Mastering The Room

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Aaron Pickering, an alumnus of the Strategic Public Relations program at GSPM and a brand strategist with executive-level experience in strategic planning, campaign development and integrated marketing.

Over the course of his career, Aaron has worked with several organizations in a variety of communications capacities — including nonprofits like Equal Justice Works, the Direct Care Alliance and the Fair Labor Association; in-house at companies like Ceres, Inc.; and in a consulting role with a variety of corporate clients through his work at the Cone, a major communications agency focused on corporate social responsibility.

Most recently, he served as Director of Brand Strategy at FIRST, a non-profit organization that focuses on inspiring young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, as well as serving as an adjunct professor of public relations at GSPM, where he continues to pass on the lessons he’s learned to the next generation of communicators.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Stephanie Schriock, an alumna of the Political Management program at GSPM and one of the leading lights of the Democratic Party today.

For more than a decade, Stephanie has been the President of EMILY’s List, which seeks to recruit, train and support pro-choice Democratic women running for office up and down the ballot all across the country. In that role, she has helped raised hundreds of millions of dollars, helped thousands of women win, and served as a trusted advisor to some of the most powerful figures in Democratic politics.

Prior to her time at EMILYs List, Stephanie cut her teeth out on the campaign trail, serving in multiple roles at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and as National Finance Director on Governor Howard Dean’s influential 2004 presidential campaign. She also served as campaign manager for both Jon Tester and Al Franken’s successful Senate runs in 2006 and 2008, respectively, where she got a front row seat and played a decisive role in two of the closest elections in modern political history.

And after learning all those lessons over all those years, she’s now passing them on. She’s written a book titled Run to Win: Lessons in Leadership for Women Changing the World, which is now available where you buy books, in which she shares the lessons from her time at EMILYs List and elsewhere in hopes of helping to inspire and prepare the next generation of women who are looking to lead.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Jamie Robinette, an alumna of the Legislative Affairs program at GSPM and a veteran of the legislative branch. To date, Jamie has spent nearly two decades working on Capitol Hill in a variety of roles, including as a long-time aide and Chief of Staff to Rep. John Culberson and as Chief of Staff to Rep. Ross Spano.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Ianthe Metzger, an alumna of the Strategic Public Relations program at GSPM and a veteran communicator who has spent time in the press shops of some of Washington’s biggest nonprofits and progressive organizations.

Ianthe began her career with labor organizations like the AFL-CIO and Working America, before spending several years in a variety of communications roles at the Human Rights Campaign — the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the United States.

In between stints at HRC, she also spent time at the progressive powerhouse consulting firm, BerlinRosen. And today, she serves as the Deputy Director of Campaign Communications at EMILYs List, where she spends her days working to elect pro-choice Democratic women to offices up and down the ballot.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Mark Strand, an alumnus of (and more recently, a professor for) the Legislative Affairs program at GSPM and a long-time veteran of the legislative branch.

Mark spent more than two decades working on both sides of Capitol Hill in a variety of leadership roles, including as Chief of Staff to Senator Jim Talent and Congressmen Bill Lowery and Stan Parris, and as staff director of the House Committee on Small Business.

Sandwiched in between all those congressional stops, he also spent time as the Vice President of Government Affairs for the American Water Works Company, the largest publicly held water utility in the United States.

And since 2007, Mark has served as the President of the Congressional Institute — a non-profit founded in 1987 that is dedicated to helping Members of Congress better serve their constituents and helping their constituents better understand the operations of the national legislature.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Afshin Mohamadi, an alumnus of the Political Management program at GSPM and a senior brand and communications strategist, who advises some of the world’s most prominent companies on high-value challenges.

Afshin honed his craft on Capitol Hill, where he spent nearly a decade in communications roles with Senator Robert Menendez, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and then-Congressman now-Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Since leaving the Hill, he has spent the last several years developing a scientific, data-driven approach to brand communications at recognized firms like Kelton Global and Penn Schoen Berland. Today he’s a partner at Quadarant Strategies, where he advises clients on how to win customers and build their reputations.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Steve Benen, an alumnus of the Political Management program at GSPM and an Emmy-winning television producer, author and political commentator who was one of the early pioneers of the progressive blogosphere.

In addition to founding his own influential blog, The Carpetbagger Report, Steve has been an editor and contributor to several other leading online outlets, including Salon.com and Talking Points Memo, among many others. From 2008 to 2012, he also served as the lead blogger for the Washington Monthly’s “Political Animal” blog.

Since 2012, he’s been a producer for MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, one of the most-watched and highly respected primetime cable news programs in the United States — and where he also won two Emmys for his work in 2017. And to add on top of all of that, he just published his first book, The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics, in June 2020.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Tanya Bradsher, an alumna of the Strategic Public Relations program at GSPM and a veteran policy professional with experience in virtually every corner of American government — from her distinguished career in the U.S. Army to her time at various Executive Branch agencies and even the White House to now in the halls of Congress.

Tanya served in the U.S. Army for 13 years, serving in a variety of role and in multiple locations around the world, receiving the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star for significant achievement and distinguished service, and rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before her retirement in 2013.

She also served in multiple communications and public affairs roles within the Obama Administration, including at the White House Office of Public Engagement, the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.

Following her time in the Administration, she worked as Chief of Communications for the American Psychiatric Association, the primary professional organization for psychiatrists in the United States, before returning to government to take her current role as Chief of Staff to Congressman Don Beyer of Virginia.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Lance Mangum, an alumnus of the Political Management program at GSPM and a veteran government affairs professional with extensive experience working with some of the most successful companies in the world, like Capital One and FedEx, as well as working in the political sphere on a variety of campaigns and causes.

Currently, Lance is the Staff Vice President over Government Affairs for FedEx, where he manages the Federal Government Affairs team to promote the legislative, political, public policy and diplomatic interests of FedEx Corporation and all of its operating companies here in Washington, D.C.

On this episode of Mastering The Room, we’re joined by Anne Caprara, an alumna of the Political Management program at GSPM and one of the Democratic Party’s most universally respected political operatives, who has managed and consulted with candidates and elected officials at every level of state and federal government.

And that’s not an understatement: From her work on Capitol Hill as chief of staff to two different congresswomen to her time overseeing the political operation for the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm to her role leading the largest Super PAC in the history of American politics — and not to mention the many campaigns she’s managed up and down the ballot in between — Anne really has done it all.

Currently, she serves as Chief of Staff to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, where she’s got a lot on her plate all the time, but especially right now as she advises the governor on the state’s response to the coronavirus crisis and ongoing economic recession.