Anna Eaton Washington ’13

Anna Eaton Washington hails from Allendale, SC and graduated from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte with a Criminology degree. She worked at the Boys & Girls Club of Piedmont in Statesville, NC for the past 11 years, the past five of which she served as Executive Director. She transitioned this past spring to a nonprofit Executive Director position in Davidson, much closer to home so she can have more time with her one-year-old baby girl! As an Executive Director, Anna sees her primary role as building a respectful and equal organizational culture where everyone is in a position that taps their strengths and there is an expectation of individual responsibility for achieving measurable performance outcomes. You need to have such a culture in place before you focus on building revenue and expansion. One of her proudest achievements is using her “one person development team” to secure two federal grants totaling $2.7 million that allowed them to expand to multiple locations. She credits the MPA program with teaching her to think critically, write in a clear and convincing manner, and learn management skills. Above all, the program pushed her beyond her self-perceived capabilities and instilled confidence needed to step into a professional position. She noted that she continues to consult MPA faculty on a regular basis. She is proud to have been named one of the Iredell Health System’s “Future Five under 35.” Anna’s advice to current students is to “network heavily” as these relationships will prove helpful at different stages of your career. Always remember that no job is beneath you and to focus on all your coursework as you never know when it will be relevant in future positions.

About Us

The mission of the Master of Public Administration Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte is to provide education and training for the public and nonprofit sectors, conduct scholarly and applied research to advance the field of public administration, and serve the community.

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Contact Us

Master of Public Administration
9201 University City Boulevard
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
Fax: 704-687-1400

Director
Prof. Suzanne Leland
Phone: 704-687-5937
smleland@uncc.edu

Administrative Assistant
Aileen Brown
Phone: 704-687-5974
abrow315@uncc.edu