Here's What I Would Ask

I mentioned in my last blog post that Steve Walker, director of the mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments, thought they would start reviewing candidates to succeed Laura Nuss this week.  So far, folks who would have expected to be involved in the first round haven’t been contacted.  Let’s hope there are some top-notch candidates who’ve expressed interest so things can get moving soon.  The annual meeting of the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDS) will take place in a couple of weeks, and I hope there will be some lively lobbying there to get more people interested in applying.

I won’t be at the table for the selection of the new director, but if I were here are some questions I would want to ask:

•           What do you view as your greatest personal accomplishment in the past five years to improve the lives of adults with developmental disabilities?
•           Besides closeout of the Evans case, what will be your #1 priority if you are chosen for this position?
•           What is your personal record of advancing organizational change and motivating staff for sometimes unpopular reforms?
•           What actions have you taken in previous jobs to foster public transparency and increase give and take with stakeholders, including families?
•           How do you plan to approach the legislation on commitment that is currently under consideration in the D.C. council?
•           As director, would you advocate for broadening DC waiver services to citizens with autism or other developmental disabilities who do not have an intellectual disability?

For background on any of these questions, a good start for candidates or other readers would be to click on the Advocacy label in this blog and read some of my past postings.  If you have additional concerns, post a comment!  There’s a lot of work ahead to make things better in our city for citizens with developmental disabilities, and we want to be sure the new director builds on past progress and takes our hopes for the future to heart.