After a busy week, the SPS Class of 2017 ended the week hearing from two fascinating speakers who gave SPS '17 an insight on their own careers in public service in the executive branch and political campaigns (Mr. William Kristol) and the diplomatic service (Ambassador Sue Cobb).
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| Author and political commentator William Kristol |
Mr. Kristol is one of the leading conservative voices of our time -- he has been in academia (at the University of Pennsylvania), served in the executive branch during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations (including as Chief of Staff to Vice President Quayle), founded a magazine on conservative thought,
The Weekly Standard; served as a campaign advisor on foreign policy to presidential candidate Senator John McCain; and is more recently a founder of the initiative "Republicans for the Rule of Law," which has encouraged Republicans to demand accountability from President Trump and his Administration.
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| Ambassador Cobb with her grandson, Sebi. |
Ambassador Sue Cobb spoke of her career in state and local politics, including serving as Florida's Secretary of State (she explained to our interested SPS audience the key role state-level secretaries of state play in the voting process) and, later, as the first woman to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica. Ambassador Cobb provided great insight into the challenges and rewards of politics and diplomacy, and gave SPS '17 plenty of advice on how they can make a difference today in their local communities.
