S. government.
I believe tools, such as the SWOT analysis, are invaluable to all orga-
nizations regardless of their sector. If applied correctly, a simple work-
sheet like SWOT can make dramatic and positive changes to an orga-
nizations culture and climate.
10 strategic artifact
11. National Archives and Records Administration: St. Louis, Missouri
Identification of the Problem
When examining the NARA in St. Louis, it is clear that the organization is plagued with a variety of
complex challenges that are leading to the ineffectiveness of the facility. The staff works with an outdated process
that leads to several efficiency and accuracy problems. This longstanding system, that was developed prior to
modern technology, is currently paper-driven and as such has experienced a number of issues involving personnel
(high turnover of highly-skilled staff), processes (upwards of 90-day waiting periods for information requests) and
technology (backlogging of approximately 200,000 cases).
The staff is reluctant to move away from this system because it is one they are familiar and comfortable
with. The level of formal education amongst the majority of employees is low and a new process would require
significant training in computer technology.
In addition to these service issues, the culture at the NARA is a fiercely competitive one that is counterproductive to
the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. In fact, the current incentive plan rewards employees on the number
of cases they process, not the number of cases closed – which can be linked to the issue of excessive backlogging.
This organization’s troublesome culture and climate has also led to an overwhelmingly burdensome number of
Equal Employment Opportunity complaints around promotions from employees. This has created unrest with
employee’s relationship to their leadership team, and in turn the leadership has been consistently adverse to initiating
change.
Without employees and their leadership team collaborating change, the NARA cannot hope to improve its
situation.
SWOT
A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis could assist in getting a dialogue started
between leadership and employees about the reality of NARA. Figure 1 is our SWOT analysis of the NARA at its
current state.
Strengths
Employees have:
Passion and drive for service
An abundance of institutional knowledge
Competitive work culture
Diverse workforce
Weaknesses
Inefficiencies in every department
Multiple missing records that are irretrievable due
to 1970s fire
Insufficient knowledge, usage and utilization of
available technology
High turnover of high-skilled employees
backlog of cases (200,000+)
Opportunities
Support from new leadership in Washington
Reconnection to public NARA is serving
Collaboration with worker’s union
Educational seminars on technology
Threats
Organizational climate that’s resistant to change
Pressure from Congress and public
Fig. 1
Page 1
12. Artifact 4: POLSC710, Fall 2013, Policy Analysis
“Bullying: Government’s Failure”
My fourth artifact is a section from a policy analysis paper I created
that pushes for a policy focusing on bullying prevention in govern-
ment-funded educational institutions.
This is a topic I am very passionate about. I believe that every child
and young adult deserves to expect an healthy and positive educational
environment, especially when his or her government funds it. In my
paper, I argue that if a policy addressing the issue of bullying can help
in its awareness and prevention, policy makers have a responsibility to
their polis to make it happen.
12 analysis artifact
13. Policy Analysis POLSC710
Government Failure
Bullying in schools often includes violations of federally protected civil rights, and so the lack of
effective programs aimed towards addressing and intervening in the cycle of bullying indicates a
government failure that is tasked with improving the liberty and security of its citizens. Four core
stakeholders that are directly affected by these two government failures: students suffer a lack of security,
while caregivers, educators, and law enforcement struggle with the dilemma of liberty.
Security
Though it is difficult to define security objectively, in a broad sense it can be identified as a societal need.
Stone (pg. 90) makes the argument that, “... security means protecting people’s identities as well as their
existence.” If we accept this idea, then where students are concerned, there is a serious lack of fulfillment
in their need of security – regardless of where they fall in the cycle of bullying.
To broaden the impact of this failure, the argument can be made that if people don’t have what they need
or feel secure, they will not work as hard and will be a drain on society. This lack of work ethic may not
be a cognitive one either, as the lack of security bullying causes leads to several social, emotional and
physical problems that can impede citizen’s productivity and efficiency within their societal contributions.
Liberty
Caregivers, educators, and law enforcement have a stake in the cycle of bullying as well, however theirs
is more observational and has less direct impact. As authoritative figures, these stakeholders have a
responsibility to both student bullies and victims to make attempts at bullying prevention and
intervention. Yet the paradox of liberty as a government failure is that though the idea of America is
consumed with freedom and individual rights, laws and policies of all kinds unavoidably restrict human
behavior.
However, order and safety in a society requires rules, laws and policies. Even in a free society, these
things are necessary to maintain the greatest extent of freedom possible. Therefore, freedom for society
requires the restriction of individual liberties.
In an attempt to justify the government restriction of citizen’s liberty, John Stuart Mills developed four
criteria that need to be met. The first condition Mills sets is that the restriction must prevent harm to
others; secondly, the restriction must indicate a distinguishable line between actions that harm others and
those that don’t; it must recognize that liberty is an individual concern and should not be restricted on a
group level; and can be defined as a lack of interference.
