GSPM students in our Strategic Public Relations Principles & Practices were treated to a visit and guest lecture from the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico Carmen Yulín Cruz earlier this week. She gave an update on relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Maria and shared her lessons on the importance of honesty in political communications.
From The GW Hatchet:
“You have to become not a politician, but a public servant,” she said. “We may not agree, but you need to know what I stand for. And if someone doesn’t like what I have to say, then I tell them to not vote for me in 2020.”
As the discussion shifted from her campaign and political career to the devastation of Hurricane Maria, Yulín Cruz spoke to the students about her firsthand experiences leading the city in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
“I’ve seen elderly people left in their homes to die. I’ve seen mothers cry because they cannot find their children medicine,” Yulìn Cruz said. “Now the world has to face our poverty and inequality and it cannot be covered up by piña coladas and palm trees.”
Lt. Col. Steven Coffee says his GSPM degree has helped him better engage with senior civilian and military leaders.
A prevailing thought in the officer corps of the United States Air Force is that one needs a master’s degree to get beyond a certain rank. Practically any master’s will do.
For Lt Col. Steven Coffee, the Legislative Affairs program at the Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) met that requirement and so much more. “I wanted to get something that would be useful to me in the military and when I transition back to civilian life. A friend from undergrad and fellow GSPM alum 06’, Anthony Coley, told me about the program and it sounded like a perfect fit given my undergrad degree in political science,” Coffee said.
Initially he thought that his degree would help him to pursue a run for office or a career in government relations after leaving the military, but Coffee was soon using the skills he learned at GSPM while in the armed forces. “Immediately after graduating in 2008 I served as a Force Structure Analyst at the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and was immersed in understanding the balance of Congressional and budgetary oversight with military requirements; and later served as a legislative analyst for SOCOM in 2010. I still use the critical thinking skills that are taught there, especially the importance of looking at issues in a comprehensive and holistic manner,” he said. Coffee added that class work in political rhetoric helped him manage communications and engage with Hill staffers, senior civilian, and military leaders.
He had another chance to use his GSPM skills during a stretch as a Social Aide in the White Houses of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, coordinating the planning and execution of social events for the president and first lady. “I was able to observe the theory of politics taught in the classroom in reality,” said Coffee. “It was great to learn how to engage and work within the political process and contribute to the conversation.”
Lt Col. Coffee currently serves as a Joint Manpower Analyst (J1 Human Capital Division), Directorate of Manpower and Personnel at the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that role, he serves as the chief human capital and requirements expert for the nine geographical four-star combatant commanders. “The personnel staff works to validate the requirements of combatant commanders. We’re the gatekeepers of validating manpower and personnel efficiency requirements and requests from four star generals through the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Coffee said.
Now nine years removed from the program, Coffee shared some advice for current and prospective students in the lead-up to Colonials Weekend, the university’s homecoming celebration. He was set to receive the GW IMPACT Award, which is given by the George Washington Black Alumni Association (GWBAA), and is “the highest form of recognition bestowed on distinguished Black alumni by the GWBAA Executive Committee,” to those who have cultivated a history of commitment to the university. “You need to let the program go through you. Don’t just go through the program. Get involved in the discussions,” he said. “Where else can you learn politics right across from the Capitol with people who work there and tell you the reality? This program is special. Immerse yourself in it.”
While President Donald Trump's inner circle of family members in key positions has many White House watchers nervous, GSPM Prof Matt Dallek notes that nepotism is nothing new at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. He joined WBUR's Freak Out And Carry On hosts Ron Suskind and Heather Cox Richardson to discuss several key instances of presidential familial advisors.
By Michael Cornfield, GSPM Associate Professor and Research Director
This morning Senate Majority Leader McConnell said that “Today we’ll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation, which could only serve to impede the current work.” By current work McConnell meant that being conducted by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
That puts the now radioactively hot potato in the lap of the Committee’s chair, North Carolina Senator Richard Burr, a distant descendant of “Hamilton” star Aaron Burr. (The House counterpart committee has no credibility left after the antics of Devin Nunes.) Senator Burr, who has said this is his last term in Congress, said last night he was “troubled by the timing and reasoning” of FBI Director Comey’s firing last night. Burr has thus far collaborated with the ranking Democrat on the Committee, Mark Warner of Virginia, who has said the investigation into Russian involvement with the Trump campaign and the 2016 election “may very well be the most important thing I do in my public life.”
All this heartens me, as do Warner’s law degree and tech cred.
I presume and hope that neither Senator retains any ambition for higher office, as Warner has in the past. I presume and hope neither has any financial ties to the Trump Organization or the Russian state.
Their success also hinges on their capacity to summon and manage experts in financial and online data analytics and Russian studies, to withstand the pressures of authoritarian personalities and media exposure, to command respect from both political parties and FBI agents, and to follow the truth and the law in the spirit of patriotism.
Right now, Burr and Warner are the linchpin in the American republic.
