Empathy Affect

The 2019 Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act—or Evidence Act—aims to improve federal programs applying data, evidence, and evaluations in decision-making. Five years later, how are agencies meeting the requirements of the legislation, and how has the act improved how our government accomplishes its mission? We explore these questions looking into evidence and evaluations at one agency, the Department of Health and Human Services with its evaluation officer, Dr. Susan Jenkins. 

Dr. Susan Jenkins is the HHS evaluation officer and director of the agency's Division of Evidence, Evaluation, and Policy in the Office of Science and Data Policy. She is also a member of Federal Interagency Council on Evaluation Policy. Susan previously served as director of the Administration for Community Living's Office of Performance and Evaluation and served on detail with the Office of Management and Budget's Evidence Team. 

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Dive into HHS's FY25 Evaluation Plan
Learn how evaluation and evidence are making an impact at HHS 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) longest-running tobacco public education campaign, The Real Cost, is marking its 10th anniversary this year. The campaign aims to prevent youth from using tobacco through powerful messaging and real-life stories, but how has The Real Cost remained relevant as the media landscape, young people, and the market of tobacco products all evolved rapidly? In this episode of Empathy Affect, we explore these questions and dive into the methods and public health impact of The Real Cost.

April Brubach is the acting director of FDA's Center for Tobacco Products' (CTP) Office of Health Communications and Education (OHCE) and has worked at CTP since 2010. She joined CTP in 2010, working across a portfolio of tobacco prevention campaigns, education initiatives, and communication science and policy. She has previously built and managed the Health and Human Services' COVID-19 Public Education Campaign, and she has served as deputy for FDA's COVID-19 Joint Information Cell and communication program manager at the National Cancer Institute.

Merrybelle Guo is a social scientist at FDA CTP's OCHE. She has also served as a health communications specialist at CTP and a digital communications fellow at the Office of the Surgeon General.

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Learn more about The Real Cost campaign
Dive into FDA's Tobacco Education Resource Library

For many mothers, the immediate postnatal period is a vulnerable one, often filled with financial, social, physical, and mental challenges while caring for a young child. Our federal government is working to provide better resources and services to support women through early motherhood, and U.S. Digital Service (USDS) is stepping up with solutions to make it easier, equitable, and more effective. Our guest, Birth of a Child Portfolio Lead Maya Mechenbier, became a mother shortly before leading these efforts at USDS, grounding the work USDS does for federal agencies with her own journey raising two daughters. Learn how she and her team are helping agencies provide supply kits for mothers, peer navigation resources, and text-based notifications to help mothers apply for federal aid. All of this comes together with technology, UX design, rigorous evaluation, and the personal touch of lived experience.

Maya Mechenbier is a project lead and product counsel at USDS and Birth of a Child portfolio lead at the Office of Management and Budget, leading projects including the Peer Navigator Service, Newborn Supply Kit, and Notify for Families. Maya is in her second tour with USDS after serving with USDS's Quality Payment Program team at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) in 2016 and with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) at the White House in 2015. She has also served in career roles at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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Read up on our government's progress supporting mothers through early childhood

Get a deeper dive on the Newborn Supply Kit

Learn more about USDS's work

As adults age, many retire, become empty nesters, and are trying to figure out their next chapter in life. AmeriCorps Seniors has helped 140,000 people discover that next chapter through volunteer opportunities across the country. Learn more about how AmeriCorps has created pathways for older adults to serve and connect with their community. We chat with AmeriCorps Seniors Director Atalaya Sergi to learn how volunteering has transformed lives and how you can get yourself or loved ones on a journey that discovers purpose in service.

Atalaya Sergi is the director of AmeriCorps Seniors. She has more than 20 years of experience in service, education, and community engagement. Prior to joining AmeriCorps, she served as vice president of strategic partnerships and programming at Jumpstart for Young Children, managing AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs as a federal grantee.

