André Wade

André Wade’s graduate degree goal in the School of Environmental and Public Affairs was to learn more about the administrative, policy and governmental side of systems, while staying true to the notion of providing a service in a government and non-profit environment. Today he works for the National Alliance to End Homelessness as a youth program and policy analyst.

Responsibilities
Wade offers guidance and technical assistance to states and local communities on best practices, legislation and funding for addressing the needs of homeless youth. He is responsible for analyzing federal programs and policies that affect unaccompanied homeless youth to make improvements in achieving the goal of ending youth homelessness. The major piece of legislation that he focuses on is the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act; he also analyzes other mainstream legislation as it affects homeless youth. Other sub-populations of concern are youth aging out of foster care and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ). Wade conducts visits with Senate and Congressional staff on appropriations and advocacy and works with the administration on improving outcomes for homeless youth.

Wade is an advisory member of the Human Right Campaign's All Children All Families; advisory board member of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center, and a board member of StandUp for Kids, which is a non-profit dedicated to ending the cycle of youth homelessness.

Background
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Wade was part of the first graduating class of Cimarron- Memorial High School in 1993. After graduating with a major in psychology and a minor in English, he wanted to obtain an MPA because he grew increasingly interested in affecting change more at a macro level after he had been working in the field for 10 years.

Degree Made a Difference
Wade believes the MPA allowed him to gain knowledge on how government and non-profits work, and it gave him contextual insight into how macro decisions affect service delivery and performance. He believes his degree experience allows him to be able to do the work that he does today: applying research methods, program evaluation, paper writing, fund raising for non-profits, non-profit development and working knowledge of the budgeting process to his daily work — it's like he never left the classroom.