Helping organizations help their communities
Ann Cotten, B.S. ’83, M.S. ’85, CERT ’92, D.P.A. ’03
High-quality, cost-effective opportunities for professional development are often limited for those working in the nonprofit and public sectors. UB’s Maryland Certified Public Manager Program, an initiative of the Schaefer Center for Public Policy in UB’s College of Public Affairs, is aiming to change that.
“The Maryland Certified Public Manager Program will help its graduates be better stewards of public dollars and of donor funds,” says Ann Cotten, B.S. ’83, M.S. ’85, CERT ’92, D.P.A. ’03, center director. “And it will help them be better managers, which will in turn increase the impact their organizations have on our community.”
The program received accreditation from the National Consortium of Certified Public Managers in September, and Cotten says she anticipates the Certified Public Manager credential will become the premier qualification for government and nonprofit managers in Maryland. Still, support through the foundation is critical to the program’s ongoing success, enabling the center to offer scholarships—especially to those participants who do not receive funding from their employers—and to support annual skills seminars for program graduates. These seminars will also foster the development of a professional network across graduating classes.