Contact Biography Elizabeth Klein is an experienced leader in clean energy, climate change, and environmental law and policy. Klein most recently served as the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management at the U.S. Department of the Interior, responsible for the management of America’s offshore energy and mineral resources. Prior to assuming that role,…
Contact Biography Mike Nelson is the Chief of Staff/ Director of Communications at Penn Washington, the University of Pennsylvania’s office in Washington, D.C. He is also a member of the Atlantic Council’s Counterterrorism Project. Michael Nelson most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Global Energy Security Institute and, prior to that, as…
Biography Aaleyah is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania from Bentonville, Arkansas, studying Political Science and Africana Studies in the College, with a language certificate in Mandarin Chinese. She is passionate about advocacy, law, public policy, and social change, with particular interests in criminal justice, educational equity, and voting rights. She enjoys learning about other…
Biography Taran Courchesne is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania and a Domestic Programs Intern at Penn Washington. At Penn, Taran majors in Politics, Philosophy & Economics, with a concentration in Global Affairs. Taran’s policy interests lie in the areas of technology, AI, the environment, and domestic economics. He also has an innate interest…
Biography Yahel Tamir is a junior from Boston, Massachusetts, studying Political Science and Modern Middle East Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. He is particularly interested in diplomacy and public relations, with a regional focus on the Middle East, and hopes to pursue a career at the intersection…
Biography Celeste Wallander is the Executive Director of Penn Washington, the University of Pennsylvania’s office in Washington, D.C. She also serves as a Senior Advisor at WestExec Advisors and is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Additionally, Celeste is a Visiting Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. With over…
Biography Jim Cooper represented two Nashville area districts in the House, the first from 1983 to 1995 and the second from 2003 to 2023. In 1994, he ran for the Senate seat from Tennessee vacated by Al Gore when he was elected vice president, losing to Republican Fred Thompson. A moderate “blue dog” Democrat, he served…
Biography After 14 years in the Pennsylvania House and Senate, Charlie Dent served seven terms in Congress from a district in eastern and south-central Pennsylvania. He was a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee, chairing subcommittees on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and served for two years as chairman of the Ethics Committee. He was also…
Biography Byron L. Dorgan was a congressman and senator for North Dakota for 30 years before retiring from the Senate in 2011. In the Senate, he served for 16 years in party leadership positions, first as assistant Democratic floor leader and then as chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. He served as chairman of the Senate…
Contact New York Times best-selling author Julian E. Zelizer has been among the pioneers in the revival of American political history. He is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University and a CNN Political Analyst, a regular guest on NPR’s “Here and Now,” a guest host on…