GU Politics Fall 2020 Fellows Announced to Celebrate Fifth Anniversary

JOHN WOOLLEY: GU Politics celebrated its fifth anniversary by announcing a new lineup of fellows for the upcoming fall semester on its website Wednesday morning. The group features expertise from a wide range of political spheres, including veterans of public service, the campaign trail, the newsroom, and more. 

Among this year’s cohort of high profile figures are Kevin Hassett, former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers in the Trump administration, and former Rep. Mia Love (R-UT). The list also features central players from the recent Democratic presidential primary, such as Faiz Shakir (LAW ’06), manager of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, and Lis Smith, senior communications advisor for Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign. Finally, Errin Haines, Editor at Large of The 19th, and CNN commentator Mary Katharine Ham both feature as prominent voices from the media.

The fellows program, now moving into its eleventh consecutive semester, enables students to build relationships and learn alongside experienced professionals from all walks of political life. Students are able to participate by attending fellows’ office hours, joining weekly discussion groups, or by applying to join student strategy teams. On these teams, students work alongside their assigned fellow to perform outreach on campus and research new political strategies.

Paula Pecorella, manager of the fellows program and career programming at GU Politics, expressed excitement about this year’s selection. “We took special care in curating this cohort who we know will give students a unique insight into the campaign trail, the newsroom, Congress, and the White House,” she said. 

Students will first get to meet the fellows during GU Politics’ Open House scheduled for Thursday, September 10, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. In line with GU Politics’ wider transition to an online environment amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, both the open house and subsequent meetings with this semester’s fellows will be held online via Zoom. GU Politics also plans to announce more “special” fifth anniversary activities over the coming months.

John Woolley is a reporter, musician, and executive editor for On the Record. He is a junior and studies government and journalism in the College.