Bryce Harlow Foundation

The Bryce Harlow Foundation is pleased to announce its 2013-14 class of Bryce Harlow Fellows. Our prestigious fellowship is awarded to exceptional graduate students with career goals in government relations and lobbying who demonstrate high academic achievement and leadership skills. Bryce Harlow Fellows attend graduate school part-time while working full-time in a variety of settings, including Capitol Hill, government agencies, lobbying firms and trade associations.

The Bryce Harlow Fellowship selection was once again a very competitive process.  The committee, chaired this year by Jo Cooper, selected 20 fellows from almost 70 applications that were submitted on-line for the first time this year. The new class of fellows represents six major universities, including American University, the Catholic University of America, George Mason University, George Washington University, Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University.  Three Fellows are MBA students, six are studying law, and 11 are pursuing Masters degrees in public policy and government.

The Foundation considers its Bryce Harlow Fellows to be the future of professional advocacy – those who are committed to practicing the art of lobbying with the highest level of integrity.  In addition to the $8,000 award, Fellows participate in mentoring relationships with the Foundation’s board of governors. Applications for the 2014-15 academic year will be available on our website in January.

Bryce Harlow Foundation 2013-14 Fellows

The following post comes from current and former Bryce Harlow Fellow Natalie McIntyre. Ms. McIntyre received the award in 2011 and 2012. She is now a policy administrative assistant at K&L Gates. Ms. McIntyre earned a Master of Public Policy degree at Georgetown University.

The Bryce Harlow fellowship has truly been an amazing and rewarding experience. My relationships through the foundation have given me the opportunity to work at the GOP Presidential convention, sit with Senator John McCain at the rewards dinner, and gain a mentor who is very well-respected and well-known in the policy world. My mentor was not only someone I looked up to and trusted for career advice, but she was (and is) a true friend and I know our relationship will continue to grow.

Not only are the members of the foundation inspirational, but so are the other fellows — past and present. The BHF has a gift for bringing together fellows from all different backgrounds, and with different experiences, but we all have the same goal — to be the future leaders of America.

The combination of the people, the experience, and the reputation of being a Bryce Harlow Fellow has truly been gratifying and rewarding in countless ways and I am truly honored that I have had the opportunity to be a part of this incredible family.

The Bryce Harlow Foundation is excited to award Lindsey Mears with the winning paper from the Ethics in Lobbying Workshop. Ms. Mears is a recent graduate of the Masters degree program in Political Communication at American University. She participated in the Ethics in Lobbying Workshop to enhance her understanding of both the perception and legislation of lobbying activity. She is currently working at an advocacy nonprofit and wants to continue working in issue advocacy.

You can read the full text of her paper here.

Congratulations to Representative John Dingell, who will become the longest-serving representative in history on June 7, 2013! Representing the 12th congressional district of Michigan, Rep. Dingell is the current Dean of the House of Representatives. He was awarded the Bryce Harlow Foundation award in 1996 for his years of committed service in the House of Representatives as a part of a career that echoes the work and life of Bryce Harlow.

Rep. Dingell was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1956 and has been reelected 29 times since then. He began his career by fighting for civil rights, clean water, Medicare, and American workers’ rights. Throughout his tenure, he has also advocated for protecting American jobs, improving the safety of our food and drug supply, strengthening consumer product safety, and implementing pipeline safety measures. He has authored many acts and bills over his career, including the Endangered Species Act, the 1990 Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Affordable Care Act, and the Patient’s Bill of Rights.

The Bryce Harlow Foundation would like to extend its congratulations to Rep. Dingell for this historic accomplishment!

Today’s post comes from Leigh Ann Pusey, president and CEO of the American Insurance Association and the Vice Chairman of the Bryce Harlow Foundation.

One can’t open a newspaper, watch television or scan social media without being overwhelmed by the partisan tone which has engulfed seemingly every public policy debate in Washington. Whether it’s healthcare or immigration, sequestration or tax reform; it appears as if all public policy matters have been classified as either liberal or conservative, thus dooming them to partisan gridlock. In reality, those of us working in government relations should recognize that public policy outcomes must always be directed toward the greater good. For the legislation we often seek to develop affects real working people each and every day.

