Students for Mental Health Action (SMHA) on the steps of the U.S. Capitol

ISSUE 3 | APRIL 2026

Last month offered several powerful examples of the impact of our GSPM community.

Students for Mental Health Action (SMHA) brought 70 students to Capitol Hill (pictured above), where they met with 42 Senate offices across both parties to advocate for stronger student mental health policy. Building on the success of their first Hill Day, students shared their lived experiences and advanced thoughtful, actionable solutions, demonstrating the power of student voices in shaping meaningful policy conversations.

We also had the pleasure of welcoming students from the University of Navarra’s Master’s Degree program in Political and Corporate Communication. For more than 20 years, this partnership has brought students to Washington, DC, for a four-week experience focused on U.S. political communication and lobbying. It remains a cornerstone of our international outreach, and it’s always a highlight to engage with these students and hear their global perspectives on today’s political landscape.

With the holiday weekend ahead, we want to wish a  Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate. We hope you find time to rest, reflect, and enjoy time with family and friends.

Students from the University of Navarra's Master's Degree Program

FUTURE LEADERS

GW Giving Day is an opportunity for the GSPM community to come together and make a lasting impact on the students, programs, and initiatives that define our school.

Join us in supporting GSPM on April 7–8. Every contribution—no matter the size—along with sharing the campaign or showing your support, helps strengthen our mission and inspire the next generation of leaders.

Watch our GSPM Giving Day video below to see how even a small gift can make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students.

In This Issue:

ALUMNI IMPACT

GSPM ALUMNI DIRECTORS CIRCLE

by The Honorable Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
GSPM Executive Director

GSPM alumni are key to the strength and success of our community. The Alumni Directors Circle is a group of engaged alumni leaders who serve as ambassadors, advisors, and connectors helping to strengthen relationships across our community, support mentorship and career pathways, and ensure alumni voices help shape the future of GSPM.

Alumni Directors Circle members Samantha Joy Fay (GSPM Class of 2017) and Michael Pissos (GSPM Class of 2024) share why staying engaged matters and the impact alumni can have:

“It’s important for alumni to stay involved by supporting students, as it helps create a real-world support system that bridges the gap between education and career.

Whether it’s networking, professional opportunities, career guidance, or mentorship, these interactions foster a culture of giving back. Students who are positively impacted by alumni are more likely to pay it forward and stay engaged after graduation.

Strong alumni engagement adds value to any degree—but especially at GSPM, where success depends so heavily on relationships.”

“GSPM teaches you how power works, how ideas move, how decisions get made, and how to create change. But just as importantly, it develops leaders who are part of the solution in our politics, not the problem.

My experience didn’t just shape me as a strategist; it broadened how I understand people, giving me lasting relationships across the aisle and a deeper curiosity about the perspectives that shape our political system.

Staying engaged as an alum is how we carry that forward—by opening doors, sharing networks, and investing in the next generation of leaders who will strengthen our institutions and make our politics work better for everyone.”

Are you a GSPM alum ready to stay connected? Share your expertise, engage with students, and be part of upcoming events. Use the button below to learn more.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

by Dr. Casey Burgat
Director of the Legislative Affairs Program

In the latest episode of Crash Course, I sat down with Dr. Maya Kornberg of the Brennan Center to unpack a question that frustrates just about everyone who watches Washington: if Congress is so clearly in need of reform, why is it so hard to change?

Kornberg’s new book, Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress, offers a 50-year look at reform efforts inside the institution—focusing on three major waves of incoming lawmakers in 1974, 1994, and 2018. Each group arrived in Washington with a mandate to fix what they saw as a broken system. And each, in its own way, succeeded in reshaping how Congress operates.

But the story doesn’t end there.

As Kornberg explains, Congress has a unique ability to absorb reformers into the very system they hoped to change. New members quickly face the realities of the job: limited onboarding, intense pressure to fundraise, leadership structures that centralize power, and an incentive system that rewards attention over substance. The result is a persistent tension—members must “play the game” to gain the influence needed to change it.

Still, the conversation isn’t pessimistic. Far from it.

Kornberg highlights the lawmakers who have managed to navigate these constraints successfully—those who build coalitions, partner with more senior members, and patiently wait for the right moments to advance reform. Change, she argues, is rarely immediate. It is incremental, strategic, and often dependent on larger political moments, such as wave elections or periods of executive overreach.

The takeaway is both sobering and hopeful: Congress is not permanently broken—but it is deeply constrained. And meaningful reform will require not just new ideas, but lawmakers willing to organize, collaborate, and persist within the system long enough to reshape it.

BY THE NUMBERS

by Lesley Lopez
Director of the Public Relations & Communications Program

Reading the headlines this month, a few figures stood out as ones to watch and provide insights on what messaging we might see during the midterm elections and the summer of campaigning ahead of us. 

$4.02
One of the prevailing figures that indicates economic health and predicts populist attitudes is the average price for a gallon of regular gas. Currently, the average price is $4.02/gallon, the highest it’s been since 2022. In an era where “affordability” is the driving word behind most campaign narratives, it’s hard not to imagine that every candidate will have to address the cost of fuel and its economic impacts.

41%
According to a Fox News Poll from mid-March, 41% of people polled approved of Trump's performance as president. Historically, anytime a president has less than 50% approval, the midterm elections are likely to be a landslide for the opposition party. For reference:

   ⚬ 1994 (Bill Clinton: 46% approval): Democrats lost 54 seats, losing the House.

   ⚬ 2010 (Barack Obama: 45% approval ): Democrats lost 63 seats, losing the House.

   ⚬ 1982 (Ronald Reagan: 42%  approval): Republicans lost 26 seats.

