Senior Advisor (Office of the Budget), Regional Municipality of York
Graduate Program in Public Policy, Administration & Law, Master of Public Policy, Administration and Law (MPPAL) 2013
Public Administration, Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) 2011

Tell prospective students a bit about the work you do?

In my present role, as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Budget, I am supporting the development of the operating annual and multi-year budgets for the Regional Municipality of York. Currently, the Region's gross operating budget is about $1.9 billion and it continues to grow. I work closely with the senior staff of other departments and provide strategic financial advice to them throughout the budget development process. My work involves, but is not limited to: developing budget guidelines and templates; reviewing and analyzing budget submissions to determine Region-wide impacts; coordinating development of policy products and budget reporting processes; writing and reviewing reports; preparing briefing notes that inform decision making; preparing budget presentations for Senior Management (including presentations to Council); undertaking complex analyses and providing policy advice and recommendations to the Commissioner of Finance.

Tell prospective students a bit about how your studies at York helped you to get where you are today.

York University has provided me with both theoretical and practical knowledge of public administration. The two courses that I found extremely helpful in the BPA program were the Practicum (AP/PPAS 4995 6.0) and the Program Evaluation courses (AP/PPAS 4310 3.0 and 4320 3.0). These courses not only provided an opportunity for practical application of the concepts learned through the first three years of the program, but also broadened my network of contacts.