It’s apparent when meeting Maggie Green (B.S. ’12, M.P.A. ’17) that cycling and community are important to her. In fact, she biked through the rain to get to talk with us about her new job at Kansas City, Missouri Public Works serving the community.
Green came to the University of Missouri–Kansas City as a student in the six-year medical school program. After a couple of years, she realized she was more interested in the public health part of medicine than being a doctor.
Around the time she graduated with her degree in biology, Green began volunteering at a community bike shop in Kansas City, 816 Bicycle Collective. Going to the bike shop on the weekends and fixing bikes for people with no other means of transportation had a profound effect on her and sparked her drive to give back. She also began volunteering with BikeWalkKC, a bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organization. Soon, her one-day-a-week volunteering became a full-time position as director of programs.
“I was at a place at BikeWalkKC where I was really interested in learning more about nonprofit organizational theory and organizational management,” Green says of her decision to pursue a master’s of public administration degree at UMKC. She completed the program in a year and a half and learned about the importance of cross-sector collaboration.
“I can’t underestimate how important it is for local government to work with nonprofits and vice versa,” Green said.
“I’m proud of the work BikeWalkKC is doing and still care about the cause but I’m seeing a different way my work can have an impact in Kansas City and that’s exciting.”
Equipped with newfound knowledge, Maggie was ready to find a new way to serve the public. Her M.P.A. gave her a solid foundation to step into the position of public information officer for KCMO Public Works. The Public Works Department maintains public infrastructure by ensuring safe transportation for motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. In her new role, she serves as the link between the Kansas City community and the city’s engineers and crews. And she still bikes to work regularly.
“I’m proud of the work BikeWalkKC is doing and still care about the cause but I’m seeing a different way my work can have an impact in Kansas City and that’s exciting,” said Green.