Jennifer Harris, MPSA ‘13, turned to the Bush School not only to further her education through her master’s program but also to earn a graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management. Today she works as the Director of Texas’ Connected Nation’s State Program, which serves to improve lives through expanding access to broadband (high-speed internet) and related technologies for all people. Before finding herself in this role, she held a wide variety of positions, including legislative, public policy, communications, and government affairs work for the Texas Legislature and policy and communications work for the Florida Department of Education. In addition, she has worked on several local and statewide political campaigns.
To Jennifer, public service has always been something she has felt called to do. She finds herself happiest in her professional career when she is able to work on behalf of a mission and cause she believes in with the opportunity to help people daily.
Jennifer’s time at the Bush School provided and reinforced the skills she uses every day in her career. Through her education, she came to the understanding that “good data drives good decisions and communities are the ones who define themselves and their needs.” In her work to provide broadband access to communities, she found that access to this technology touches every aspect of our lives now more than ever and is “appreciative that my time at the Bush School positioned me to serve in this role in a competent way.”
