In early 2025, thousands of U.S. federal workers were unexpectedly laid off, many living in the Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area. Patrick Shirdon ’92, economics, a civil servant of 33 years, was among those left to grapple with the uncertainty and frustration of restarting a career. While searching for resources, he found UMBC’s Paws & Pivot free webinar series, where career development experts share concrete skills on resume writing, interview preparation, navigating a tech-centered job market, and more.

“After losing my job, I didn’t know what to do. I was just so happy to find something to do—and this series became so much more than that for me,” wrote Shirdon in an email to Rex Jarrett, the director of professional programs in UMBC’s Division of Professional Studies (DPS). 

“Growing up in Montgomery County, being part of the DMV, I knew a lot of people whose parents were federal workers,” says Jarrett. “Many of my friends followed in those footsteps and were impacted by the layoffs.” The 2024 annual Maryland employment statistics report totaled the Maryland workforce at 2,764,497 people. Of these, some 530,257 workers, or 19.2 percent, were employed by federal, State, and local governments in the public sector.” Those impacted were asking for help to access new professional networks via Facebook and LinkedIn after decades of serving their country,” Jarrett noticed.

With skills in webinar development, Jarrett knew this format could quickly serve a wide audience. He reached out to Jill Barr, then associate vice provost and assistant dean of the Graduate School, and Julie Gilless, assistant vice provost for marketing in DPS, with an idea for a job skills development webinar series. What began as an idea grew into a conversation, and with the full support of Barr and Gilless, became a call to action. 

Gathering the Paws & Pivot pack

Jarrett came to UMBC in fall 2024 after more than half a decade leading the Harvard Business Analytics Program. He was excited to return home to Maryland and put his expertise in career growth and community engagement to work for the greater good. Jarrett is passionate about his work because it helps him answer a question that is always on his mind—How can I make the world a better place? He did not anticipate that the answer would come so soon after joining UMBC, nor that it would involve hundreds of federal workers. 

Quickly, the team created the Impacted Federal Workers Think Tank Committee and agreed that the series would be free for everyone—regardless of a UMBC affiliation—and remain accessible on the division’s YouTube channel. Thanks to DPS’s Rashad Cheeks, associate director of marketing, and Theresa Mabe, marketing data manager, the series received a memorable name and logo. The first episode of Paws & Pivot, “Building Your Digital Brand,” aired on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, and featured Rowena Winkler, assistant director for graduate student career development. 

Subsequent episodes were co-hosted by a cadre of UMBC supporters, including the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Career Center, and the Department of Education.  Community partners also joined the effort. Batul Sadiq, owner of BHS Image Consulting based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, hosted the 11th episode, “First Impressions Matter: Dress The Part, Brand With Intention.” The Paws & Pivot team is heartened by the wonderful response, says Jarrett, as well as the steady stream of new volunteers eager to get involved. And the impact is real. 

A few months after tuning into a Paws & Pivot webinar, Shirdon reached out to Jarrett: “Today, I attended my orientation day with the human resources team at my new organization. It has been 33 years since I was a ‘new’ employee!” wrote Shirdon. 

Award-winning programming

Since launching in April, Paws & Pivot has hosted 15 sessions, amassed 150 registered participants, and engaged with over 900 impacted federal workers and government contractors. Over 90 percent of attendees say they would recommend the series to other impacted federal workers. The University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) has nominated Paws & Pivot for their “2026 UPCEA Regional Program Award‘ as a Mid-Atlantic educational program that focuses on addressing a regional need. Jarrett notes that the initiative has become a model of regional engagement, scalable virtual learning, and social impact, grounded in the values of continuing education, career resiliency, and access.

“Paws & Pivot was/is amazing. In addition to the wonderful, technical information taught at the Wednesday sessions, an unintended benefit for me was the ability to have an event on my calendar. It gave me something to look forward to, and truthfully, I learned a lot,” writes Shirdon. “I certainly had my share of ups and downs, more downs than ups. But UMBC’s effort was an absolute blessing for me. Now, I just have to go and do great stuff! Ball in my court.”

Paws & Pivot’s 16th episode will air at noon on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.