Institutional knowledge among legislative staff is a core element to maintaining continuity in legislatures around the country. But passing on that knowledge has become challenging as baby boomers retire and younger staff take on those roles.

On this episode, our two guests discussed how they used a mentor-mentee relationship to prepare for a job transition. Bernadette “Bernie” McNulty is the retired chief assistant secretary in the California Senate. Heshani Wijemanne is the current chief assistant secretary in the Senate.

McNulty explained that, as a manager, she had a critical responsibility to not only find someone to take on her job but to be sure that person was as ready as possible for the challenges ahead. For her part, Wijemanne said learning and absorbing everything she could from McNulty was irreplaceable in preparing herself. 

Resources

• Legislative Staff, NCSL