PSHRA's Public Eye Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 56: Talking Gender Transition in the Workplace with Amanda Hecker Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

Amanda Hecker is a retired teacher who has provided diversity training and education since leaving the classroom in 2024. Amanda is also a transgender woman, one of roughly 2.8 million individuals in the U.S. who identify as transgender, according to a 2025 estimate from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.

Amanda recently joined the podcast to discuss the topic of gender transition in the workplace and provide answers to some common workplace-related questions regarding transgender individuals.

Episode 55: Preparing Public Sector Talent for Advancement with Kelli Bentley Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

Kelli Bentley, human resources director with Anniston Water Works & Sewer Board, in Anniston, Ala., recently joined the Public Eye podcast to offer an overview of the organization’s Cultivating Leadership, Excellence and Resources (C.L.E.A.R.) initiative, a three-session program designed to prepare the agency’s employees for career advancement in more senior roles.

Episode 54: Talking Turnover at the Top with Melissa Barker Nov 05, 2025

Show notes

The Public Eye podcast’s newest episode features Melissa Barker, vice president of practice development, with special expertise in recruiting, government and public sector organizations, at Duffy Group, a global recruitment firm based in Phoenix, Ariz.

Melissa recently sat down with us to talk about “turnover at the top.” Our chat touched on what’s driving turnover at the senior levels of public sector organizations, the importance of “telling the agency’s story” in attracting the talent government agencies will need to keep its leadership pipeline flowing, and much more.

Episode 53: Jeanette Hamilton Joins the Podcast Live at PSHRA25 Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

Jeanette Hamilton, director of human resources at North Valley Hospital, Okanogan County Public Hospital District #4, recently joined the Public Eye podcast for our first-ever episode with a live audience!
Jeanette sat down with us on Sept. 30 at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown, site of PSHRA's 2025 national conference, to share her thoughts on the event, and talk about how she and her "scrappy" HR team are overcoming the biggest challenges facing them at the moment.

Episode 52: Emphasizing Employee Engagement with Pete Blank Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Pete Blank, training and organizational development manager with the Personnel Board of Jefferson County in Birmingham, Ala., recently joined the Public Eye podcast to give us a preview of his upcoming presentation at PSHRA25, to be held Sept. 29 - Oct. 1 at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown.

At the conference, Pete will discuss the J.O.B.S. Model of Employee Engagement, exploring the four key drivers that influence how employees feel about their work: Love Your Job, Love Your Organization, Love Your Boss, and Love Your Squad.

Here, Pete gives us a sneak peek at his PSHRA25 session, including some practical strategies for leaders to foster an engaged workforce by strengthening those four pillars.

Episode 51: Assessing the OBBA Fallout with Jason Briefel Aug 28, 2025

Show notes

The passage of OBBA, signed into law on July 4, figures to reverberate throughout the public sector for years to come. The nearly $4 trillion economic and tax package includes major cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs, and investments in immigration enforcement and national defense. Now, state and local governments are working to implement the bill and its changes.

Jason Briefel, partner and director of government and public affairs at Washington, D.C.-based Shaw Bransford & Roth, recently joined the Public Eye podcast to talk about OBBA's potential impact at the state and local government levels, in the short- and long-term.

Episode 50: Summing Up the 2025 State and Local Government Workforce Survey with Gerald Young Aug 18, 2025

Show notes

Each year since 2009, PSHRA® has partnered with MissionSquare Research Institute and the National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE) to conduct an annual survey focusing on the recruitment, retention, compensation, organizational culture and other top priorities for public sector HR leaders.

Gerald Young, senior researcher at MissionSquare, recently joined the Public Eye podcast to chat about the results from this year’s State and Local Government Workforce Survey, including the key finding that recruiting challenges seem to be easing up a bit for public sector employers.

Episode 49: Overcoming HRIS Hurdles with Anthony Fasano Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

Anthony Fasano, human resources manager with the Village of Alsip, Ill., recently joined the Public Eye podcast to chat about the Village of Alsip’s recent experience with implementing a new human resource information system, or HRIS.
Anthony told us a bit about the implementation process, what led the Village of Alsip to adopt a new HRIS, how they overcame hurdles along the way, and what sort of advice he had for his public sector HR peers in organizations embarking on the same type of HRIS journey.

Episode 48: Sizing Up Public Sector Hiring Processes with Melissa Barker Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

Any public sector HR leader knows that the competition for top talent is fierce, and public sector employers need any edge they can get. That said, some contend that the government hiring process is antiquated, or that it takes too long to fill vacancies. And that can lead some very qualified and talented candidates to drop out and start looking somewhere else for their next opportunity.

Melissa Barker, vice president of practice development with Phoenix, Ariz-based recruitment firm The Duffy Group, recently joined the Public Eye podcast to talk about how making tweaks to the hiring process can help public sector employers address such issues.

Episode 47: Assessing Mental Well-Being in the Public Sector with Cara Woodson Welch May 28, 2025

Show notes

Earlier this year, PSHRA® conducted a survey of more than 400 public sector HR professionals, in an effort to identify patterns and trends with regard to public sector organizations’ focus on employee well-being. Overall, our findings suggest that public sector employers are still very much focusing on employee mental health, but many workers—including those in HR—are still experiencing mental well-being issues, driven by workload, burnout, poor work/life balance and other factors.

PSHRA CEO Cara Woodson Welch recently joined the Public Eye podcast to discuss the survey, what the findings say to her, and what the results should say to public sector HR leaders.

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