- 22 hours ago
Government can be mystifying for many people and can appear to be a vortex for career opportunities. This panel seeks to demystify government service and outline the various paths to success. Senior leaders from across the federal landscape discuss the state of equity, equality, inclusion, and accessibility, as well as the employee value proposition for career opportunities in public service. As the nation’s largest employer, this chat would endeavor to demystify career opportunities across the Federal Government, while also amplifying avenues of access to career mobility pathways among the next generation of professionals across public service
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00You left a scar, why do I feel the same?
00:07And I've been sleeping on it, but you've been creeping in my dreams
00:14Again I'm falling for you, it's time I land on my feet
00:25I got out of love with you alive, so far, ooh, so far
00:35Now I think I'm going back in time, too far, to change my mind
00:45I got out of love with you like, where I'm thinking
00:47And you have to feel the same way
00:50You can't see me, you know, just like, how you feel
00:52And I'm feeling the same way
00:55I don't know if it makes me feel the same way
00:58Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
01:01I don't know if you feel the same way
01:04You can feel the same way
01:07I just wanna know, it's time to go
01:10I sift through the soil in my pot
01:18The house plants singing in the light of an open window
01:22Was it breakfast you wanted or to feel the hunger of a new dawn?
01:28I was dancing in my living room before you posed for a portrait by the record player
01:32And perched your lips like a blues song
01:35Shooing the shy places within
01:38We ate mushrooms for breakfast and listened for what bloomed in our decaying minds
01:43I followed the yes in my body and let you read the footsteps between our eyes
01:49You belong elsewhere and I am a choice you make at every turn
01:53Where nerves go to worship on Sunday
01:56Where there is no religion and only love is holy
01:59Where touch is a church
02:01Where the heart is a playlist that doesn't skip
02:04Where the mountains lay on their side
02:07And watch us wander away
02:10Closer to the earth of one another
02:12Where we are a landscape
02:14A postcard
02:16A promise
02:17A portal
02:17Where to know now what we felt then
02:20Where your hands are the horizon
02:23Riding the sunset like an open road
02:26Which is really a doorway
02:27I sip the heaven of your hello
02:30Where fingers find their way into a prayer
02:33Where lovers love more faithful than flesh
02:37Where every tomorrow is today
02:39Where dimples dance in the desert
02:42And the corners of a smile
02:45Soft as a blade of light opens the sky
02:48Where my thighs are wet with waiting
02:52When I say love
02:54I mean to say
02:56I didn't see
02:59You coming
03:00I didn't see
03:01You coming
03:03You coming
03:04You coming
03:05You coming
03:06You coming
03:07You coming
03:08You coming
03:09You coming
03:10You coming
03:11You coming
03:12You coming
03:13You coming
03:14You coming
03:15You coming
03:16You coming
03:17You coming
03:18You coming
03:19You coming
03:20You coming
03:21You coming
03:22You coming
03:23You coming
03:24You coming
03:25You coming
03:26You coming
03:27You coming
03:28You coming
03:29You coming
03:30Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
03:50Thank you for joining us at the Global Black Economic Forum.
03:55Now we will get started with our panel on careers in government.
03:58Please welcome our moderator, Erica Lowe, White House Director of African-American Media.
04:16Hello, hello. Can y'all hear me?
04:18All right.
04:20Well, hello, Congresswoman. Let's get y'all out here.
04:23Okay. I am going to introduce the wonderful, the incredible United States Congresswoman,
04:29a black woman, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett from the 30th Congressional District of Texas.
04:35Hello, Congresswoman. We don't have a whole lot of black women in Congress,
04:38so y'all better give it up now. Come on now.
04:41Now, we have had a lot of White Houses in the history of this nation,
04:45but only one White House has had a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer,
04:50because that's how important Joe Biden and Kamala Harris thought this was.
04:54So I want to introduce Mr. Michael Leach,
04:56the first ever Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the White House,
05:01a black man. Y'all better clap for this black man now. Come on.
