Sesselja Arnadottir, MPA 2002

Deputy Secretary General, Iceland, Ministry of Social Affairs

In 1999, Sesselja Arnadottir decided to attend the MPA program at UConn based on the recommendation of an Icelandic graduate of the program. At the time, she was working as lawyer at the Ministry of Social Affairs in Iceland.
           
Following her graduation from the UConn MPA program in 2002, Sesselja returned to the Ministry of Social Affairs as Deputy Secretary General. The Ministry deals with a broad spectrum of projects including: employment, gender equality, housing, family affairs, refugees, immigrants, handicapped persons, and local governments. Sesselja admits that such a broad mandate is no easy undertaking. “To deal with all these issues we only have about thirty-five employees. Because of this situation and my position I have to be able to answer various questions about each and every one of the issues. Therefore, I often do not know how each day will be at work. Each day is different and there is absolutely no monotony at my job.”

Sesselja adds, “My favorite thing about my job is that I can have influence on policy making in areas that affect many people’s lives in my country. This includes new legislation and other types of regulations.”  Sesselja admitted that it is challenging to keep up to speed with so many projects. She explained, “It is an ongoing but interesting battle.”

Sesselja values her MPA degree, “The MPA degree is very valuable in my job. It has improved my ability to prepare different decisions, mostly concerning budgeting, policy analysis, and planning. . .  It is very useful to have insight into public administration in another country.”