Northridge Magazine

Brittny McCarthy had been up early to attend a meeting with members of a Northridge civic organization, had devoted a block of time to squinting at the fine print of legislation that could affect Cal State Northridge, had met with a professor about the possibility of federal monies to fund a project, and had exchanged calls with Valley legislative offices.

That brought her to about noon.

McCarthy, Cal State Northridge’s new director of government and community relations, is a self-admitted wonk and problem-solver who works “very, very hard,” but who derives a sense of balance from her practice of yoga and enjoyment of “simple things,” like biking to the local farmer’s market.

She comes to her job with years of national higher education policy experience as a Capitol Hill legislative assistant with Congresswoman Betty McCollum of Minnesota, with a background in community relations and with a portfolio of lessons learned as federal relations director for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).

Succeeding Judith Nutter, who retired in December 2008, McCarthy has been working hard to introduce herself to the region and to ensure that CSUN’s neighbors and government officials know they always will find her door open. She took a short break to talk with Northridge Magazine about her new assignment.

Q. The work of the Government and Community Relations office is a lot to get one’s arms around. How would you describe it?

A. I see my job as not about me, but about everybody else on campus and in the community…I focus on the faculty work that’s happening, the student experiences that are taking place here at Northridge, the community partnerships that are being created.

It’s my job to proactively seek out people, to connect the dots, to see the bigger picture and to hone in on the interesting, exciting, impactful examples of the activities at Cal State Northridge, so that we can make the case for public support of the university…

We are making figurative deposits into the bank, if you will. That means spending time with people on campus, seeing what they’re excited about, so that I can use that information to work with our elected officials at all levels, from city and county to state and federal.

There may be a project on campus that is ripe for Congressional attention, for example. What do we need to do in order to make that happen? Faculty members are extremely busy and become immersed in their work. Some have never thought of their work in terms of attracting federal support. I’m here to help them think about possibilities.

Q. What about the university’s relationship with the surrounding community? How do we work on being good neighbors to each other?

A. We’re a vibrant university community; we have a lot of students with energy and extracurricular interests. Naturally, with a university of 30,000-plus students—the majority of whom still arrive on campus in cars—traffic issues arise. But the university is committed to being a fair and good neighbor. I see that as part of my job.

Our Facilities Planning department is working hard, for example, to mitigate traffic patterns on the southeastern part of campus… We’re also going to start bringing neighbors back onto our campus in a more concerted effort, showing them some of the great things that are happening right here on campus. One of the first events we’ll organize is a tour of our sustainability efforts on campus…It’s a proactive way to make sure the neighbors see all the ways CSUN is contributing to the community.

Q. You have to cover a lot of territory in the course of a day, don’t you? What prepared you to touch so many community bases so frequently?

A. When I worked for Congresswoman McCollum, it was my responsibility to represent her with her constituents…I traveled from Washington, D.C. to her district quite often. I would express her position, hear and report back the community’s concerns. They didn’t always agree with her. It was my job to be diplomatic and always to leave a meeting knowing that the constituents felt listened to—whether or not we were all on the same page.

Those skills were critical for the work I’m doing now. I represent the university when I come to the table with our neighbors and, usually, we all leave the room feeling good about each other.

Q. What led you to volunteer your time as a yoga instructor at CSUN, in the middle of your crowded schedule?

A. I’ve been doing yoga since my days at the University of Minnesota. I was looking for a way to be physically active in a cold state, and I was looking for a little bit more of something, I didn’t know what…[Yoga is] not only a physical practice but a spiritual practice for me, a place where I’m reminded of what is and isn’t important. I think it really helps me be a better professional…

President Koester was holding forums to help explain to the campus community what was happening with the budget. She took time to remind everyone to be kind to one another. I thought to myself: “Well, how can I be kind?” …Cal State Northridge has an innovative Employee Assistance Program to help faculty and staff through this difficult period of mandated furloughs [The state has mandated campus closure and furlough days for CSUN employees, amounting to a 10 percent pay cut]. I asked Human Resources if I could teach free introductory yoga, and they loved the idea. We call it “free furlough yoga.” It’s been super successful; the first class was more than 20 strong, and the second time we had close to 30. At least half had never done yoga before.

Contact McCarthy at (818) 677-2123 or Brittny.mccarthy@csun.edu.

— Brenda Roberts

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