Making a difference: Leipsic native talks about working in governor?s office

1. How did you get involved in state government? I got involved with state government really just with this administration. I was asked to do a little bit of work for the campaign. I was asked to join the Department of Public Safety as their legislative liaison. In October, I was asked to join the Strickland administration on site and be their legislative liaison.2. What is involved in being a legislative liaison? We work directly with the state legislature on new legislation, basically what becomes law. We just comment on whether or not we like it, whether or not it’ll help Ohio. I work directly with the agencies and kind of coordinate them and make sure we’re all speaking from the same page and really just working with the agencies as a whole to make sure we have what’s best for Ohio.3. What kind of schedule is involved working in the governor’s office? The schedule changes every day. It’s long but it’s great. Governor Strickland is pretty much who he is everywhere. He’s very kind, very nice and really just does what he thinks is best for the state. That’s his compass. That’s what he goes by — what’s right and wrong. It’s never really a matter of what’s politically great. It’s more what’s best for Ohio. It’s very encouraging and great. I love it.4. What is the most fascinating aspect to your job? To see how it’s all really interconnected. You can’t really make a change in one area without the other. This is an ethanol plant. We’re bringing in the Department of Development, (the Department of Agriculture), we’re bringing in Transportation looking at roads. Everything’s really interconnected. You can’t really look at the state as just this department or that department. When I went in that was the first thing that really caught me off guard, if you make one change here you’re going to have ripple effects other places.5. After graduation from Leipsic, you attended Ohio State. Did you study politics? No, I was a communication major. I kept it very liberal. I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go. I did communications major and then a minor in Latino studies. I went on to (Washington,) D.C., and did some work out there. I came back to Ohio after getting a job offer from United Way. Then I joined the state this year.6. Did you ever envision a career in politics? No. No, I really didn’t at all. It just seemed so far away. Columbus seemed so far away. Then I went down there and I was involved with policy and a lot of recruitment efforts at Ohio State. It just kind of snowballed from there.7. Is there something or someone who inspires you in your work? Him (the governor). He really just tries to think of everybody. He doesn’t see anyone above the other. Everyone is a priority. Everybody needs to be helped. We really strive to do everything we can for everyone. It’s really, it’s him. He’s such a great guy. He’s such a great governor.