One woman’s call to government service

“It’s important for Americans to understand that government is our tool for collective action,” said Lara Shane, vice president of Communications and Research for the Partnership for Public Service. “Whatever challenge is facing the nation, government is the way that we get to come together and address it, and we all need to be part of it.”

Shane told Women of Washington radio show hosts Aileen Black and Gigi Schumm that, “most federal employees will tell you that they’re always looking for new and better ways of doing their work. But they’ll also tell you that they don’t feel that that is rewarded in any way.”

When asked what led her to work in government, Shane said there was one moment that changed everything.

“I loved my job at CBS News and never thought I’d leave,” Shane said. “And then 9/11 happened.”

“I was at home reading the paper and then my boyfriend-now-husband called and said, ‘You’d better turn on the news. The Twin Towers have been attacked.’ And I threw on jeans and a t-shirt, knew I wouldn’t be home that night, and took off down the street. My commute actually had me driving by the Pentagon…and I looked to the left and the Pentagon was beautiful. And I looked to the right and I looked back to the left and black smoke was pouring out of the building.”

“So I pulled the car over to the side of the road, ran across the GW Parkway, through Ladybird Johnson Park and was one of the first producers on the scene…It was a crazy time. I found my husband’s car, which I was hoping wouldn’t be there because it would mean he was safe and had driven away. I had nothing on me but a business card and lip liner, so I left him a quick note on the windshield and I covered the event. I have never been more frightened in my life.”

Also in this week’s episode, Shane discusses how to get more girls involved in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) from an early age, some of the amazing civil servants she’s helped honor through the Service to America Medal Awards, and her opinion on what innovation really means for the government.

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