The challenges currently facing our country and this Congress are complex and go beyond simple partisan talking points. As public policy advocates, our commitment must be to advance workable solutions which transcend the all too prevalent political tone in our society. We must champion the core pillars of our profession to build coalitions and unite diverse voices to help solve these pressing challenges.

When Bryce Harlow received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, it was for, “A life spent reconciling divergent interests, serving high moral principles, and channeling the forces of public policy toward the public good.” We must follow his example and commitment to service. The issues our country faces are too great to be eternally mired by political disagreement. They represent an opportunity to serve our nation by advancing solutions that truly benefit the greater good.

Today’s post comes from Charlie Black’s acceptance speech at the Bryce Harlow Foundation Awards Dinner.

In a city where pride often trumps humility, our 2013 Bryce Harlow Foundation Awards Dinner honoree Charlie Black regards Bryce Harlow as the “greatest man ever to practice our profession.”

“Bryce Harlow proved that you don’t have to be an elected official to make a big difference in public policy or in the direction of the government,” he said.  “Bryce spent the majority of his time mentoring and advising others as anonymously as he could. It was said of him that in a room this size, full of people, almost every one of them had received advice from Bryce Harlow and none of them knew it about the others.”

Mr. Black listed six characteristics that Bryce Harlow himself deemed to be invaluable to a lobbyist: Integrity, willingness to work hard, adaptability to change, humility and perspective, and understanding of the processes of government and the ability to assimilate details. Mr. Black specifically focused on humility, saying it is the hardest to achieve.

“It’s about your company, your industry, your client, the thousands of employees and potential employees and consumers that you represent,” he said. Understate your role and lift up your client; lift up your business.”

We were pleased to honor Mr. Black at our Bryce Harlow Foundation Awards Dinner because of his proven dedication to the advocacy industry.

Today’s post comes from Senator Mark Warner’s acceptance speech at the Bryce Harlow Awards Dinner. 

At the Bryce Harlow Awards Dinner on April 16, honoree Senator Mark Warner urged guests to practice bipartisanship in politics and to reach out to the other side of the aisle.

“As a former business guy, I always thought it was strange, as I went into politics, to think that people in politics would suddenly decide that they divide the room into red and blue and say, ‘I’m only going to take ideas from this side of the room and not from that side of the room,’” he said.

Senator Warner specifically cited the issue of both debt and deficit as an area where a bipartisan approach is necessary. He directly appealed to the guests to find someone with differing views and discuss these issues.

“We will not be destroyed from outside; we can only be destroyed if we are unwilling to step up and take responsibility of paying our bills and making sure our country’s fiscal path and balance sheet is set on the right path,” he said.

Senator Warner’s call for both sides of the aisle to work together is one that Bryce Harlow himself championed, which is one of the many reasons we were pleased to honor Senator Warner at our awards dinner.

Today’s post comes from Al Thompson, principal at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti.

Too many of the American people hold this common assumption that lobbyists are merely
a special interest group whose sole purpose is to help the privileged receive favors from the government; and unfortunately, there are too few stories available to combat such judgment. The truth is that we spend a great deal of our time advocating for clients who cover wide swaths of society. For instance, over the past three years I have had the distinct privilege to represent Monster.com, along with its subsidiary Military.com. Military.com is the largest military member website in the country with over 9 million subscribers, and it remains one of the top ten largest news sites on the internet.

Military.com has put forth a significant effort to develop a system that assists military
personnel as they search for employment once they leave the service. It has also conducted extensive research on the barriers that military members often face when trying to find civilian employment. Our government, along with the private sector, has created many successful programs that have resulted in veterans getting hired; however, even despite these triumphs the veteran unemployment rate remains well above the national average. The primary barrier for a veteran seeking work is their ability to translate his or her skills in a way that civilian employers can understand. I can speak personally about this issue, for I have experienced this challenge myself; when I left the military, I had to pay someone who could translate my resume in such a way that it highlighted my qualifications for work on Capitol Hill.

