Cecilia Bernard grew up in Winona, Minnesota, and when the 2008 financial crisis hit her family hard, it pulled her attention toward policy and politics. “I started focusing on world events because of the direct impact on my family,” Cecilia said. “I wanted to be sure our policymakers were holding folks accountable.”
She attended Drake University in Des Moines to be close to the Iowa caucuses. Cecilia studied politics and economics and worked during two presidential election cycles. She first volunteered on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and later served as a campus organizer for Elizabeth Warren in 2020.
After moving to Washington DC, Cecilia spent four years working on grassroots advocacy for the Declaration for American Democracy Coalition, building support for the For the People Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. Working alongside the coalition’s lobbying team, she watched sharp, policy-minded advocates build bipartisan relationships, even with offices unlikely to support the legislation. “When I realized most legislative changes are decades long, I knew I wanted to work in government advocacy,” Cecilia said.
Today, Cecilia serves as Outreach Manager at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), where she leads external affairs and works with the policy team on Capitol Hill outreach. She is also in her final year of the Master of Policy Management program at Georgetown University.
The Bryce Harlow Foundation’s emphasis on ethics and integrity inspired Cecilia to apply for the Fellowship, as did the opportunity for mentorship. With Genna Gent as her mentor, she is looking forward to exploring the many possible paths a career in government advocacy can take. “It really is the people you surround yourself with that get you through,” Cecilia said.
