The Austin Scene, According to MPS HR Director, Andrew MacDonald

Welcome to my front porch in Austin, TX! This photo captures a lot of the past month and a half: solitude, spring, Microsoft Teams and Amazon Prime deliveries.

We are really fortunate at MPS to be able to maintain operations, with all our contracts supporting virtual work. Our IT infrastructure was already set to accommodate potential disruption, so our systems as well as our consultants have made the transition with relative ease. Kendall and I have been working on a U.S. Forest Service contract to conduct an organizational assessment for the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center based in Montana. We regret not being able to do site visits – Kendall had no doubt mapped out prime hiking trails in the area – but we quickly normalized one-on-one and group Teams meetings, and I’ve enjoyed sitting in the 85-degree Austin spring while our clients give us virtual tours of snow scenes in Missoula.

I also love all the DC updates, and hearing MPS consultants’ children and dogs in the background on our calls. Hopefully we can all get together before too long and celebrate the in-person with a new degree of gratitude. And maybe even reflect on elements of this homebound opportunity that we miss.