Q&A: Engineer turned nonprofit consultant pursued MPA Online for second master’s degree
Leslie Best is a 2016 Master of Public Administration online graduate as well as the managing partner and president of two organizations: The Best Group and In Good Company Consulting. With an undergraduate degree and a master’s in engineering, Best discusses how the MPA Online program’s flexibility and practical knowledge helped her navigate a significant career change in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.
Q: What factors motivated you to pursue a second master’s degree?
A: I had an undergrad degree in engineering and a masters in engineering, but a lot of the additional work that I was doing was with nonprofits. My goal was to eventually run a major nonprofit. And so that was really preparing me for the future, more so than changing my existing career at the time.
Q: How did you first hear about the program and what drove you to pick USC’s MPA online over other graduate programs?
A: I had this super huge matrix to comb through when making the decision. Online versus in-person was one of the criteria. The location wasn’t as much of a criteria, [I was more interested in] the standing of the program. I started to rank the programs that I was looking at, rank where their expertise was because I really wanted to focus on nonprofit. USC just bubbled up to the top!
Q: What are your outcome goals and desires for this program?
A: My goal for the program was really to equip myself with the [knowledge] about nonprofits that I didn’t already know. I think when you work with nonprofits, you’re doing work in the community and not necessarily the strategy side. But I did understand that there was more to nonprofits than just the actual field work. And so what was that? My goal was to really get the fundamentals, have a solid framework in order to engage with other leaders.
Q: How was your experience with the online modality?
A: During the time that I was in a program it was seamless. Having that flexibility where all you needed was a Wi-fi connection. I did have to invest in my own hotspot to make sure I always had access, but otherwise you just had this huge amount of flexibility that the program allowed.
Q: A cornerstone of the program is the in-person residencies. Did this stand out to you when you were researching the program? What was your experience with the residencies?
A: The residencies in the program were really a highlight for me. You got to meet faculty and staff, you got to have a real world conversation with someone. The value that came out of it, was not only in that moment, but it also changed the relationship with the people that I would work offline with. It served multiple purposes in creating a bit more of an academic atmosphere, but also establishing relationships with faculty, staff, and your cohort – so very valuable experiences.
Q: How do you balance the demands of study with your life, both personal and professional?
A: There’s the demand of the program, and you’re trying to live. It took a lot to balance. There were some moments where I will tell you, I spent the night in an airport in the business center, getting work done because we were on a deadline. It really does require you to have a lot of discipline in your time. You just had to do what needed to get done when it needed to get done – and hopefully you got it all done!
Q: How has your interaction and experience been with your professors?
A: They were all very helpful. It was interesting to engage with the faculty because they are hugely experienced in their awareness of policies and procedures in their area of discipline, and also aware of cross disciplines. This cross breeding of information gives you a 360 view of the content and the topics. I’ve been gone now for more than a year and I still have relationships with faculty on staff, and you can reach back and have thoughtful conversations.
Q: How has your interaction and experience been with your fellow students?
A: Everybody’s coming from such a diverse background, and I did feel a little bit like a fish out of water, because most of my cohort came from public spaces. Their approach is so different, and it’s anchored in a different place, and it’s anchored in different experiences. You get this expansion of your thought process and this expansion of your consideration of what an answer could really look like.
Q: Is there a project you’ve done in the program that you are particularly proud of? How do you think it has helped prepare you for the future?
A: There was one on food insecurity, which is a personal passion of mine. The project that I worked on was with a food pantry and really understanding the story behind the story on food pantries. This included understanding the work that they do, where they struggle, the policies that are in place that cause them to struggle, the communities that they serve, how they pop up, and how they survive. [I was] able to take that context back to some of the work that I was already doing in the community.
Q: Is there something you’ve learned that you think will be the most impactful in your career as an engineering consultant and a nonprofit consultant?
A: There was the financial side. I am the board chair of a nonprofit, and so, being able to have that [financial] information and to use it within the organization and in other organizations as a checkpoint for our fiduciary responsibility [has added value].
Being able to have that knowledge as a backdrop for me, both academically, but then, also operationally, has been very helpful. Being able to speak the language and help the executive director or CEO with that work, and making sure that you’re doing the right thing for the constituents that you serve, that’s probably been the biggest learning that [I] have applied, and continued to apply.
Q: Would you recommend the MPA degree online to a prospective student? If so, what advice would you give them?
A: I would, without any hesitation, recommend the online program. The education you get is top notch, it is focused, it is relevant. It deals with the very present issues while giving you a very solid foundation.
My biggest piece of advice is, be mentally prepared. Be emotionally prepared, be psychologically prepared and prepare the people around you for what you’re getting ready to embark on.
Learn more about the Master of Public Administration Online today.