05:05And last but never least, the beautiful, the talented, the incredible Dr. Seesha Joy Moon,
05:11the Chief Diversity Officer at the United States House of Representatives. These are people out
05:16here that are about to get us these jobs, honey, okay? So let's be very clear. You know,
05:22Essence is a party with a purpose. It always has been. We have partied. Boy, have we partied.
05:28Right now, at this moment, this is the purpose. So the purpose is J-O-Bs, careers, jobs, the prosperity,
05:36the health, the wealth of black families across the country. So that's what we're here to talk about.
05:40The federal government is the largest employer in this nation. Essence Fest is the largest gathering
05:45and convening of black women in this nation. So it only made sense that this world, these worlds
05:50collided. And that's why we're here to talk to you all today about how to get in the federal
05:55government if you should be interested. Maybe you're not interested. And after this conversation,
05:59you will be. So let's get into it. Let's get started. I am going to start with our Chief Diversity
06:06Officers over here. We have Dr. Seisha and Michael Leach. And I would like you all to tell
06:12us a little bit about your role, your successes, how your office benefits the people in this room.
06:17I would note, as at the White House, that there was just an NBC story about the Biden-Harris White
06:23House being the most diverse White House in history. Talk about it, King.
06:27Thanks so much, Erica. And thank you all for being here. It really matters. You know,
06:32since the beginning of the administration, one of President Biden's top priorities has been to
06:37build an administration reflective of America's diversity and one that taps into the very best
06:43of our nation. And this commitment to making sure we have representation from communities that
06:48haven't always historically had a seat at the table, if you will, is something that President Biden
06:52wanted to see across the federal government, including in the White House. It's been one of the many
06:57reasons that my role was created. Again, first of its kind role, really intended to help build and
07:01sustain the staff reflective, but also help foster an inclusive workplace culture that empowers our
07:07staff to fill three things, really. Seen, heard, and valued while advancing the President's agenda.
07:12I think oftentimes, in a nutshell, when people think about the White House or the federal government,
07:15it's sometimes perceived as very compliance and policy heavy, right? While those things are
07:20important, if leaders are not careful, we can focus too much on changing policies, but not enough
07:25on changing minds, right? That is the hearts and the minds of the people carrying out the work itself
07:30day today and for the people we serve. And so that's holistically what we do, and we have a lot of
07:34tactics that we do, but in the interest of time, I'll just give you the high-level overview for now.
07:38Okay, and we're going to take it from the White House to the United States Congress. Dr. Cisha,
07:43tell us what we can do here. Thank you guys so much for having us. We did parties, so forgive my voice.
07:51But before I get started, as a Chief Diversity Officer, it's really important to create accepting and
07:56accessible spaces. So first, I'd like to say that my personal pronouns are she, her, hers. And for
08:01those in the room or who are streaming online, I also just want, for those who might identify as
08:06visually impaired, to know that I'm a Black woman. I have Black hair, Black and white glasses, and I'm
08:12wearing a floral dress because I want for you to see me in this space. So to get to your answer,
08:20every Congress since the 112th has been the most diverse Congress in history, and the 118th yet
08:26again broke that record because of members such as Jasmine Crockett. However, when we look at the
08:31congressional workforce, what we found is that it is not yet on par with the national population.
08:37And so we understand that it is vastly important to ensure that the people doing the work in the
08:41People's House are reflective of the congressional districts in which they are elected to serve.
08:46And so in 2020, our office was established by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. We are here to help create
08:52and cultivate a congressional workforce that is reflective of the American people. We do that
08:57through an array of service offerings and the most important one being candidate services. We're here to
09:02connect candidates to careers in Congress, both in Washington DC and within the districts. I've been in
09:08this role for, I just celebrated my one year anniversary. Speaker Emerita appointed me in last year,
09:15and I've been retained by the current Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. And so I serve at the
09:18pleasure. And so that's a little bit about our office, but it really is to meet you where you
09:23are and put you in your house so that you have a seat at the tables, because this is a building that
09:27is legislating your lives. All right. So you heard that candidate services. If you are a candidate,
09:32they have the service. So holler at us after this. Now, Congresswoman, you served as county party chair,
09:40a public defender, a state legislator, and now you are a member of the United States Congress.