The stakeholders that struggle with this governmental failure do so because even when an action is known
to produce harm, there are many possible prevention methods, each of which interferes with different
types of liberties for different sets of people. caregivers, educators, and law enforcement have a
responsibility to not just the obvious victims of bullying, but to the bullies as well. No matter where an
individual falls in the cycle, they are victims and deserve help.
Conflicting failures
Between the government failures of liberty and security, there is a conflict that Stone identifies as a
tradeoff: can government provide both liberty and security to its citizens? From this conflict arise the two
dilemmas of government dependence and paternalism that can be just as detrimental to the productivity
and efficiency of society.
pages 3-4
14. Artifact 5: POLSC710, Fall 2013, Memo
“Media Influence on Childbearing”
My fifth and final artifact is a memo from my Policy Analysis course
that debates the advantages and disadvantages of a “entertainment edu-
cation” strategy to communicate with today’s youth.
In the memo, I evaluate the effectiveness the MTV shows “16 and
Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” had on reducing teen pregancy rates. The
fact that MTV understands how to produce shows that keep teens
captivated, that speak to them in ways that resonate, is important to
consider when discussing future strategies towards further reducing the
nation’s outstandingly high teen pregnancy rate, as well as other social
issues.
We need to get creative when it comes to communication strategies,
and I firmly believe media can have a profound and lasting impact on
the masses. My background in the field only strengthens my convic-
tions and allows me to see angles others might not.
14 communication artifact
15. POLICY ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION | MEMORANDUM 1
Despite long-held public concerns that showcasing teen moms in reality TV shows, like
MTV’s “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom,” is glamorizing teen pregnancy, a new study
proposes quite the opposite: the series contributed to a significantly reduced number in teen
births from June 2009 to October 2010. The investigation of Levine, et. al. into this correlation
enforces my recommendation of using of this realistic and wide-reaching method to effectively
reduce the rate of teen childbearing in the U.S.
The recommendation is not made without conclusive research; a number of research
methods were used by Levine et. al. in order to conclude that MTV's “16 and Pregnant” and
“Teen Mom” had a traceable correlation to a 5.7 percent reduction in teen births, which accounts
for around one-third of the overall decline in teen births in the 18 months that followed the June
2009 premiere of “16 and Pregnant.” As the U.S. was declared to have the highest teen
childbearing rate of any other developed country in 2012, this transparent, realistic portrayal into
the life of a teenage mother – that openly discusses the various contraceptive options available –
could have a highly effective impact.
ADVANTAGES
In fact, MTV’s use of an entertainment format to educate teenage girls about the realities
of pregnancy is reminiscent of the “entertainment education” strategy. Entertainment education is
FROM: ERIN POPPE
SUBJECT: MEDIA INFLUENCE ON TEEN CHILDBEARING
DATE: FEBRUARY 4, 2014
16. formally defined as the process of designing and implementing a media message both to
intentionally entertain and educate, in order to increase audience members’ knowledge about an
educational issue and to create behavior change (Singhal and Rogers, 1999).
It is not a far stretch to say that the public at-large has become increasingly aware of
targeted health campaigns from various organizations within both the public and private sectors,
and as such those campaign messages have become progressively less effective. Furthermore,
teenage audiences are undeniably one of the more difficult groups to reach with those messages.
However, there is something 21st century teenagers pay attention nearly 24/7: the media. The use
of entertainment education in shows like “16 and Pregnant” presents an opportunity to overcome
the common communication barriers health campaigns face today by drawing in the captive
teenage audience with their preferred method of information-gathering: TV. This approach is
likely to produce great outcomes with important social consequences.
DISADVANTAGES
In making steps towards achieving those great outcomes, however, public backlash is
sure to be large. By the government endorsing and/or supporting the concept of entertainment
education within these shows, many are bound to suggest that the government is actually
encouraging teen pregnancy while ignoring the core message of shows like “16 and Pregnant” all
together. Many already criticized the amount of sexual content in popular media and the
influence these images and messages might have on young people’s sexual behavior. Some have
even suggested that entertainment media is glamorizing teen pregnancy.
!2
17. If this recommendation is to be seriously considered, there needs to be an anticipation of
the public’s distaste and strategies in place to inform all who will listen about the benefits of
entertainment education.
CONCLUSION
Media, though often portrayed as having negative impacts on our nation’s youth in the
eyes of the public, has the potential to be a powerful driver of social outcomes. The fact that
MTV understands how to produce shows that keep teens captivated, that speak to them in ways
that resonate, is critical to the show’s impact. It is because of this that the entertainment
education strategy of shows like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” should be considered in
future strategies towards further reducing the nation’s outstandingly high teen pregnancy rate.
!3
