Lisa Park has a master’s degree in social work. Carrie Hendrickson has a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology. Scott Douglas spent several years as a neuroscience researcher before getting a master’s in public policy.

The three also are graduates of the Emerging Leaders program at the Health and

SCOTT DOUGLAS went from doing neuroscience research to analyzing food and drug policy issues at HHS.

Human Services Department. The program, started in the summer of 2002, is an ambitious effort to recruit top-notch talent for HHS. Over time, HHS hopes the program will become a pipeline that continuously produces highly skilled professionals and minimizes any chance that HHS will be at risk of a brain drain as Baby Boomers retire.

“It is by far the easiest way to get new people into government and at the levels and education backgrounds that you want,” said Dianne Thomas, deputy assistant secretary for workforce and career development at HHS. “Like everyone else, we have an aging workforce, and we weren’t doing a lot of entry-level hiring across the department. This program allows us to bring people in with all the leadership potential in the world.”

The program also allows HHS to sail against popular currents. Public opinion polls in recent years have found that less than a third of college graduates are interested in working for the government and that many are turned off by what they perceive as long waiting times to learn whether they can land a federal job.

Park said the Emerging Leaders program “was very beneficial to me. They really tried to look at all the different aspects that would make federal service attractive to people,” such as rotational job assignments to learn about various programs and training that would prepare them to be supervisors and team leaders.

“You hear from classmates that it is so hard to get your foot into the door,” Park said. “It is these programs that are opening up those doors a little wider.”

Hendrickson said she had spent several years obtaining her research degree, only to find lab-based research “wasn’t for me.” She knew nothing about federal agencies, but realized she could put her scientific and laboratory expertise to work in government when she saw an announcement for the Emerging Leaders program.

The program gave her a crash course in how the executive and legislative branches work and in the mechanics of budgets, programs and policy development, she said.

Two classes have placed about 115 participants in HHS jobs, and the program’s retention rate is running about 95 percent. About 8,000 people applied to join the first class, and about 2,000 have applied for subsequent classes each of the last three years. Most classes range from 60 to 80 people.

NEW JOBS. After completing the program, Park, 30, accepted a position as a public health analyst at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Hendrickson, 33, is a consumer safety officer in the Office of Food Additive Safety at the Food and Drug Administration, and Douglas, 35, is in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at HHS headquarters, working as a program analyst on food and drug policy issues.

The three said they have found their work engaging and feel like they are making a difference in people’s lives. Park is the lead staffer in her office for older adult issues. She also works on rural health, health disparities and women’s issues, and will be participating in a new “returning veterans initiative” to look at the special needs of National Guard and Reserve troops coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Hendrickson coordinates scientific reviews of information on new food ingredients submitted by companies to FDA. Her work is partly driven by a new food labeling law aimed at making life easier for people with allergies. Douglas works as part of a team that reviews regulations and policies issued by FDA.

Thomas said the program does not seek to create instant managers or supervisors, but hopes to create a cadre of employees who “are a known commodity around the department” and, as they progress through their careers, should have an edge in obtaining leadership positions at HHS.

Recruitment for the program’s fifth class, which will start in July, got underway last fall. Thomas said “the next class will be a little different. We’re targeting people with an interest in or experience with hot issues—like pandemic flu.”

Stephen Barr writes the Federal Diary column at the Washington Post. He also hosts an online discussion, “Federal Diary Live,” each week at www.washingtonpost.com.