Date: Thursday, January 29, 2016

To: Cindy Raisor

From: Allyson Bell
Subject: Audience Profile Memorandum
ePortfolio Purpose
The purpose of this memo is to explain how my academic, internship, and leadership
experience have provided me the knowledge and skills that state and local governments
require in an analyst position. The ePortfolio will provide my audience details and
information that illustrate I am good fit for these types of positions. I will use my own
diverse background and experience to demonstrate how I am a qualified candidate.
Target Audience
My ePortfolio is targeting state and local governments who are investigating me for
policy analyst, budget analyst, or project management positions. I am targeting a wide,
yet similar, audience between state offices, city governments, and county governments. I
am writing my ePortfolio to be appealing to state legislative offices, city departments,
and county departments. Therefore, my ePortfolio will highlight my skills in policy
analysis, focused coursework on state and local government, budgeting skill, and project
management skills.
What are these entities looking for?
These audiences look for how theory learned in an academic setting can be directly
transferable to the provision of public services, policymaking, and interacting with
citizens. These government entities are focused on improving public services and
implementing impactful policies to better the quality of life in their jurisdictions. These
entities desire candidates with policy analysis skills, critical thinking skills, data analysis
skills, and understanding of government institutions and services. Though the exact job
descriptions vary, the core skills are similar and overlapping across these entities.
My Background
Internship Experience
Through my internships with Tarrant County and the City of North Richland Hills, I have
developed a comprehensive knowledge of local government and how local government
institutions operate. My two internships with Tarrant County provided me the skills of
policy analysis, contract writing, grant writing, and survey design and execution. I had
the experience of conducting a large criminal justice survey, writing economic
development contacts, an Assessment of Fair Housing for Tarrant County Community
Development & Housing, and policy analysis of economic development policies.
My internship with the City of North Richland Hills, I had the opportunity to work
directly with the City Managers Office on the annual budget review and development.
This opportunity allowed me to work on the budget with the budgeting department,

review departmental budget requests, sit in on the City Management decision making
process, and finalized the proposed budget for the City Council budget work sessions. In
addition to budgeting, I updated outdated city ordinances, and identified inefficiencies
and developed a process improvement plan to streamline departmental services.
Educational Learning & Outcomes
My education at the Bush School of Government and Public Service has focused on
courses on public management and state and local government policy and management. I
have developed knowledge on the management processes and theory, human capital
management, budgeting and public finance, and research methods. I have developed the
skills to perform human resource analyst tasks, such as pay grad adjustments, developing
job descriptions; quantitative methods and statistical analysis; and proficiency in Excel
and Stata. The Bush School has expanded my understanding of how state and local public
government organizations operate and has provided me the skills necessary for an entrylevel analyst position.
Conclusion
I will be pursuing an entry-level position, so by marketing myself through my ePortfolio,
I will develop a clear explanation of my developed skills, projects, and achievements. My
ePortfolio will serve the purpose of demonstrating my knowledge and skills as related to
analyst positions through providing context to my internships, education, capstone and
client projects, and leadership opportunities.
The link to my ePortfolio is: http://allysonlbell.weebly.com/.
If you have any addition questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Allyson Bell
allyson_bell@outlook.com