You can have all kinds of great ideas, but budgets are where you have to figure out how to make them real since most great policy ideas cost money.
Corey Ackerman
Every year, Corey Ackerman (MPP ’16) guides choices that affect the daily lives of almost 10 million Michiganders—through funding classrooms, health care, and community programs. A Ford School graduate, Ackerman has spent almost a decade converting Michigan’s tax dollars into benefits for people across the state.
“Budgets sound really boring,” Ackerman admits with a laugh, “but they're not, because it’s where the rubber hits the road in terms of public policy. You can have all kinds of great ideas, but budgets are where you have to figure out how to make them real since most great policy ideas cost money."
The budget is where you put your ideas into practice and hope those good ideas make it through the political and legislative process.”
Ackerman, a budget and policy manager for the State Budget Office, has worked at the heart of Michigan’s budget for nearly a decade, helping to develop budget recommendations, navigating negotiations, legislative processes, and enormous change. “We work on everything from developing the Governor’s budget proposal to monitoring and negotiating as it goes through the legislature,” she explains. “Every day is something different. What you might do one day, you won’t do again for a year. Plus, every year brings up different policy issues, political dynamics, and economic realities that we have to contend with as we work through the budget process.”
A major part of Ackerman’s job involves collaboration with state departments, the governor’s office, legislators, and the public. “When we’re building the governor’s budget recommendation, our focus is largely internal to state government, working with departments and the governor’s office to figure out options and analyze ideas. But when it’s time to present the budget publicly, we switch to asking: How do we explain this in a way the public understands and cares about? Later, during negotiations, we’re facilitating conversations between the governor’s office, the House, and Senate to find a middle ground that works for everyone.”
The work can be intense, especially during times of uncertainty. “During COVID-19, everything changed dramatically. Our work transitioned to remote almost overnight, and after just releasing a budget recommendation a month prior, we had to suddenly figure out how to make large cuts from the budget. Then, months later, we were dealing with significant federal infusions of dollars for COVID-19 recovery and support. It was a roller coaster. Through it all, we had to keep asking: how can we minimize negative impacts and prioritize what matters most to Michigan residents?”
Ackerman’s affinity for local change was shaped far from Lansing, in rural Madagascar, where she served in the Peace Corps after majoring in math and economics. “Like many volunteers, I went into the Peace Corps aspiring to make a big difference in the world, but what I learned is that sometimes the most important impact you can have is local. I started a small library and a girls’ camp in my village for teenage girls which focused on health, education and leadership. Our camp took a group of girls to the capital city for a week, and for most of those girls, going to the capital was the first time leaving their small, rural community."
Making a small impact with the people around you really matters. The world definitely still needs people to tackle big issues, but there’s also so much value in investing in the community you live in and working with your neighbors to make it better.”
After returning home, Ackerman explored her next steps. “I’d never even heard of a public policy degree when I was in college!” she said. “But I started thinking more about having an impact closer to home. That’s what led me to the Ford School, and I realized you can do a lot right here in Michigan.”
As a graduate student, Ackerman’s perspective broadened even further. She traveled to Brazil for the Ford School’s international travel course. While there she met with government officials and nonprofit leaders and saw ”just how vast government is and the many ways public policy impacts everyday people.” Closer to home, a research project with Professor Elisabeth Gerber for the City of Flint’s Charter Review Commission made a big impression. “Those experiences connected me to policy work in a new way. When I came to the Ford School, I had no idea I’d become so interested in state and local policy, but I left with that as my focus.”
For Ackerman, a public policy degree is more relevant than ever.
Public policy touches everyone, whether you know it or not. It gives you the tools to think critically about what you read, understand how things work, and see how policy decisions actually impact people.”
>>To read more stories about how Ford School alumni are making an impact on communities, click here.