It has been an absolute privilege to work with executives from Military.com and share in their pursuit to educate Members of Congress, and their staffs, on the ways that our government can harness technology to improve the employment transition programs for military personnel. These efforts have resulted in the improvement such programs, such as the Vow to Hiring Heroes Act. I can say that when President Obama signed this law into action, it was one of my proudest days as a lobbyist, because I was able to serve those who serve us.

Today’s post comes from National Retail Federation president and CEO, and Bryce Harlow board member, Matthew Shay.

This week, hundreds of Washington, D.C. professionals, including Members of Congress and association presidents came together to honor a great man and D.C. legend, Bryce Harlow.

During the 32nd Annual Bryce Harlow Foundation Awards Dinner, which I had the honor and pleasure to chair, hundreds of lobbyists, government affairs representatives, corporate executives and communicators gathered to remember this great man, his legacy, and commitment to public service and professional advocacy.

At the dinner, we took time to honor the extraordinary class of 2012-2013 Bryce Harlow Fellows – 20 in all – and presented awards to two most-distinguished recipients, Mr. Charlie Black and U.S. Senator Mark Warner.

Senator Mark Warner was the proud recipient of the 2013 Bryce Harlow Award for his contributions to the business-government relationship. Serving with honor as both as the 69th governor and now senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia (my home state), Sen. Warner has fought tirelessly to incorporate free market principles into government, and has reached out to business, trade associations and even Republicans (it happens) to focus the nation’s attention on our deficit and debt.

Senator Warner is an exceptional politician and leader, and most deserving of this
distinguished award.

Charlie Black of Prime Policy Group received the 2013 Business-Government Relations Award for his active contributions to advocacy and public policy. Black has been a trusted advisor and counsel to numerous corporations, clients, presidents and candidates alike – from Barry Goldwater to Mitt Romney. His dedication, trustworthiness and loyalty to his beliefs and his clients have been at the cornerstone of his 30-year career and his laudable success in both public and private service.

Charlie is truly the embodiment of this noble distinction.

The 32nd Annual Bryce Harlow Foundation Awards Dinner is more than just another dinner; it is a time to honor those who dedicated their lives and careers to public service and a moment to welcome a new class of government relations professionals and advocates.

I would like to personally thank Foundation Chairman Juanita Duggan, Foundation President Linda Dooley, U.S. Senate Chaplain Dr. Barry C. Black and U.S. Senators John McCain and Jerry Moran for their time, service and commitment and those who sponsored the 2013 awards dinner. Thank you for keeping Bryce’s legacy alive.

Today’s post comes from Prof. Thomas Merrill, who will be presenting at tomorrow’s Bryce Harlow Ethics and Lobbying Workshop.

Discussions of the moral responsibilities of lobbyists often start and end with legal obligations. Yet the law may well be problematic in many different ways: it may be the product of “regulatory capture,” short-sighted reform efforts, or even outright manipulation by interest groups. To navigate professional life successfully, then, we need to cultivate some sense of ethical virtues that go beyond merely “following the letter of the law.”

In this session we will discuss the U.S. Constitution and the political theory of the Federalist Papers as one example of how to think about that broader sense of ethical virtue. The Federalist Papers are based on a steely realism about the power of self-interest to lead to tyranny and an optimism that institutions can be designed to channel interests into the service of the public good. A good constitution recognizes that interests and interest groups will always be with us but can be made to check or restrain each other: “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.”  One way the Constitution uses ambition to check ambition is by multiplying the number and kinds of interests and allowing them to compete with each other.

On this view, lobbying plays an important and necessary role in the constitutional order. The Federalist invites us, not to deny the reality of interests, but to elevate them and see them from the perspective of the overall constitutional order and the overall public good.  It invites us to see lobbying, not as the crass pursuit of self-interest, but as a kind of statesmanship requiring virtues such as prudence, intelligence, and integrity.