Partnership for Public Service

05/27/2026

When natural disasters, national tragedies or global issues compromise our well-being, civil servants are on the ground keeping us safe during critical moments. At home and abroad, they are protecting us and the things we care about most every day.

Kenneth Concepcion was the first U.S. Coast Guard employee at Ground Zero and played a vital role in the immediate response to 9/11 and the nation's long-term recovery.

Paul Hsieh of the U.S. Geological Survey provided critical scientific information during the worst oil spill in American history, helping end the environmental disaster that lasted 86 days in 2010.

Laura Cooper and her Department of Defense team coordinated a massive effort by dozens of nations to deliver military supplies to Ukraine when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Mia Beers of the U.S. Agency for International Development coordinated thousands of U.S. personnel in four countries to help stop Ebola from spreading as it raged through West Africa in 2014.

Visit servicetoamericamedals.org to read and share their stories.

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we are highlighting Ronald E. Walters, a federal employee whose work honors the legacy of those who served our nation.

At the Department of Veterans Affairs, Walters leads the National Cemetery Administration to ensure that all veterans—regardless of when, where or how they died—are honored properly and their loved ones supported.

Read his story here.

This Memorial Day, we are highlighting Ronald E. Walters, a federal employee whose work honors the legacy of those who served our nation.

05/22/2026

In honor of the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, we wanted to share a clip from when Stephen paid a visit to Washington, D.C., in 2018.

He stopped by the Partnership's office to (mostly) discuss Senate-confirmed vacancies and federal government hiring with our President and CEO Max Stier.

Whatever may come next for Mr. Colbert, we wish him all the best.

You can find the full segment here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnPI4xKvf0c

05/19/2026

Engaging early-career talent is critical to building the next generation of public servants. To meet young professionals where they are, we set out on our fourth Public Service Roadshow, the first to focus entirely on promoting careers in California state government.

Over the four-week tour, we met hundreds of students and advisors at campuses across the Bay Area and Sacramento. During our visits, we heard a familiar message: Students are enthusiastic about opportunities for meaningful work but do not always know how to get started or where to look.

The Public Service Roadshow helps bridge this gap by providing guidance and support.

Read our blog post below to learn where we stopped during our Spring 2026 Public Service Roadshow and what students are looking for in their next opportunity.

Discover our first Public Service Roadshow dedicated entirely to promoting careers in California state government.

05/18/2026

05/14/2026

This year, the Partnership for Public Service is celebrating 25 years of building a better government and a stronger democracy.

Since 2001, we have promoted public service, advocated for critically needed reforms, expanded our work to state and local government, and supported federal leaders and institutions as they confronted serious challenges.

Working across five administrations, we have focused not on whether government should be bigger or smaller, but on how we can make it better. No matter the political environment, we have served as a bridge across the political aisle and as a conduit between sectors to help ensure our government meets its main responsibilities to the public.

Here is some of our impact by the numbers:

🧠 Reached more than 50,000 leaders through our Public Service Leadership Institute® programs across 40 states and all 15 Cabinet departments

🏅 Recognized over 800 career civil servants through our Service to America Medals® program

📜 Championed 75 pieces of legislation for good government

📈 Published 19 editions of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government® rankings

💡 Placed more than 650 interns across federal, state and local government through our Future Leaders in Public Service Internship program

🏛️ Worked across five presidential cycles to ensure smooth and effective presidential transitions

Follow along this year as we share impact stories that highlight the real-world results of our work, and learn how you can help us continue to build a better government and a stronger democracy at ourpublicservice.org/25th.

05/12/2026

The Office of Personnel Management recently proposed a rule that would streamline the federal Reduction in Force process.

We believe the proposed rule includes some meaningful improvements, but that it also raises serious implementation questions, particularly when evaluated alongside recently proposed regulatory changes to the federal performance management system and employee appeals processes.

Read more in our latest blog post on what this proposed rule gets right, what concerns we have and what a better path forward looks like.

OPM's proposed reduction in force rule includes some meaningful improvements, but it also raises serious implementation questions.

05/09/2026

All week, we have been honoring public servants on social media, at events across Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill and at . They are the backbone of our democracy, and deserve our respect, appreciation and recognition.

Holding government accountable means showing where it falls short and pushing for change. But it also means celebrating the many ways those working in government are getting it right for all of us.

While we may disagree as Americans about the size of government, we should all be united behind the idea that it exists to serve all of us.

Hear from the Partnership's President and CEO Max Stier as shares some reflections to close out .

To every public servant working to keep our nation running, thank you for your dedication, your service and your commitment to all of us.

05/08/2026

Public Service Recognition Week comes at a time when being a public servant is more challenging than ever.

Federal civil servants are navigating a landscape that has dramatically changed over the past year, highlighted by arbitrary mass layoffs, agency closures and program terminations as well as unprecedented attacks on the worth and integrity of the nonpartisan civil service. At the same time, state and local governments are struggling to fill growing funding gaps with shrinking resources.

For , actress and singer Tovah Feldshuh shares her support for the countless public servants who keep our nation running.

Learn how you can get involved this week by visiting psrw.org.

05/08/2026

For 250 years, the United States has been shaped not only by elected leaders, but also by public servants working behind the scenes to solve problems, advance knowledge and serve the public good.

The civil service, as we know it, took shape in the late 1800s as a direct reaction to the "spoils system," a patronage-driven practice in which government positions were handed out as political rewards for loyalty rather than filled based on merit. When the Pendelton Act was established to create a merit-based system for federal hiring, it laid the foundation for a professional, nonpartisan workforce designed to serve the public across administrations.

Since then, generations of public servants have worked anonymously to tackle the country’s most complex challenges. Here are five public servants who changed the world.

Explore the story of public servants who changed the world through their impactful actions and lasting legacies.