This morning I had a long talk with Michael Brown '86. He is EPA’s Associate Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, and has a long history in DC politics, starting from the time he graduated from UPS and took an internship in the White House during the Reagan Administration. From there he worked on the George Bush Sr. campaign and joined his press office when Bush was elected. During the Clinton Administration he took a position with Fleishman-Hillard, and helped set up their Seattle office. He returned to DC to take his current position in the EPA. You can find more about him on the EPA's website here.
Michael described his current position as one which is focused on helping to translate scientific knowledge to relevant audiences, such as Congress or the public. He describes his current job as one of the most "fulfilling, rewarding, and challenging" jobs he's ever held.
What advice did Michael have for our majors? If you are interested in politics, come out to DC and do an internship--see what it is like and if it is for you. He commented that the internal culture of the beltway is far different from what outsiders might discern from the media. His own career began not in science, but in student politics on campus, so you never know where your interests and energy can take you.
To that end, we talked about paid internships at the EPA in DC. Interested in going out to DC, getting some hands-on experience, working with an alum, and getting paid in the process? Let me know.
We hope to have Michael out to speak to our students, perhaps as soon as this fall. I'll keep you posted. Thanks so much to him for taking the time to talk to me and offer to share his experiences with our department.
Finally, I'd like to put together a gathering of DC-area department alums and students sometime this fall. So if you are or will be in the DC area and we haven't already talked, do drop me an email.
