I have spent the last decade writing for the federal government.  I’ve interviewed scientists, written for multiple agency heads and through my line of work I’ve had the opportunity to share stories, with people from all over the globe.  It has been an incredibly rewarding experience, but at the same time there have been challenges.

When you serve the American people, you are going to be tasked with multiple priorities, and there are going to be times when those things do not align.  There are sometimes hard, or unpopular decisions that have to be communicated, and they don’t always have a happy ending.  There can be more layers of oversight.  Things can sometimes take longer, to get approved in the government, than they do in the private sector.  And when it comes to compliance and accessibility there are many instances in which you are legally held to a higher standard. 

But these are all things that help to make us better storytellers.  

Because we operate with that level of oversight, we are trained to craft our stories in a way that is careful.  We are thoughtful, with our relationship building and our purpose-driven, asymmetrical communication networks.  Our stories strive to be authentic, but they also are designed to change behaviors. 

We want to make the world a better place.  And so, whether it’s educating our internal workforce, informing a foreign delegation or just plain helping the public, our stories will be there.

And much like Smokey Bear, our stories will live on.