Alumni return to talk about careers in public service

Campbell University alumni are making a difference in the public sector in North Carolina, and the work of three administrators was the subject of a forum hosted by the Political Science Department and Public Affairs Club on Tuesday.

Alicia Adams ('14), town manager for the Town of Lillington; Janice Hillanbrand ('15), principal budget analyst for Wake County Government and recent senior budget and evaluation analyst for the City of Winston-Salem; and Hank Raper ('11, '15 Law) spoke to students and shared a behind-the-curtain look at the work they do. Topics ranged from making tough budget decisions and dealing with politics to the educational paths they took to get where they are today.

The speakers represented "Campbell's positive impact on the region," said Dr. John Mero, associate professor of political science and public administration and organizer of the forum.

"These alumni are part of a larger group of Campbell University undergraduates and graduates who want to practice stewardship as a career in the field of public management," Mero said. "Our public administration concentration is training our students to be impactful public servants in the state of North Carolina and beyond."

Adams has been town manager in nearby Lillington for about a year, and prior to that, she served in several roles, including administrative services director, management analyst and even intern. She earned her degree in political science and government from Campbell before getting her Master's of Public Administration from NC State in 2016. She shared the tough decisions a manager makes when budget deadlines arrive each year.

"It's difficult, especially when you have each department coming to you with all of these needs … and you're also dealing with a state legislature that thinks it can make decisions for local governments when they haven't been able to pass their own budget," Adams said.

She also spoke about being behind the scenes and the joy that comes with seeing a town run smoothly.

"If [the average Lillington resident] knows who I am, then I'm not doing my job right, because I'm not front-and-center in the public eye," she said. "But when a new playground is built, that is gratifying to me to see kids out there playing and having a good time and knowing that I had a hand in that. I don't need people to know I had a role in that. A lot of times in this role, you won't be recognized, especially in upper management. If there's an issue, people will seek me out. But I know I'm doing a great job when people don't have to deal with me."

Hillanbrand only recently joined Wake County Government this month, but she was with Winston-Salem for four years and the City of Clayton as a budget analyst for two years prior to that. She earned her degree in political science and public administration from Campbell before earning her Master's of Public Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2017. She talked about working in the post-COVID era where federal relief money "was falling from heaven" for certain programs and how that has changed dramatically in recent years.

"Resources are limited now, and it's been very interesting to experience that in my relatively short career," she said. "It's forced me to think and operate differently trying to figure out how to solve these [budgeting] problems. People still want the same level of service [regardless of available resources], so we have to figure out how to provide it. That's the job of local government - how do we work within these new constraints, and how do we still make sure that residents who live in our communities are getting the services that they need and make their life better."

She also encouraged current students to seek internships and fellowship opportunities to get their foot in the door before officially starting their career.

"There are some great fellowship opportunities - there's one that will put you in a small town as a fellow for a year, [because] it's a really good way to get plugged into how a community is run. I've seen students come out of that program and go on to get their master's and work in various levels of government. It's especially helpful before seeking your MPA, because it provides a buffer and some time to figure out what track you want to follow at the graduate level."

Raper has worked for several North Carolina towns and cities since earning his degree in 2011. After getting his MPA from NC State in 2013 and his law degree from Campbell in 2015, he was town manager in Nashville, North Carolina, from 2015-2018, for the Town of Fairmont from 2021-2022 and for the Town of Siler City from 2022-2024. He's currently city manager of Randelman, just south of Greensboro.

He encouraged students to take the time to learn what kind of person they are and how their personality will fit into certain roles in local government.

"Are you an introvert or extrovert? Do you like to work independently or work as part of a collaboration with the team? Are you a detail-oriented person, or are you someone who likes the broad strokes and the vision?" Raper said. "Understand those things about yourself to help align you with where you want to go, because if you don't like to work as a team, firefighting's not for you. If you don't like details, it's going to be hard to be in finance or in planning. Knowing that about yourself can be impactful."

He said the most gratifying part of his job is seeing people positively impacted by the decisions he and his team make.

"We're often at the intersection of fear and hope when it comes to a variety of issues people are afraid of - like data centers or the flock camera that's watching you," he said. "And we are at that intersection of trying to create that hope and opportunity for people and understand what their fears and concerns are. Our job is to find positive solutions to make lives better, because the decisions we make directly trace to our people."