8 to 1
The Supreme Court ruled against state’s bans on conversion therapy for minors in an 8-1 decision. The ruling is a victory for the Trump administration, who has argued that the crux of the case centered on freedom of speech, and marks the second conservative ruling about minors and gender identity in a year. Last year, SCOTUS upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender affirming care for children in a 6-3 ruling. The question is whether his reinvigorated socially-conservative base will translate into anything more than marginal increases in red state turnout or if continued threats to the LGBTQ+ communities will mobilize a significant counter effort.

TRADE & FOREIGN POLICY

by Dr. Todd Belt
Director of  the Political Management program

Typically, presidents see a dramatic increase in job approval when they use military force. Famously, George W. Bush achieved an 89% job approval rating following the liberation of Kuwait during the first Iraq War. Since using force against Iran, President Trump has only seen his approval numbers slide, recently to his lowest levels for this term at 35%, and only a point above his lowest during his first term. So, why no use-of-force approval bounce for Trump?

For over half a century, political scientists have noticed the trend of increasing public approval as it relates to the president’s use of force, termed the “Rally around the Flag” effect. The phenomenon even caught the eye of Hollywood, becoming a central theme of the 1997 hit movie Wag the Dog. But the use-of-force bounce in public approval depends upon a number of factors, many of which have not been met in the current military operation against Iran.

The first condition is that the president’s use of force must be in response to an aggression that is a jolt to the public (think the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or 9/11). As a response to an attack, it becomes easier to rally the public, with the press and the opposition party lining up behind the Commander in Chief. The rise in approval will persist as long as the president escapes criticism from political elites.

Secondly, there must be a perception of legitimacy to the military undertaking. In order to establish this legitimacy, the president needs to rally the American peoples and to forge an international coalition (much like both President Bushes did). After all, if other nations agree with us and contribute to the cause, we can claim the moral high-ground.

So, the reason President Trump hasn’t experienced the use-of-force bump is because he didn’t establish legitimacy by rallying the American or developing a coalition prior to the military action (outside of Israel). This left Trump open to attacks from the press and Democrats (and even some in his fiercest backers), negating the rally effect.

GLOBAL ALUMNI

by Dr. Natalia Dinello
Global Residencies Program Director & Assistant Professor

Students and Publio Madruga (center in the second row), on 
the Brazilian Senate Plenary floor, Brasilia, August 2025

The real test of the value of education is launching a successful professional career, and GSPM boasts many prominent alumni. Among them are international alumni who built distinguished careers in their native countries and consistently give back by offering enormous support to the Global Residencies Program.

Our exceptional alumni, Públio Madruga, Bruno Hoffmann, Cila Schulman, and Mauricio Moura, not only have achieved high corporate positions but also have made a lasting impact on the development of government relations and political analysis as professions in Brazil. Thanks to them, participants in the Brazil residencies could meet with presidential staff, ministers, senators, and members of the House of Representatives. Públio and Bruno even welcomed students to their homes, creating a sense of community and warmth that students remember long after their experiences abroad.

Similarly, Israel Navarro and Francisco Gaona, accomplished strategists for political campaigns, public affairs, and communication, are indispensable in facilitating our interactions with Mexico’s political powerholders and business leaders. In 2024, the students were warmly received by the Senator and GSPM alumna, Cynthia Lopez Castro. Invited to observe the proceedings of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, our group was announced in both settings, and students could shake hands and liaise with leading politicians.  

While in the United Kingdom in 2026, we greatly benefited from interactions with and help from Dan Sacker, Jeremy Ruch, Federica Rabiolo, and Raul Damas. A delightful tour of the Palace of Westminster, led by Lord Polak, and a session at the Henry Jackson Society, a think tank, would not have been possible without Dan’s involvement. Raul helped arrange a visit to the Brunswick Group. The strategic communication event, with Dan and Jeremy as panelists, offered useful advice to students and was a meaningful culmination of our adventures in London.

Our alumni transform what could be an academic exercise into an immersive, high-level practical experience, giving students direct exposure to political institutions and key decision-makers around the world. While proud of their success, we are most grateful for their remarkable commitment to GSPM students who learn from and seek to emulate their achievements.

After the strategic communication panel with Dan Sacker (left in the first row)
and Jeremy Ruch (third from left in the second row), London, March 2026

Joshua Englander, MA (Political Management, Class of 2010) has built a career at the intersection of government, business, and civic leadership, using his background in political strategy and stakeholder engagement to drive meaningful impact. As Founder of JE Strategies, he advises organizations on navigating complex political landscapes and building relationships with policymakers and community leaders across California.

He has held senior roles at Suffolk Construction and HNTB Corporation, where he led multi-state government relations efforts, strengthened public-private partnerships, and expanded political engagement initiatives. Earlier in his career, he worked on Capitol Hill and helped secure billions in federal funding for major infrastructure projects.

His career reflects the power of combining policy expertise with strategic relationship-building to influence outcomes and drive results across sectors—an example of the caliber of graduates GSPM prepares to lead and make an impact.

2026 Paul O'Dwyer Endowed Forum for Political Ethics
April 16, 2026 | 8:30 am-10 am | Washington, DC

In a time of increasing polarization, ethical leadership matters more than ever.

Join GSPM, Former Members of Congress (FMC), and Chief Influencer® for the 2026 Paul O’Dwyer Endowed Forum for Political Ethics. This year’s forum features former Representatives Michael Capuano and Mimi Walters, alongside investigative journalist Brody Mullins, moderated by Nneka Chiazor, President and CEO of the Public Affairs Council.

Together, they’ll explore what it takes to lead with integrity, civility, and accountability in today’s political landscape.

Connect With Us on Social Media