09:45Talk to us about your experience as a black woman. We don't know many black women like you.
09:50So talk to us about your experience as a black woman who had to climb the political ladder,
09:55what that's been like, what that looks like, what that could look like for the young people in the
09:59audience who are looking to looking at you and want to be like you. What advice would you give them?
10:04Yeah. So first of all, it's great to see everybody. I'm glad that everybody survived
10:08the weekend. That's for sure. Let me tell you something. I'm also very excited. I'm going off
10:14script right now. Everybody knows I don't normally have a script anyway. I've got two sores that are
10:18sitting up front. Dr. Moon is a sore. I'm a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. And these two sores
10:25have run for office. And so the reason that I wanted to make sure I pointed them out is that,
10:29number one, my very first race, I lost. And that's the race that most people don't know about.
10:34Most people only see your wins, but sometimes you've got to lose to win. So that's the first
10:38thing that I will tell you. And I will also say that a very important part of my journey
10:44was the losing process. I learned in that process. And so sometimes you think that God doesn't really
10:50have a plan for you as you embark upon this journey. And then you say, okay, nevermind. He really did have
10:57a lot bigger something in store for you. So I want people to remain encouraged because running for office
11:03is not for the faint at heart. Let me be clear about that. Everybody going to hate on you.
11:07They going to talk about what you look like, who your man is, what your jobs are, how you talk,
11:14everything is under scrutiny. But if you understand why you're doing it, then truly believe that God
11:20will order your steps along that journey. And so for me, it's always been about taking care of my
11:25people and figuring out what I could do to make sure that I could provide for more doors to be open.
11:31You talk about Dr. Moon. Dr. Moon is amazing. Now she knows I sent her a text message in a heartbeat
11:36talking about staff. I actually have, in my opinion, she may tell me I'm wrong,
11:40but I have the most diverse staff in the U.S. Capitol. Because when you end up occupying a seat
11:47like I do, it's not important that people just see a black woman sitting there. It's important that I
11:52make sure that I open doors for those coming behind me. And I think that that's ultimately how I will be
11:57sustained is because my legacy is going to be one that not that it was about me being in the seat,
12:02but it was about making sure that others had an opportunity to sit at tables that otherwise they
12:07most likely would not have been able to get to. Amen. Now y'all didn't know you was going to get a
12:12service. Amen. Preach, Pastor Crockett. It is Sunday. It is Sunday. Amen. All right. Let me get myself together.
12:19All right. This question is for all three of you. And it is the subject of imposter syndrome.
12:25Now, we have all experienced it. You know, we sit at the highest levels of government in the White
12:30House. We've been in the Oval Office in the United States Capitol in the Congressional Chamber.
12:34They don't often see people who look like us. And if we're being real, you know, we'll sit up in
12:39there sometimes. And I know I've wondered, do I belong here? You know, maybe I don't. Oh, that person
12:44seems to know a whole lot more than me. I'm not meant to be here. But we all know that's not true. That's just
12:48the devil talking since we in church. We all know that's not true. So I would love for you
12:53all to talk a little bit about imposter syndrome and how how important it is for folks to realize
12:59that you belong. You and your braids, you and your afro, you and your skinny jeans. However it is that
13:05you you show up, you should show up in in the halls of government because this is your government.
13:10You know, we built this country. So I would love for you all to talk a little bit about that.
