A Passion for Policy and Putting in the Work: Ludwig Fellows Visit Washington, D.C.

For the second year in a row, students in the Carol and Gene Ludwig Program in Public Sector Leadership, part of The Tsai Leadership Program at Yale Law School, visited Washington, D.C., this spring to meet with leaders from across the spectrum of public service.

The trip provided a glimpse into the long hours and passion for policymaking that power many careers in the nation’s capital.

According to Margie Adler, co-head of The Tsai Leadership Program and executive director of the Ludwig Program, the trip offered an opportunity for law students to ask questions of experienced leaders as they plot their own career paths.

“The trip provided a glimpse into a broad cross section of careers in the public sector and provided students with examples of how lawyers have moved between the public and private sector over the course of their careers,” said Adler.

This is the third year students have had an opportunity to deeply engage with public sector leadership in an immersive setting. Last year, students visited Washington, D.C.; in 2023, they visited Sacramento, California.

This year, students were each asked to moderate a discussion with an invited speaker, which gave them a chance to put their own skills into action. Adler said she hoped the students would get a deeper look into the guest they were speaking with, be able to respond in real time to issues that came up in the interviews, and gain strength and confidence in public speaking. “They all really enjoyed that, and they enjoyed watching their peers moderating,” said Adler. 

The students’ agenda kicked off with a meeting with Michael Schmidt ’15, former director of the CHIPS Program Office at the U.S. Department of Commerce, who talked about his experience improving the semiconductor industry in the U.S. 

Then, they heard from Travis LeBlanc ’03, a partner at Cooley, who co-chairs the firm’s global cyber, data, and privacy practice. LeBlanc spoke with students about his work on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which monitors civil liberties for national security organizations in the United States, and his experience moving between the public and private sectors.

After lunch, the students spoke with Michael S. Barr ’92, vice chair for supervision with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — and had the rare opportunity to meet in the boardroom of the Federal Reserve Building.

For Tomás Russo ’26, visiting the U.S. Federal Reserve and meeting with Barr was the highlight of the trip. 

Russo said he became a Ludwig Fellow to explore nontraditional careers and leadership roles in consumer protection and plaintiff-side private law litigation, particularly at the state and local level.

The visit to the U.S. Federal Reserve “was a unique opportunity to learn about the role of the Federal Reserve and how key decisions are made — while sitting in the very boardroom where those decisions take place,” he said. “I also found Governor Barr’s career path prior to his current role — jumping between the Department of Treasury and academia — to be particularly interesting.”

I took away that being open to opportunities, even if they don’t seem perfect in the moment, can lead to great outcomes.” 
—Tomás Russo ’26

In the evening, the students attended a reception at the Grand Hyatt Washington, which was attended by more than 60 Yale Law School alumni. The event was an opportunity for alumni in D.C. to hear more about the program and for students to meet their peers working in the public interest. 

Ludwig Fellow Nellie Conover-Crockett ’26 intends to work as a public defender after law school and said the event was a standout part of the trip. 

“Many attendees were recent grads, so it was a good opportunity to meet people closer to my stage in life. Since most of our panelists were further along in their careers, the happy hour provided helpful context for what public service and government careers look like a few years out of law school,” she said.

The following day, students headed to Capitol Hill, where they stopped by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ office to meet with Cassandra Fields ’11, chief oversight counsel for the Office of the Democratic Leader, who talked about the differences between working in the House and the Senate.

Conover-Crockett co-moderated the discussion with Fields with Tyler Walls ’25. 

“Cassie was willing to be candid about the hard parts of her job, especially in the current political climate,” Conover-Crockett said. “It was also fascinating to learn how different parts of the government work together.”

Another theme of this year’s trip: working hard in Washington can also mean being willing to pivot. Most of the invited speakers had worked in roles in both public service and private practice and could toggle between the two, said Adler.

On the trip, students met with another Law School graduate who exemplified this kind of transition. Dana Remus ’02, a partner at Covington, previously served as assistant to the president and White House counsel for President Biden. She now draws on her expertise in policy in her law practice, where she advises clients on public policy issues, government regulatory enforcement trends, election and political law, congressional investigations, and ethics.

In the evening, students were hosted by Gene Ludwig ’73 for a dinner with special guest Wally Adeyemo ’09, former United States deputy secretary of the Treasury.

“I really enjoyed hearing Wally speak about how his career has unfolded, especially how the unexpected relationships and skills he developed in his first jobs have helped him jump across issue areas,” said Conover-Crockett. “It was a treat to dine with someone like him.”

On the final day of the trip, students met with Chris Lu, representative of the United States of America to the United Nations for Management and Reform, and Katie Thomson, the former deputy administrator to the Federal Aviation Administration. Lu discussed his work in the Obama administration, while Thomson provided background related to recent aviation accidents in the news, as well as the role of the FAA in investigating and working to improve aviation safety.

Following that meeting, students heard from Lane Dilg ’04, the head of infrastructure policy and partnerships for OpenAI and former city manager of Santa Monica, who talked about the policy implications of the burgeoning AI industry as well as her role leading a California city. 

Russo, who moderated the discussion with Dilg, said he enjoyed hearing her perspective on public service and career pivots. 

“She has one of the most fascinating and wide-ranging career paths I’ve encountered — having worked in a company, a federal agency, a city government, a state university, a U.S. Attorney’s office, the Senate, a nonprofit, a law firm, and a judge’s chambers,” he said. 

The last meeting of the day was with Natalie Quillian, a management consultant and former White House deputy chief of staff who worked in the Biden and Obama administrations.

Before returning to New Haven, students had an opportunity to share reflections from their time in D.C. over lunch in small groups and with the entire cohort.

Russo said his biggest takeaway from the trip was the importance of building a good reputation when pursuing a career in government — and putting in the hours. “Consistently performing well and putting in extra work really matters,” he said.

“I was also struck by how many of the leaders we met took unexpected turns in their career paths. I took away that being open to opportunities, even if they don’t seem perfect in the moment, can lead to great outcomes,” he said.