Katie Regan
Young Professionals 2022 by Ed Fletcher
Like many college graduates , Katie Regan completed her degree without a firm plan on how she ’ d use it . “ I really didn ’ t know what math was going to let me do . I thought I ’ d maybe teach ,” says Regan , who graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in math from the University of Puget Sound .
But within months of graduation , she found herself putting her degree to work in the lucrative field of biomedicine at a Bay Area biotech startup . That job was short-lived , but it led to more work consulting for major pharmaceutical companies in the Bay Area . However , after she and her husband moved to Stockton , Regan found the commute and work were wearing on her .
“ I appreciate the work that they do for patients , but there was just a lot of conflict with my personal ethics so I know I wanted to make a change industry-wise ,” Regan says of working with pharmaceutical companies . “ I was commuting and it was just so untenable . I was living in a hotel during the week and coming home on the weekends .”
That ’ s when she applied for and got her first job in public service . Her first job with the City of Stockton was on a team implementing a major software upgrade . She says there was a lot of crossover from her consulting work , but this job gave her pride in the work she was doing .
“ I just fell in love immediately getting to serve a community , getting to serve my community , the place that I live ,” Regan says . “ It just brought a whole new meaning to work .”
She immediately began working on her master ’ s degree in public policy and public administration from Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento . With that degree , and her experience with the city and in the private sector , she applied for and received a dream promotion to director of the newly created Office of Performance and Data Analytics . The office , which involves working for the city manager , puts the vast amount of city data to work to improve equity and quality of life for the citizens of the city .
“ It ’ s been an exciting time bringing data to life for the city ,” she says . “ It ’ s the public ’ s information . We ’ re here to open that information up back to the public to inform , and be transparent and hold ourselves accountable in serving this community .”
Regan also serves as a regional director for the Municipal Management Association of Northern California . Part of her role is to encourage young people to consider public service . She says public service gets a bad wrap , but there are a lot of opportunities to do rewarding work , especially as many longtime public servants retire .
“ Today I get to serve my community and improve quality of life by combing through data with the community highlighting the incredible work being done .”
July 2022 | comstocksmag . com 51