McCarthy Center | Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good

Our Best Summer is Yet to Be: Working for a More Equitable California

For several years now, I have taught at the University of San Francisco. Like everyone else, when summer approaches, I reflect back on earlier special times at the beach or touring National Parks. This year, looking ahead, I’m thrilled to be working with the Leo T. McCarthy Center’s McCarthy Fellows in Sacramento program, and expect it to be the best one yet. – Peter Wright

An Advocate for Community Engagement (ACE) Graduates

Over the past year, as an Advocate for Community Engagement (ACE) I’ve worked closely with the Faithful Fools Street Ministry in the Tenderloin neighborhood. As a part of this experience, I worked with a wonderful team of people to plan and implement the Fools annual community celebration, known as Oscard’s Feast. – Dylan Moore

In Nevada, Luck and Opportunity Abound

What interested me most about the Master of Public Affairs program here at the Leo T. McCarthy Center was the promise of gaining real-world, hands-on experience during my education and study at the University of San Francisco. To have active participants in public policy, with connections to a network of actual movers and shakers in San Francisco politics, guiding and directing your learning, as the professors do here, is invaluable to the kind of knowledge and perspective that one truly hopes to gain in an education. – Trevor Martin

Teaching, Research, Service – and Social Change: Prioritizing Community-Engagement

Like many faculty who integrate community engagement into their teaching, I find it easy to surround myself with people who pat me on the back and cite research that supports my pedagogy. Studies have shown and my own experience has confirmed the potential of experiential education to transform students. And through community based teaching, I have found true co-educators who share my passion for forming students to be agents of social change—at least when they graduate. – Erin Brigham

McCarthy Center Rockstars

The results are in! Several of our students were nominated for Student Leadership Awards celebrating students whose leadership has contributed to the growth, development, and vitality of USF and the broader community. Award recipients represent student role models who exhibit commitment, enthusiasm, and the pursuit of excellence through their endeavors. Join us in congratulating our…

Balancing practicality and academia – one guy’s perspective

Five years ago, when I was recruited to teach a lobbying class at the (relatively) new Master of Public Affairs program at the University of San Francisco, I think I giggled a little bit. Me? Sure, I’ve been lobbying in San Francisco and the Bay Area for fifteen years, but I have a bachelor’s in Ultimate Frisbee from UC Santa Cruz. I queried Corey Cook, the Director of the Leo McCarthy Center, why he’d made this particular terrible error in judgment. His answer intrigued me. – Alex Clemens

Building Credentials in Politics at the Nevada Caucus

Volunteering for the Nevada Caucus is an experience I’ll never forget. From waking up at 3:00 a.m., to stopping for coffee four times on the way to Reno, to seeing the snow for the first time and later finding out that it was one my cohort-mates, Jeno’s first time driving in the snow, and bonding with my cohort-mates the entire way, I can say that the trek was well worth it. Over the course of four days, we went from being a random group of graduate students from San Francisco to being celebrities in less than 24 hours. – Christine Hackett

Explore A Self-Guided Fillmore Walk

Looking for something new to do this weekend? We compiled key historic points for Engage San Francisco’s Place-Based Initiative Conference and invite you to explore our self-guided walk through the Fillmore District.