13:14I'll go ahead and start. I am a black queer woman from Richmond, Virginia. I said that in my
13:21interview. I made it quite clear that I do not view this work as a partisan issue. I do not think
13:27that putting people in the people's house is red or blue. I feel like that is our mandate of the
13:32mission. And I have been able to show up as my authentic self from day one in this job. And I recognize
13:40it's been very important and because it's people who have told me that seeing me has helped them
13:45understand that they can aspire for careers in the building. I think when it comes to Congress,
13:50a lot of people think you have to be the congressional member to work there. And they
13:53do not even recognize there are 11,000 other career opportunities. And so when I think of
13:58imposter syndrome, I just want to say one thing because I talk about him on almost any panel I'm on.
14:04My boss helped me get rid of imposter syndrome. When I went through the interview process,
14:09I was offered the position. I had the anxiety of doing the dance of, okay, now how do I negotiate
14:15and dance for my worth so that I get my best compensatory package? And my boss said, you're
14:21going to get the top. You're going to get student loan repayment. You're getting the parking spot.
14:25You're going to work for it, but you're worth it. You've earned it. And I'm not going to make you
14:30do that to yourself in this moment. And the last year of my life has been very transformative
14:36in this role. And so I pray that everybody else has that same moment within their own career journeys
14:41too. That's amazing. I couldn't agree. Yeah, we can give it up for Dr. Moe. That's amazing.
14:48I would just echo what she said already. You know, I'm a faith-driven guy and, you know,
14:53imposter syndrome is a very real thing, especially when you're the first to do anything. And I'm a firm
14:58believer that, you know, I, you know, we can block our dreams when we allow our fear to grow bigger
15:04than our faith. You're going to have fear of something and you're going to have faith for
15:09something. And so it's really important to put people around you and structures in place that
15:13can remind you on a consistent basis to keep the faith bigger than the fear. So that's number one.
15:19We're here by the grace of God, but just some practical tips. Again, first, just recognize it.
15:24Don't ignore it. Recognize that it's there, but then challenge it. Number two, again, network.
15:29Everyone communicates, but few connect. Connect with the right people to surround you and remind
15:35you of what's possible and who you are and whose you are. And then number three, I would just offer
15:41you just be very, very deliberate to not subject yourself to the external factors that will play,
15:49whether it be through your family or friends. You know what your unique calling, giftings,
15:53and talents are. You are unique and you have a unique contribution to make. Those mechanisms,
15:58structures, and people on a consistent basis, and the answer to the time, I'm going to cut it,
16:03will help you sort of diminish the impact that imposter syndrome plays and shows up day to day.
16:07I think it's important. I'm going to point out two other people in this audience. Two of what I call
16:14my real ones are here. They are always here. And so when you are definitely dealing in this kind of space,
16:20it's important that you have a real circle around you. Those people that will always be real and
16:25honest with you, especially when you're going through some of the hardest times that you're
16:29experiencing. And I mean, and y'all look at me, I know I probably did not hit the stage and y'all thought
16:34I was a congresswoman. Congress people tend to be a little bit older, a little bit whiter,
16:40a little bit more male. So yeah, obviously when I'm in the chamber, it is one of those things. But
16:48the reality is that I had the second highest voter turnout district in the state of Texas amongst
16:53Democrats. And so as far as I'm concerned, I actually should be there more than some of my colleagues.
16:59Because I had a few more people that showed up. And they showed up for this person that showed up just
17:04like this, very authentic, but educated and passionate about my people. And so I never really
17:11feel like I'm not where I'm supposed to be. Honestly, I'm typically questioning why and how some of my
17:17colleagues got there if we gonna be real about it. Well, all right, all right. We'll just give a hand clap.
17:25Okay, so we're gonna switch it over. I mean, you know, we'd be remiss if we weren't here and didn't
17:30talk about, you know, recent events, recent news. The Supreme Court has been busy. And we've had a
17:39rough couple two years. I'm looking at you, Congresswoman. I know you got a lot to say,
17:43so we just gonna go right on over here. We've had the Dobbs decision, the recent affirmative action case,
17:48the student debt cancellation case. Congresswoman, what gives you hope and motivation for the future?
