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Victoria Bitzer-Wales
"I have not found anything quite as fulfilling as public service work."
I discovered public service several years ago as a contractor doing social marketing work for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Social marketing involves utilizing marketing principles to promote behavior change that ultimately benefits our society. I was also tapped at that same public relations agency for my bilingual skills to support Hispanic communities and that felt very fulfilling as it gave back to the very community I am from. My journey as the first person in my immediate family to go to college and as an immigrant has been long, and challenging, but truly remarkable in the opportunities I’ve been given and worked hard to achieve. So I deeply appreciate the opportunity to give back and have not found anything quite as fulfilling as public service work.
I'm the Digital Communications Branch Chief at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the Office of Neuroscience Communications and Engagement. My branch directs the NINDS digital information strategy in collaboration with the Institute’s leadership, staff, researchers, stakeholders and partners. I find myself really grateful and in awe whenever I say those words out loud and certainly have pinched myself when I realize that I get to work at the largest biomedical research institution in the world. I have always been fascinated by the most complex organ in our body and often found myself reading books about neurological disorders, so I feel extremely fortunate and humbled to get to work where I do and do what I do.
One of my most fulfilling experiences was working for FEMA during the Hurricane Maria response. I had the unique opportunity to work with some really incredible people, with the support of one of the most compassionate and brilliant Supervisors Leilani Martinez. I’ve had the honor to work with. I worked with amazingly talented FEMA digital specialists and helped them build a digital team in Puerto Rico. It was truly humbling, challenging, and rewarding. Working alongside Puerto Ricans facing the disaster of their lifetime changed me personally and professionally. There wasn't a single person on the Islands who didn't thank us for being there to help. There were so many volunteers with remarkable stories as to why they came to support the response, stories I will never forget of human resilience and the essence of how much we can achieve when we work together.
