đź“Ł ASPA SNAPS: Celebrating #LatinoHeritageMonth: Public Administration, Civic Engagement, and Spanish-Speaking Communities
​In honor and celebration of #LatinoHeritageMonth, the Student and New Administration Professionals Section (SNAPS) of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) invites you to an international virtual panel discussing the edited volume, Public Administration, Civic Engagement, and Spanish-Speaking Communities (Emerald Publishing, 2026).
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​🗓️ Event Details
​Date: Thursday, October 15, 2026
​Time: 10:00 AM (Eastern) 8:00 AM (Mountain) 7:30 PM (Indian Standard Time)
​Format: Virtual Panel & Moderated Q&A (1 Hour)
​Cost: Free & Open to the Public
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​📖 What the Event is About
​Public service disciplines are increasingly realizing that language access is not a mere administrative afterthought or a quick translation fix—it is a fundamental democratic imperative.
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​Originating from the historic first bilingual session at NAPA’s 2022 Social Equity Leadership Conference (#SELC2022), this panel brings together leading scholars and practitioners to examine how public, nonprofit, and emergency management systems engage Spanish-speaking communities. Panelists will discuss key insights from the volume across critical domains—including language justice, active representative bureaucracy, administrative burden, disaster communication, health service delivery, and nonprofit praxis—to offer actionable strategies for building co-productive governance models.
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​👥 Who Should Attend?
​This session is designed for a broad, interdisciplinary audience across academia and public service practice:
​Students & Emerging Professionals (MPA, MPP, PhD,etc.): Looking to understand current public service issues in multilingual contexts, preparing for comprehensive exams, and/or exploring interdisciplinary career pathways.
​Faculty & Academic Researchers: Seeking innovative course materials, practical case studies, and free open-access pedagogical exercises (implicit bias, mindfulness, and research equity models) to integrate into core public administration curricula.
​Public Administrators & Street-Level Practitioners: Working directly with multilingual publics in local government, emergency management, public health, and human services.
​Nonprofit Leaders & Community Advocates: Fostering mutual aid, civic strength, and co-production within Latino/x and Spanish-speaking communities.
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​🎙️ Featured Lineup & Panelists
​Chair & Moderator: Dr. Pooja Paswan — ASPA SNAPS Chair (Jamia Millia Islamia University)
​Discussant: Dr. RaJade M. Berry-James — Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration (Virginia Commonwealth University)
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​Featured Panelists:
​Dr. José Luis Irizarry (North Carolina Central University)
​Dr. Michelle Evans (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)
​Dr. Jason Rivera (John Jay College of Criminal Justice)
​Ramón Ruiz, MSW (CUNY Graduate Center)
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​🤝 Co-Sponsoring Organizations
​This webinar is proudly hosted and co-sponsored by:
​ASPA Student and New Administration Professionals Section (SNAPS) (Host)
​ASPA Research Triangle Chapter (ASPA RT Chapter)
​Public Administration Theory Network (PATNet)
​Pi Alpha Alpha International Honor Society
​ASPA’s LGBT Advocacy Alliance
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​💡 Bonus Feature:
​All event attendees can access to free open-access pedagogical tools included in the volume at https://www.emerald.com/books/edited-volume/21206/Public-Administration-Civic-Engagement-and-Spanish
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​Attendees can also enjoy a 30% discount code (EME30) for ordering the hardcover volume at Emerald Publishing: https://bookstore.emerald.com/public-administration-civic-engagement-and-spanish-speaking-communities-hb-9781805925187.html