17:54Okay, it's hard to be hopeful, y'all. I know, I know we was just at church.
18:00But I was just talking about how old these justices are. Y'all know they're appointed for life,
18:04right? That is a very scary reality. But let me tell you something. One of the things that they
18:08thought was going to happen in the US House is that the Republicans thought that they were about
18:13to take it. And it did not happen that way at all. And it was because of the terrible decisions
18:18that are coming from the Supreme Court. It's also because of the terrible legislation that has been
18:22ushered through the state houses, as well as the US House. Now, we were good when we had control.
18:30And so what happens is there's been a clap back from the people. And so what I'm gonna take this moment,
18:36we gonna just do a commercial pause real quick. And I'm telling everybody, if you're not registered,
18:39please get registered and please show up and vote. Because it's not just about putting somebody like
18:44me in a seat like this. It's about deciding if we're gonna have another Uncle Clarence. And,
18:48baby, I don't want another one of him the next time we get a chance to get a Supreme Court justice,
18:54okay? So it's important that you show up. I know that we don't think about the courts when we're going
18:59out to vote. But now you understand, right? And some of these lower courts that have these terrible
19:04rulings that got us even up to the Supreme Court, we get to do all that work. And that comes on the
19:09Senate side. And the Senate is a whole other story and situation that I have beef with. But we're not
19:15going there because we're running out of time. So I'm gonna just let y'all weigh in.
19:20I am going to echo what she shared. And I mean, in a nutshell, I think that if it's anything to
19:27build on what you were saying, if it's anything we've learned over the past 48 to 72 hours and beyond,
19:32there is a heightened level of urgency and need for people to not only be civically engaged,
19:39but to consider pursuing a career in public service. You know, how many have set goals,
19:45personal goals for this year or at your job or on your family? If I show of hands really quick.
19:50That's great. But the reality is we don't, as a collective, rise to the level of our goals.
19:57We fall to the level of our systems. And working in public service is an opportunity for you to have
20:03a direct influence on the systems that impact not only your families and your neighborhoods and your
20:09cities, but generations. And so there are many different pathways you can take. I would strongly
20:15encourage you to visit a few sites that I'll lift up. OPM.gov, that's O-P as in Paul, M as in Mary,
20:22the Office of Personnel Management. Just got to give a shout out to our colleagues there.
20:26When she mentioned the nation's largest employer, we're talking 2.2 million employees,
20:31they function as the HR federal agency in the government. Go on the website, there's a lot of
20:36resources there, not only on the job postings, but how to navigate through bureaucratic processes.
20:41That's number one. And lastly, whitehouse.gov. A lot of folks don't know about that. If you go to
20:46whitehouse.gov, wh.gov forward slash get dash involved. Get dash involved. And there's some
20:55pathways there as well. Click on the join the Biden Harris administration icon. You can fill out
21:01information, your desired functional areas that interest you, policy areas, your demographics as
21:07well. And that back-end repository is actually looked at when roles are open and considered when
21:12we're broadening candidate slates as well. And so tap into those resources. And then maybe you don't
21:17want to jump right into public service. I want to call this out. There's fellowships. Maybe you want
21:21to take a leave from your current organization for let's say a year or two years. There are fellowships
21:26that you can tap into. The Presidential Management Fellowship. The White House Fellowship as well. And
21:31serving the administration if agreed upon with your organization. And then return as well. I've seen
21:36instances at the White House where fellows at the end of the fellowship become full-time political
21:41appointees to continue the purpose-driven work that they've been doing. And so check out those
21:45sites. Be very intentional and deliberate. And when you get there, last thing I'll say on this is be
21:50yourself. Why? Because people would rather follow a leader who is always real than one who's always right.
