Levin College Profiles

MEET EMILY MUTTILLO (MPA '06)

Degrees:

• Master of Public Administration, Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs - Cleveland State University
• B.S., Psychology, John Carroll University

Where are you currently residing? 
Cleveland, Ohio

Where are you from? 
Grand Blanc, Michigan

Current Employment:

• Position Title: Applied Research Fellow
• Place of Employment: Center for Community Solutions
• Job Duties: The Center for Community Solutions provides strategic leadership and organizes community resources to improve health, social, and economic conditions through applied demographic research, nonpartisan policy analysis and advocacy, and communication. As a member of the research team, I support the organization's efforts to interpret data sources related to health, social and economic conditions in way that can be easily digested by the community.

Volunteer Experience
I am currently a board member of the Cleveland West Side Villages. I have also served on the Cuyahoga County Division of Senior and Adults Services Advisory Board and the Agency Advisory Committee at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. I also volunteer at my children's school, Campus International.

Why did you decide to attend Levin?
During my undergraduate experience, I participated in two immersion experiences. One was in the mountains of West Virginia and the second was in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY.  I saw the direct impact of government policies and nonprofit programs in both rural and urban environments. This shaped my desire to work in the public/nonprofit sector, and to be able to administer programs in a way that improves the lives of those living in poverty.  I knew that by going to Levin, I would get an education that prepared me to do this work.

What's your favorite Levin memory?
My favorite memories are from being in classes with people who were further along in their careers and could directly relate real world experiences to what we were studying. It made the coursework even more interesting and relevant.

What piece of advice do you have for current Levin graduate students?
Make connections. Your fellow classmates have done and will continue to do great things in our community. Get to know them and keep in touch. The relationships you develop in school will continue on into your professional life and make our community stronger.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned at Levin? 
As an undergraduate, I shied away from any business type classes. One of the required courses in the MPA program was an economics course. I thought I would hate the class and do poorly. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the class and how it pushed me to think about how the world works from a perspective I generally did not consider.

In your opinion, what's Northeast Ohio's best kept secret? 
The best kept secret is that Cleveland has all the amenities of a big city with the expense and accessibility of a small town. When I meet people who are visiting from other cities, they are always amazed at how close you can live to either the city or lake at a pretty affordable rate. Cleveland is also remarkably easy to get around quickly. It rarely takes me more than 15-20 minutes to get anywhere I want to go - zoo, museums, restaurants, lake, Cleveland Metroparks, theater –  it's all so close!