Velma Hart (pictured) of Upper Marlboro, Md., got her 15 minutes of fame this fall when, at a town hall meeting with President Barack Obama, she vocalized the frustrations of an entire nation: “Quite frankly, I’m exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the man for change I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now,” Hart told the president before a nationally televised audience. Now Hart has something else to worry about in addition to Obama’s job performance – she has to find a job. Hart lost her job as chief financial officer for Am Vets, a veteran services organization based in Maryland, in a cost-cutting measure to save expenses at the nonprofit. Am Vets Executive Director Jim King said Hart didn’t do anything wrong nor was the layoff a punishment for her comments about Obama. Like too many Americans in this brutal economy, Hart simply got caught up in a losing-numbers game. But I think Hart’s economic future is a little brighter than most people’s. Few people get to announce their unemployment status on CNBC, as Hart did. With the number of government jobs and nonprofit organizations based in the Washington, D.C., area, Hart will likely get a solid job lead or two in the coming weeks. In her brief 15 minutes in the national spotlight, she showed herself to be a smart, insightful observer of the national political debate. My guess is that she won’t be without work for long.