21:58You are unique. You have a unique contribution to make. And we need to know the lived experiences
22:04that you live. Not assume what those experiences are. And we can only do that if you tap in and get
22:09connected. And I'll pop one over. All right. Well, Michael Leach kind of went to my next question.
22:13So we're just going to wrap this thing up in a bow and make sure folks have left here feeling like
22:17they understand how to get a J-O-B in the federal government. So I'm going to kick it over to Dr.
22:22Cisha Joy Moon. How can folks connect with you? How can folks get this information instead of just going
22:27on USA Jobs and putting their resume in a black hole? So I'm going to say, I'm going to give a couple of
22:34layers to this. First, I want to thank Alfonso. I want to thank Rich. I want to thank Caroline,
22:40Barku, the entire team, Pauline at Essence, and the Global Black Economic Forum for making space for
22:45this conversation. Absolutely. Absolutely. Very important. They started off the day talking about
22:50the future of work. And we really need for you to come and work at Congress because we dictate the
22:55future of the world. And so when I think about the positions, it's also demystifying what type of career
23:02opportunities are available. The average person has never heard of a legislative director or
23:07correspondent, director of constituent services. They don't even know what these career paths are.
23:13And so after you vote, I also need you to come and work and inform the public policies that are
23:18informing your life. At Congress, in addition to raising recently the salary floors and maximums,
23:25we also offer paid internships. We can pay up to $3,200 a month. And as I said, student loan repayment,
23:31up to $833 per month. I really do believe that Congress is an employer of choice. And so if you
23:37are wanting to learn more, one, connect with any of us after we get off of this panel. Two, make sure
23:43that you follow the U.S. House of Representatives and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion on LinkedIn.
23:48We promote all position opportunities there. And also you can follow us on all social media and visit
23:54us at diversity.house.gov. All right. And last but not least, Congresswoman, how can we connect with
24:00you? What's your TikTok, Instagram, social media? What's up? Y'all know that they don't like TikTok
24:05for us. Thank you. But I do have a TikTok. So my TikTok and all my campaign stuff is Jasmine
24:12for us. And that's J-A-S-M-I-N-E. And then on the official side is Rep Jasmine. So you can find
24:19out everything that I'm doing. But let me tell you something I'm going to plug in too. Listen, typically,
24:24it is black folk that really, really love their community. And a lot of times in the district
24:29office, your job is to really be in the community, connecting the community so that they know what
24:36types of monies are available for their community, whether it's the nonprofit organizations, whether
24:41it's the cities in our communities. Those are the things that they're doing. They're making sure
24:45that they're pushing out information. For instance, I didn't know until I became a congresswoman
24:50that if you decided that you wanted to do anything in agriculture, you could get a full ride to an
24:55HBCU because we have that, right? And so they're pushing this information out into the communities.
25:01And as it's already been stated, you can get your student loan payment. Raise your hand if you got
25:06student loans. Okay, thank you. See, that's what I'm talking about. Literally, we will make your student
25:11loan payments for you. And then because you're doing public service, we'll make your payments. And if you
25:18work long enough, then everything will be forgiven. So it's really amazing. Like, I kind of get jealous
25:24of my staffers because I don't get half these benefits. And they have better health care than
25:29I do as well. So I'm just making a plug for anybody that thinks that they may want to do anything in
25:35government. And these are amazing folks to work with. So that's my plug. All right. And you know,
25:41the Biden-Harris administration has already forgiven billions of dollars in public service loan
25:45forgiveness. Be a public servant. There are benefits to it. These are our best and brightest.
25:51Alfonso! Alfonso, don't go back there. We want to say thank you. We salute you. Thank you for the
25:57Global Black Economic Forum and giving us this stage. We appreciate you. Shout out to Alfonso. Clap it up.
26:02All up in the Superdome, all up in the videos. We saw you. And I want to thank Dr. Seesha Joy Moon,
26:08Michael Leach, and the Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett for your time, for your public service.
26:13Come talk to us. Holla at us. We are accessible and available. Thank you.
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