By Tom LoBianco
Center for Public Leadership alumni from around the nation’s capital gathered last week for food and good conversation at Chef Geoff’s in Washington.
CPL’s faculty director Anthony Foxx introduced alumni to CPL’s new executive director, Matt Segneri, as they chatted up the center’s mission to equip principled, effective public leaders in government, politics, civil society, and business.
Foxx talked about meeting recently with David Gergen, founding director of CPL and a longtime adviser to four different presidents over the course of his storied career. Gergen started the center a quarter century ago with the core focus of training students for careers in public leadership.
“He’s a hero of mine,” Foxx said. Reflecting back on a conversation he had with Gergen a few months prior, Foxx recalled a statement Gergen said that has stuck with him since. “David looked at me and said ‘Okay, the torch has been passed.’”
It’s with great enthusiasm and care that CPL’s new leadership carry this torch today. Foxx and Segneri said they look forward to hearing more about what CPL alumni are doing in their communities so CPL can help tout their service.
“One of the abiding things that is true about the students and alumni, the faculty and staff who come through (CPL) is the belief that the privilege of an excellent education comes with the responsibility to make a better world for others,” Segneri said.
Former Harvard Kennedy School senior associate dean and director of degree programs, Joseph McCarthy and his wife, Marina McCarthy, were also present at the event. They chatted with alums of all ages who came through a number of CPL’s fellowship programs.
CPL is looking forward to hosting more regional gatherings for alumni as part of a broader effort to keep the CPL community connected and engaged. The next CPL alumni reception will be held in Boston, May 16. CPL alumni in advance.