Leah Phifer Email & Phone Number

Minneapolis, Mn

WhyWork improves employee engagement, retention and productivity by building personalized approaches to uncovering and communicating what people uniquely need to thrive at work. Building upon traditional research methodologies, WhyWork takes organizations and teams beyond the annual employee satisfaction survey to facilitate conversations about the ways individual team members find connection, satisfaction, and significance in their work. To truly help people connect with the elements of their work that engage them, WhyWork activates the hand-mind connection through #LegoSeriousPlay (LSP). LSP allows teams to access the untapped knowledge that resides within themselves and their group, resulting in more creative problem-solving and improved communication on a variety of topics from strategic planning, change management and beating #burnout.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

● Manage federal employees’ benefits program for 1000+ members of the Plant Protection and Quarantine programs located throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Implement strong oral and written communication skills, in English and Spanish, to counsel employees on changes to federal policy governing employee health benefits, life insurance plans and retirement.● Initiate changes driven by remote work to departmental operating procedures to ensure continuity of service for USDA employees across the globe. Leverage emerging technology to improve procedures and increase efficiency in a cross-functional environment. ● Member of the FBI Infragard, a partnership between the FBI and private/public sector organizations tasked with protecting critical infrastructure. Routinely share information and promote mutual learning opportunities to advance threat management across numerous industries.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

● Led two weekly courses on Statistical Methodology & Research Design, as well as The Politics & Policy of Immigration, assigning student goals including policy memo writing, presentation assembly, and research paper delivery.● Instructed students on qualitative and quantitative data collection and analyzing, interpreting it through the use of SPSS software, experimental design, descriptive and inferential statistics and computer methods.

Duluth, Minnesota Area

● Designed, hired and built a campaign of five staff, three consultants, and 80 volunteers in bid to represent one of the largest and most diverse districts, spanning 27,000 square miles and five Native American reservations.● Developed and oversaw the implementation of campaign strategy and messaging, engaging in 70+ interviews with local and national press, including CNBC, ABC, Politico and a feature on TIME magazine.● Collaborated with grassroots organizations and experts to produce a robust economic development plan for 18 counties and a detailed policy platform spanning over a dozen diverse topics.● Earned 54% of the vote at the endorsement convention in a five-way race.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

● Initiated, founded and developed the first cyber-terrorism program in the FBI Minneapolis office, working with a variety of intelligence and policy-making agencies to develop metrics and establish program priorities.● Identified and tracked open source intelligence using a variety of tools to scrape social media and navigate online forums, resulting in detailed link-analysis threat assessments created through Palantir and Analyst Notebook.● Planned and led monthly Joint Terrorism Task Force meetings with 50+ attendees, utilizing strong written and verbal communication skills to inform local, state, and federal partners of latest terrorism threats.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

● Managed federal employees’ benefits program for 1000+ members of USDA Foreign Agricultural Service located in Washington D.C. and at global U.S. embassies spanning 130 countries.● Planned and executed educational programs on employee benefit options, leading seminars on health and retirement benefits for 850 employees.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

● Interviewed and processed undocumented immigrants navigating federal deportation proceedings, identifying trends and threats communicated during interactions.● Coordinated with the public, attorneys, NGOs, and other government agencies to provide information and clear communication regarding detainee locations, release options, and legal rights.● Supported disaster recovery preparedness efforts through the creation and implementation of Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP), including training and resource allocation.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

● Monitored and supervised 75 undocumented immigrants released to the Alternatives-to-Detention program, providing counseling services as program participants navigate federal deportation proceedings.● Familiarize participants with the program requirements through personal orientations that employ a thorough knowledge of their language and culture to optimize comprehension.● Manage up to 70 individual cases, conducting up to 40 meetings weekly with participants to conduct needs-assessments. Carry out 10-20 home visits to ensure there are functioning utilities, ensure all children present are enrolled in school and connect immigrant families with organizations.● Partnered with U.S. State Department to prepare travel documents and criminal records for federal court proceedings.

Master'S Degree, Public Policy

Bachelor'S Degree, Spanish/French