MEET THE 2022 LEADERSHIP TRAILBLAZER TOP 10 FINALISTS

Today’s Trailblazer: Paula Schumacher

The League caught up with Top 10 Finalist, Paula Schumacher, Village Administrator, Bartlett, Illinois to talk about being named a Leadership Trailblazer and having a career in public service:

Q: Congratulations on being named a finalist for the Leadership Trailblazer Award. What does it mean to you to be nominated? 

I am truly humbled and sincerely grateful for the distinction of being named a finalist for the Leadership Trailblazer Award.  This award is aptly named, the word “trailblazer” describes those who introduce new ideas for others to follow and build upon. Being a trailblazer is not simply about moving forward. It is about moving forward through insightful collaboration, creative thinking, innovation, and fearlessness to eagerly take on challenges, even in the face of potential failure, to ultimately succeed.

I am resolute in my belief that a space needs to be created for a diversity of gender, identities, races, religions, and nationalities in local government leadership to truly reflect our organizations and communities. As our world learns to embrace and promote equality, it is my hope that local government will continue its work to do the same.

To be named a finalist shines a spotlight on my work, which is certainly an honor; but, it is also a call to action. It is a reminder to run my leg of the race to the best of my ability and to smoothly pass the baton to the next eager runner when it is time to do so.

Q: What led you to a career in public service?

My mother and father both worked in the public sector; my mom was a bookkeeper in the Finance Department/Clerk’s Office and my dad in the Public Works Department and as a volunteer firefighter/paramedic in the small town where I grew up. When I was young, I worked as a lifeguard at the community pool in the summer and at the recreation center in the winter. I began college with aspirations to become a behavioral economist. I loved how public policy impacted people’s lives (nerd alert, I know). I entered the University of Illinois as an Economics major but had the opportunity to work for the summer in an internship program with the State of Illinois. That summer, the program exposed me to the varied services provided by the government, from human rights protections to maintaining prisons. I worked in the child support enforcement area that summer literally from a card table, and when I returned to Champaign- Urbana, I changed my major and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, which I followed with an MPA from Northern Illinois University. Armed with my newly minted education and my desire to make a positive impact, I eagerly began my career in local government.

Q: Who were your mentor(s) or advocate(s) in your career?

Village President Kevin Wallace gave me the opportunity to serve as Bartlett’s Village Administrator and is an excellent advocate in so many ways.  He consistently pushes me to set significant goals and then provides me with the support and guidance needed to meet them.

The few female village managers and administrators in the profession when I started my career (Robin Weaver, Valerie Salmons, and Heidi Voorhees, in particular) served as inspiration and broke down many barriers for me and other women in the field. The members of the Legacy Project have also been a strong, motivational source as a group who comes together to promote women in local government leadership and make it a deliberate and guiding principle.  I am forever grateful for my association with the amazing group of women who make up its membership.

I have an incredible support system that my family refers to as “the sisters” – my University of Illinois sorority sisters that have been my closest friends for 30 years, as well as my actual sister, Anne, who incidentally also chose a career in local government. Collectively, they provide personal and career advice and wisdom, and act as a sounding board on a regular basis. They know how to put problems into proper perspective and are not afraid to tell me the hard truth when I need to hear it.

Finally, I could not have accomplished my personal or professional goals without the unwavering support of my husband, Bill.

Q: What is the most important lesson you learned while coming up in your career?

“You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.” It is a great reminder that there is more than one solution to the problems you face. Some situations may be out of your control, but you are not helpless, and there is always some action that you can take to change direction and continue on course.

Q: What advice do you have for women just beginning their careers who would like to be an executive in local government someday?

One of the best things about working in local government is the wonderful support network that exists at each level of the profession. Cultivating those relationships by volunteering for various committees and joining professional organizations is critical to professional growth.  Accepting an internship or taking a temporary assignment within your organization are two valuable gateways toward learning new skills and determining what you want, or don’t want, out of a job. It may not seem like an important step in your overall career, but it can often be the first foundational rung of the ladder to success in local government at the executive level.

Q: What do you hope to leave as your legacy in local government when your career comes to an end?

I will be immensely proud to leave as my legacy the success and sustainability of our internship program and DEI and staff development efforts. I often tell my staff, “If you can see it, you can believe it”, which embodies the importance of role models and making room at the table for the next generation of leaders. It is my hope that the work I am doing will open the door for even more women in government and that any young woman, regardless of background, ethnicity, race, or identity, would be able to picture herself in my shoes as a local government executive with the knowledge that she, too, can achieve any goal she sets for herself.