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

Discovering My Passion For Public Health

This summer I interned with Planned Parenthood, one of the most liberal organizations in the country. They are known for their outspoken progressive messaging and advocacy for reproductive rights. I worked in the California Affiliates office, where they are in charge of seven local affiliates and make sure legislation is passed to ensure reproductive rights…

Congratulating Our Holstein Scholars

Please congratulate our three Holstein Scholarsfor the 2018-19 school year who demonstrate a commitment to public service, scholarship, and public policy-making programs for the common good. Pascal Boctor, ‘19 – International Studies, minor Middle East Studies Pascal Boctor is a Junior majoring in International Studies. He was raised in Egypt as a Christian in a…

Introducing the 2018 McCarthy Fellows

Congratulations to our newest cohort of McCarthy Fellows in Sacramento. This upcoming summer, thirteen students will be experiencing first-hand the policymaking and advocacy in our California state capitol. In addition to a rigorous course on California politics, the Fellows will also be interning full-time at various organizations, department agencies, Assemblymember and State Senate offices. This…

We Weren’t Born to Follow

Trish Fontana was a former staffer for Leo T. McCarthy. She has also worked for two California Lt. Governors, two Governors, two First Ladies and two State Senators. She continues to work in the State Capitol, currently for Senator Richard D. Roth, a retired Major Air Force General who represents Riverside. This past weekend, I…

Reviewing 15 Years

One month ago we celebrated our 15th anniversary. As part of the festivities, we created a photo collection of some of our most memorable moments over the years. The process allowed us to reflect on how many students, faculty, community partners and staff have contributed to our success. The photos capture moments ranging from…

Save the Date – Nov. 9 for Our 15th Anniversary

On November 9, 2017, friends and supporters, alums, faculty and currents students will celebrate the Leo T. McCarthy Center and 15 years of training a new generation of ethical leaders. It’s an evening of recognizing the vision and legacy of co-founder Leo McCarthy, former San Francisco legislator, California Speaker of the Assembly and Lieutenant Governor….

Advocating for Youth

CrystalVega, Urban Studies and Critical Diversity Studies ’18 What if local governments were the key to creating a new pipeline — a pipeline to the public sector? This is one of the projects being undertaken by the education and research nonprofit, the Institute for Local Government (ILG). Through their Governments Engaging Youth (GEY) project, they…

Learning to Care About Politics

Something that I often hear from family members, friends, and teachers is, “The government doesn’t work.” Chances are, if you’re familiar with American politics, you have heard or even said something similar yourself. This was the mindset that I even had as I prepared for my internship with the McCarthy Fellows program. Pessimistic? Sure, but…