My time as an MSSW student at UW was transformational. I made lifelong friends, studied with wonderful faculty & learned much that impacted my entire career, primarily as a macro public policy government official at the local, state & national levels. I feel very fortunate that I got to go on to work as a top policy advisor for Madison’s mayor, our elected county executive, a governor, & finally as a member of another governor’s cabinet for 8 years as Wisconsin’s Secretary of the Department of Workforce Development & as a US Department of Labor policy leader in the administration of President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Employment & Training. After these experiences, I was honored to return to the School of Social Work as a macro practice member of the faculty, where, though now retired, I continue as an Honorary Fellow, & served as an elected member of the School’s Board of Visitors. I still live in Madison with my husband, Lester Pines, & am active in the community, having served on numerous boards and commissions, including as Chair of the Madison Equal Opportunities Commission, and now as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Madison Community Foundation & board member of United Way of Dane County. We have two grown daughters, an attorney in private practice in Minneapolis, & a Professor of Public Policy, Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. We adore our 3 grandchildren, now 13, 10 & 8. I have much gratitude for the School of Social Work & hope you are all well. On Wisconsin!