advocacy | Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good

In D.C.’s Public Defender Service

Vivienne Pismarov, Psychology ’19 This fall semester, through the USF in DC program, I’ve had the opportunity to intern with the Public Defender Service. Everyone working there is tasked with one job and one job only: do everything in your power to support your client. As an investigative intern, I request records, locate potential witnesses,…

USF in D.C. is Unlike Anything Else!

Gabbi McDaniel I left Washington, D.C. more than four months ago. Whenever anybody asks me about my experience, my first response continues to be, “it was the best experience I’ve had at USF.” Then I gush for five more minutes about the opportunities I had, the individuals I met, and the impact this program…

Traveling with the Esther Madriz Diversity Scholars to NYC

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX9Ei8AU0tw&w=560&h=315] Janelle Nunez (’19) is a participant of the Esther Madriz Diversity Scholars cohort that went to New York this January. Here she shares her reflections on this transformative trip. During the University of San Francisco’s winter intercession, the Esther Madriz Diversity Scholars (EMDS) got the incredible opportunity to spend a week in…

Contributing from D.C. and Common Sense Media

Ayah Mouhktar (’18) USF in D.C. Fellow Ayah Mouhktar is one of our not-so-secret weapons in D.C. As a Student Communications Assistant for the McCarthy Center, she took on the mission of serving the Winter semester as a participant in the USF in D.C. Fellows program. We are thrilled to report that she is…

Balancing practicality and academia – one guy’s perspective

Five years ago, when I was recruited to teach a lobbying class at the (relatively) new Master of Public Affairs program at the University of San Francisco, I think I giggled a little bit. Me? Sure, I’ve been lobbying in San Francisco and the Bay Area for fifteen years, but I have a bachelor’s in Ultimate Frisbee from UC Santa Cruz. I queried Corey Cook, the Director of the Leo McCarthy Center, why he’d made this particular terrible error in judgment. His answer intrigued me. – Alex Clemens

Elections and Democracy – San Francisco Style

As my friend Jon Bernstein pointed out in a Bloomberg View piece last year, the timing of our elections can have a profound consequence for policy and governance. For instance, the specific timing of the economic crash in 2008 had important implications for President Obama’s agenda. – Corey Cook