Amelia Brust

FederalNewsNetwork.com • August 25, 2022

LISTEN: Can government go green without overhauling procurement rules?

Procurement power is a major pillar of the Biden administration’s Federal Sustainability Plan. As the country’s single biggest landlord and one of its largest energy consumers, the federal government’s purchasing power can either drive markets toward energy efficient innovation, or maintain the status quo.

It's All Journalism • June 30, 2022

LISTEN: Kassondra Cloos: Adventures in freelance travel reporting

I interviewed freelance travel writer and my former co-worker Kassondra Cloos about how she built her career, and how she thinks about her work in alignment with her personal values. Listen to the episode here!

FederalNewsNetwork.com • June 28, 2022

GSA considers how to interconnect systems for new buildings

As the director of the Buildings Technology Services Division at the General Services Administration’s Office of IT, Sandy Shadchehr said there has been a surge in desire for interconnected building systems over the past decade. In her office’s case, presidential mandates to integrate buildings for more, and more efficient data, are reinforcing the trend to migrate systems to the network.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • June 22, 2022

LISTEN: USCIS sets ambitious hiring, processing goals to shrink massive immigration case backlog

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ backlog has nearly 5.2 million cases and approximately 8.5 million cases are pending, according the CIS Ombudsman Phyllis Coven. By comparison, the backlog was around 2.7 million in July 2019.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • April 26, 2022

MULTIMEDIA: Nowhere safe to hide: What online harassment is doing to service members and the military

I helped edit and produce this exclusive report on online harassment of service members, which is a particularly prevalent problem for women in the military. Read the report by Scott Maucione and hear the special audio piece we recorded together.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • April 13, 2022

LISTEN: Out of the woods with financial system, Coast Guard can turn attention to industry

The Coast Guard’s rollout of its financial system modernization was described by its leadership as “the beginning of a new era.” It certainly started in a different time, or more accurately about 20 years ago.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • April 8, 2022

LISTEN: Expect more shifts in IT procurement language to reflect sustainability goals

The General Services Administration sees a shift in contract obligation and business volume data where sustainability is concerned. Agencies increasingly rely on as-a-service models for enterprise IT infrastructure, requiring less owned physical infrastructure hardware.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • January 21, 2022

New Federal Sustainability Plan harnesses fewer fossil fuels, more procurement power to fight climate change

Most American adults are worried about global warming but less than half believe it will affect them personally, 2020 opinion data shows. Support for investing in renewable energy and limiting carbon dioxide emissions is rising, as is the belief that the president should do more to address global warming.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • January 6, 2022

Pandemic boosted federal telework participation and overall eligibility

New fiscal year data shows 2020 had the highest rates of telework participation and eligibility in nearly a decade, due mostly to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Office of Personnel Management is seeing other upward trends in the data beyond sheer telework activity.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • December 17, 2021

Smithsonian worried about climate change impact on buildings, artifact storage

Only about 2% of the Smithsonian’s approximately 155 million artifacts are on display at any given time. The rest are in storage facilities including in the basements of the Smithsonian’s 11 museums and galleries around the National Mall.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • April 19, 2021

LISTEN: Lawmakers ask FEMA how to avoid future communication breakdowns during disasters

Right now, FEMA is dealing with 960 declared disasters around the country – at least one in every state – and not all of them are COVID-19 related. Of the agency’s 52 federal coordinating officers for disaster management, only one is not currently assigned to a disaster.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • March 16, 2021

Building back greener: GSA has prime opportunity to lead federal climate change initiative

As the nation’s largest employer, the federal government is also its largest energy consumer. Now that the U.S. has rejoined the Paris Agreement — to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius — President Joe Biden wants the public sector to be an example for environmental sustainability.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • January 18, 2021

Federal employees disheartened by Capitol riots but unsure how to rectify damage

After watching an insurrection at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, in which a violent crowd of President Donald Trump’s supporters broke through law enforcement barriers to interrupt the Electoral College vote count, the public witnessed the limits of federal security measures.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • January 6, 2021

INFOGRAPHICS: New normal or ‘same old bureaucracy?’ Feds offer mixed views on telework prospects beyond pandemic

Check out my infographics in this story describing how federal employees feel about teleworking after the COVID-19 pandemic, and to what extent they expect policies to return to pre-virus status.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • October 19, 2020

INFOGRAPHICS: A federal employee’s guide to Trump and Biden’s 2020 campaign platforms

Check out the infographics I made for this story about what federal employees might expect from a Biden presidency or four more years of the Trump administration.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • September 25, 2020

LISTEN: Federal CDOs still lack clarity around responsibilities, report finds

Most federal chief data officers have experience with their organizations, but that doesn’t always mean they know where they stand. A recent report surveyed federal CDOs to assess progress under the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • August 27, 2020

LISTEN: Coast Guard gets new auxiliary unit specifically for R&D

The U.S. Coast Guard may be the smallest military service branch but that’s only pushed its research and development arm to get innovative. Now a dedicated volunteer unit will help maximize R&D resources.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • May 14, 2020

INFOGRAPHIC: Getting to know OJP's deputy asst. attorney general

I made this flip box infographic for a story about Katie Sullivan, principal deputy assistant attorney general at the Office of Justice Programs in the Justice Department. See the full graphic and story at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2020/05/sullivans-management-vision-comes-out-in-ojps-grant-making-overhaul/

FederalNewsNetwork.com • February 17, 2020

INFOGRAPHIC: Major highlights from Trump’s 2021 budget request

I made this infographic for a story about major 2021 budget proposals for civilian agencies by the Trump administration.

FederalNewsNetwork.com • November 8, 2019

INFOGRAPHIC: What we learned from the 2019 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey

I made these inforgraphics with data from the 2019 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, conducted by the Office of Personnel Management.