The Graduate School of Political Management at the George Washington University announced the appointment of former U.S. Reps. Mike Bishop (R-Mich.) and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) and former Obama administration senior official and Capitol Hill staffer Dana Gresham as GSPM Fellows for the 2021-22 academic year.
GSPM fellows enrich the learning experience of GW graduate students in a number of ways, sharing the experiences and expertise they have gained throughout distinguished careers in politics and advocacy as guest lecturers, panel speakers, and case study contributors.
Lara Brown, GSPM director, said that the new fellows’ “political experiences and partisan attachments are richly varied, but it is evident that each of them possesses a deep commitment to public service.”
“I am confident that our students will not only benefit from learning about some of their past decisions and present perspectives on national politics but they also will be inspired by their career paths,” she said.
Mr. Bishop represented Michigan’s 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. During his two terms in Congress, he garnered appointments to key House committees such as Ways and Means, Judiciary and Higher Education. He was an original co-sponsor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and focused his legislative efforts on supporting the military and veterans as well as small businesses. He went to Congress after spending 12 years in both chambers of the Michigan legislature, culminating in a term as Michigan Senate majority leader from 2007 to 2011. Since leaving Congress, Mr. Bishop founded the Michigan consulting firm American General Counsel PLC, where he serves as president.
“After years of public service at both the state and federal level, I am honored to be included as one of the GSPM fellows for the 2021-22 academic year,” Mr. Bishop said. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to share my experience with the next generation of leaders of our great republic.”
Ms. Mucarsel-Powell served in the House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021, representing Florida’s 26th congressional district. She made history as the first South American-born member of Congress and the first Latina Democrat elected to Congress from Florida. A fervent advocate for Latinos in the United States and throughout the Americas, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell spearheaded legislation to grant Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and secure $400 million in aid for people in Venezuela and other Latin American countries. She was also an influential voice in Congress for Everglades restoration and gun reform. Ms. Mucarsel-Powell remains active in the struggle against gun violence, serving as a senior adviser at Giffords. She continues to support women striving to run for office in Florida.
"It is a great honor to join the GW Graduate School of Political Management as a fellow for the upcoming academic year,” Ms. Mucarsel-Powell said. “I believe that the only way we will be able to effect positive change in our government is by empowering the next generation of political leaders with opportunities to confront and solve the toughest challenges we face.”
Mr. Gresham is a D.C. mainstay with more than 25 years of federal government experience. The Alabama native spent most of his public service career on Capitol Hill, where he began working in 1994 and served as chief of staff to Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) from 2003 to 2008 and to Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) from 2018 to 2021. As Mr. Jones’s chief of staff, Mr. Gresham hired and managed more than 40 staffers and was the senator’s top policy and political adviser. He also served as the assistant secretary for government affairs in the U.S. Department of Transportation during the Obama administration, acting as the chief liaison to Congress as well as to state, local and tribal governments. He is currently a principal at Mindset, a D.C. public policy and advocacy firm.
“I’m thrilled to be appointed a GSPM fellow and honored to serve alongside two distinguished former members of Congress,” Mr. Gresham said. “I look forward to having the opportunity to engage GSPM’s outstanding students on some of the big issues driving our political discourse and help shape their career paths as they become the next generation of political leaders and policymakers.”
