Spring 2024 GU Politics Fellows Revealed

This past Friday, On the Record interviewed the Spring 2024 GU Politics Fellows. We talked with them about why they wanted to be a fellow and their experiences throughout their careers. The fellows’ discussion groups will begin the week of February 5.

Marc Short has served in a variety of important political positions, including Chief of Staff to former Vice President Mike Pence and Director of Legislative Affairs at the White House. He also has previously served on the Hill, both as a Chief of Staff to Senator Kay Bailey and to the House Republican Conference. He earlier served as the executive director of the Reagan Ranch, the rural California property that served as President Reagan’s vacation home and is now a renowned landmark and educational foundation. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Washington and Lee University and an MBA from the University of Virginia.

Short brings a wealth of experience from his early career at the Reagan Ranch in the late 1990s. Reflecting on this period, Short emphasized its profound impact on him and his family. He mentioned that he didn’t necessarily expect to get the role, but he definitely gained a lot from it. He shares the lesson he learned — the importance of embracing uncertainty and allowing life to unfold naturally. Despite the prevailing pressure on Georgetown students to plan their futures meticulously, Short encouraged students to navigate their paths with flexibility, taking things in stride.

When asked about his goals for the semester, Short said he wants Georgetown students to commit to critical thinking and formulate their personal opinions on key issues. Rather than accepting information at face value, Short advocates for students to gain a deeper understanding of the issue, one that might differ from their parents’ perspectives but that is still well-informed and supported.

Short’s discussion group is titled “Not Your Parents’ Parties: Political Party Realignment in the Modern Era” and will meet from 4:00-5:30 PM on Thursdays.

Val Demings is a former member of the House of Representatives who served Florida’s Tenth Congressional District for three terms between 2017 and 2023. Earlier in her distinguished career, she worked at the Orlando Police Department for 27 years and was appointed as its first female Chief of Police. In the House, she chaired the House Homeland Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. Additionally, she held membership in the Congressional Black Caucus, Women’s Caucus, and New Democratic Caucus, as well as serving as the Assistant and Regional Whip for the House Democrats. In 2022, she also ran for a U.S. Senate seat in her home state of Florida.

When asked about why she wanted to be a GU Politics Fellow, Rep. Demings said that she wanted to understand the younger generation and learn from them. Demings said she wants to help give young people the tools they need to mobilize and make an impact, helping turn students’ insights into real action through dynamic leadership.

For Demings, leadership is not about holding a fancy position. As she stated, “leadership is not the president of the United States or Congress”, but it’s instead regular people who use grassroots efforts to make real change. Every Georgetown student can become a leader by mobilizing and organizing with their friends to contribute meaningfully to causes that they care about, and those efforts don’t require a political position.

Demings’ discussion group is titled “Leadership and Politics: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” and will meet from 4:00-5:30 PM on Wednesdays.

Macalagh Carr

Macalagh Carr is an experienced political staffer, strategist, and counselor with decades of experience working on Capitol Hill and in the private sector. Most recently, she served as Chief of Staff to former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, where she navigated numerous high-profile conflicts and crises on the Hill. Previously, she served as General Counsel for the Speaker and Office of the Republican Leader and in key leadership roles for three congressional committees. Prior to working on the Hill, she worked at an international energy firm and practiced white-collar defense at Soonenschein, Nath, & Rosenthal LLP.

When asked about how Georgetown undergraduates can break into the Hill environment, Carr acknowledged that the Hill was a “small town” and that she could not overemphasize the importance of a network in building your career.

Carr also spoke about her reasons for becoming a GU Politics Fellow, including her excitement to work with young, bright individuals who can draw lessons from her experiences and share their own knowledge and intelligence with herself. She also acknowledged that politics on the Hill can often be dominated by an older crowd and thinks that working with young people would be refreshing.

Carr’s discussion group is titled “What’s the Constitution Got to Do With it? Law and Politics in the Modern Era” and will meet from 2:00-3:30 PM on Wednesdays.

Deanne Millison has served in a variety of roles on the Hill, including working as Deputy Chief of Staff for then-Senator Kamala Harris, and Chief Economic Advisor to Vice President Harris. Millison has worked in both the House and Senate and for former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel as his Deputy Legislative Director. She began her career working at the law firm Jenner & Block LLC.

Millison decided to become a GU Politics Fellow because she wanted to have genuine discussion on important issues with students. She wants to understand students’ perspective on social issues and learn from their creativity for potential solutions.

Millison also spoke about her previous roles in the Chicago local government, and the differences between working at the local and federal level. At the federal level, she explained that often issues can be oversimplified into party conflicts between Democrats and Republicans, but at the local level, it’s crucial to listen to everyone’s views and understand that voters’ concerns and ideas are often diverse and complex. Ultimately, working at the local level means paying attention to everyone’s problems and helping them improve their day-to-day lives, according to Millison.

Millison’s discussion group is titled “Corporations as Advocates: The Role Corporations Play in Advancing Social Issues” and will meet from 4:00-5:30 PM on Tuesdays.

Laura Barrón-López

Laura Barrón-López is currently PBS NewsHour’s White House Correspondent, where she reports on the Biden administration and national politics. She also works at CNN as a political analyst and previously worked as a White House reporter for POLITICO from 2018 to 2020. Since 2013, she has covered the House, Senate, and national politics for various networks and publications, including HuffPost, the Washington Examiner, and The Hill.

When asked about her motivations for joining the Fellows program, Barrón-López mentioned that, as a journalist, she wanted to hear student voices and understand their perspectives on important policy issues. She also said she wanted to have a serious conversation about the future of the country and its direction after the 2024 election.

Barrón-López discussed her experiences as a reporter and how she interacts with people on the ground when covering stories. Specifically, she recalled traveling to Lewiston, Maine, after a deadly mass shooting there claimed the lives of 18 innocent people. She explained that clear communication was important when working with these bereaved communities, who were often concerned about how their tragedy would be portrayed on national media. She said she treats reporting as a collaborative process and always wants her sources to know that she’s there to help them and answer their concerns.

Barrón-López’s discussion group is titled “The 2024 Story: Threats to Democracy” and will meet from 2:00-3:30 PM on Tuesdays.

Dan Lamothe is a national security writer at the Washington Post focused specifically on the U.S. military and its operations. He has traveled to numerous battlefields and operational sites with senior defense officials and U.S. military personnel to cover conflicts ranging from Afghanistan to the Arctic. Prior to joining the Washington Post in 2014, he reported for Foreign Policy magazine and the Military Times. Lamothe received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland.

Lamothe said he joined GU Politics as a Fellow to help students understand foreign policy from different perspectives. He wants to help students formulate their own opinions and solutions on U.S. defense policy and the numerous conflicts that are ongoing abroad.

When asked about how national security journalists frame the conflict from a balanced viewpoint, Lamothe explained that journalists have to patch smaller details together into the bigger picture. When traveling with senior defense officials, Lamothe said he may get parts of the story, but he also has to attend Pentagon briefings to help understand the bigger picture.

Lamothe’s discussion group is titled “War and Politics” and will meet from 4:00-5:30 PM on Mondays.

Peer Khan is a staff writer for On The Record. He is a freshman in the School of Foreign Service studying international politics from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.