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Discover volunteer opportunities through AmeriCorps Seniors Pathfinder

It’s the start of a presidential election year. Caucuses and primaries are approaching, and the country is readying to vote. We are taking on elections and speaking with former senior election security advisor at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Kim Wyman about combatting mis- and disinformation to restore the public’s faith in our elections.

Kim Wyman previously served as Secretary of State of Washington and senior election security advisor at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). She was also Thurston County’s elections director for nearly a decade and served three terms as the Thurston County Auditor between 2001 and 2013. Today, she is Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center.  

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Learn more about your election from your Secretary of State

Register to vote, check your voter registration status, and answer your voting questions here

The Inflation Reduction Act provided a historic amount of funding and opportunity for the federal government to make meaningful investments in environmental justice programs across the government. As we enter season 2 of Empathy Affect, we're joined by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Assistant Administrator for Environmental Justice Matthew Tejada to learn how the legislation is enhancing over 30 years of work that his agency has done in environmental justice and how environmental justice is becoming an all-of-government endeavor.

Matthew Tejada has directed the EPA's environmental justice work for over a decade. Before joining the EPA, he was executive director of an environmental justice advocacy organization called Air Alliance Houston.

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Learn more about EPA EJ technical assistance centers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) received about $80 billion in additional funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to make sweeping improvements—including how taxpayers interact with the agency. The IRS's Office of Online Services (OLS) has a big role to play in transforming the taxpayer experience as people increasingly opt to file digitally. On this episode of Fors Marsh Media's Empathy Affect, OLS Director Karen Howard and User Experience Services Director April Harding share how the IRS is using funding and strategy derived from the IRA to increase accessibility and transparency across its taxpayer services.

Karen Howard is the director of the IRS's OLS. She joined the IRS in 2020 after holding positions with companies like LPL Financial and the Renfro Corporation.

April Harding is the director of user experience services within OLS. She joined the IRS in 2023 after serving as a digital consultant, co-founder of Wellspring ID, and digital director at Stratacomm.

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Read up on the IRS Inflation Reduction Act Strategic Operating Plan

See if you qualify for tax credits and deductions 

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in the Executive Office of the President is coordinating with other federal agencies to release a Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit that can guide organizations big and small toward helping people suffering with substance use disorder on their paths to recovery. In this episode, ONDCP Senior Policy Analyst Peter Gaumond gives us a sneak peek into the toolkit, some best practices and examples of successful workplace recovery initiatives, and how companies and employees can both benefit from adopting recovery programs and policies.

Peter Gaumond is a senior policy analyst at ONDCP. He has over 30 years of experience in substance use disorder treatment and recovery and helped develop the National Drug Control Policy. He has also served as ONDCP's Chief of the Recovery Brand and has held positions at the Altarum Institute, Abt Associates, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, and Illinois Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.

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Find the upcoming toolkit in the Recovery-Ready Workforce Hub

Talk with someone through 988

Check out FindTreatment.gov and Find Support

Find other support groups here

Suicide has been a rising public health crisis in America, and veterans are some who are at the highest risk. In honor of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month this September, we're joined by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Director of Suicide Prevention, Dr. Matthew Miller, to learn about how the VA is supporting veterans, caregivers, and families to prevent suicide and promote mental health and recovery. We also get into the challenges around suicide prevention and what we need to do to move forward together.

Dr. Matthew Miller is the National Director for Suicide Prevention at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has previously served as Director of the Veterans Crisis Line and Chief of Mental Health at Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

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VA.gov/REACH

Reach the Veterans Crisis Line

In part 2 of our episode on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the federal workforce, we get personal and chat about the roles of mentorship and sponsorship in raising diverse leadership across the government. Our guests, National Science Foundation (NSF) Chief of Diversity and Inclusion Dr. Charles "Chuck" Barber and Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) Chief of Diversity and Equal Opportunity Dr. Theresa Horne, talk about their mentor-mentee relationship and how fostering more professional relationships through mentorship can help people rise in their careers.