Manhattan Borough Chief of Staff Hones Her Skills at Wagner

By Robert Polner

      Alaina Colon graduates today from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service a more reflective and, she says, more effective New York City public official.
      Colon, chief of staff to the Manhattan Borough President, feels especially fortunate to have been able to take Wagner’s courses on public sector management—human resources and reflective practice in particular. These and other classes shaped the work she has been doing 9 to 5 on behalf of city neighborhoods and constituents.
      “It helped me troubleshoot problems and overcome personal hurdles by learning best practices and new ways of communication and understanding,” she says. “The focus on group work and team dynamics were also beneficial to my personal and professional growth.”
      Colon grew up in Marietta, Georgia and attended Barnard College as an undergraduate. She applied to Wagner while working as the director of policy and communications for then-New York State Assemblyman Scott Stringer, now the borough president, because she liked the faculty’s emphasis on both research and practice, seeing it as a way to hone her skills to tackle the “real-world” challenges of nonprofit and government work.
      “Being a Wagner student has meant ready access to faculty with experience leading some of the city’s premier government agencies and nonprofits as well as classrooms filled with diverse students sharing my values about the importance of public service,” says Colon.
      Colon, who got married last month, accumulated the credits toward an M.P.A. in public and nonprofit management policy. Looking ahead, she intends to take full advantage of the Wagner network “as a potential sounding board, resource for research, career development, and forum for new ideas,” she says.
     “I hope to continue to make positive change in New York City government by raising critical issues through innovative research and new ways of organizing communities,” says Colon. “I love the intersection among politics, government, media, activism, and research.”