In May, A New Leaf, a Mesa, Arizona-based social service organization, dedicated The Pat Gilbert Center. Pat Gilbert (AZ '91), currently Chief Administrative Officer of the Marc Center of Mesa, previously served as a Senior Scholar at Truman Scholars Leadership Week and as a Board member of the TSA Board of Directors.

From the organization's newsletter:

A New Leaf is proud to announce the building name for services provided at 635 E. Broadway in Mesa, the Pat Gilbert Center. Honoring our good friend and long-standing community leader comes naturally as Pat not only envisioned this one-stop-shop for low-income residents, he laid the foundation for its success. Today, the Pat Gilbert Center houses services including, Maricopa County WIC and Immunizations, the MesaCAP, Marisol Federal Credit Union and A New Leaf Community Behavioral Health Services.

Click here to watch a video of the dedication.

MSNBC Reports on Jeff McLean's (WI '03) Reunion at 28,000 Feet! A mid-air reunion: Jeffrey McLean and his wife, both in the armed services, reunite in flight.

The pin collection of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright - current President of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation - will be on display at the Smithsonian Castle through September. See below for two events open to the public.

From The Washington Post's Reliable Source Blog:

What has Madeleine Albright been wearing while her famous pin collection is touring the country? "Pity pins -- because people feel sorry for me," said the former secretary of state.

Albright's signature accessory -- some precious gems, most costume pieces -- were collected together last year for her book, "Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box," and a two-year traveling show. The exhibit of 200 pins opens Friday at the Smithsonian Castle; Albright previewed it for reporters Tuesday.

With her jewelry on the road, friends and fans have given her all sorts of replacements. "I've signed books for people wearing pins and I'd say, 'Gee, that's a really nice pin.' Then they take it off and give it to me, so I don't say that anymore." 

What happens to the collection when the tour ends? The 73-year-old, wearing a "V" for Victory and two World War II vintage pins, said she's just starting to think about the question: "The only person who's connected the dots on this is my youngest granddaughter, who said, 'Who's going to get all this stuff?' I'm trying to figure out who really would like it and how this would all work." 

Book Signing

Sunday, July 25; 2 to 4 p.m.

Secretary Albright will sign copies of her book, Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box, in the Commons (West Wing) of the Smithsonian Castle. Copies of the book may be preordered by calling the Castle store at (202) 633-0030 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Books may be picked up one week before the event. Smithsonian members will receive a discount. 

Discussion with Secretary Albright

Tuesday, Sept. 14; noon

The Smithsonian Associates will present an on-stage discussion with Secretary Albright to discuss "Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection.” A book signing will follow the event. Complete program information will be posted on The Smithsonian Associates website in July.

Read more about the collection and events.

From EdWeek:

Margot Rogers [VA '86] , chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, is leaving her post on June 30 after 18 months in which she helped build the department’s leadership team and implement $100 billion worth of economic-stimulus programs.

Before joining Mr. Duncan’s staff at the start of the Obama administration, Ms. Rogers, an attorney, spent 15 years working for education-related nonprofit organizations and foundations, including the Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mr. Duncan credits her with serving as a thoughtful sounding board, and for becoming a “one-man HR wrecking crew” as part of an effort to recruit education leaders to top posts in his department.

Taking her place in this key role at a time of broad transition for the department will be Joanne Weiss, who has been in charge of the Race to the Top Fund competitive grant program. Mr. Duncan described the department’s shift as one toward policy implementation and away from policy formation, since the department has already set policies around Race to the Top; the Investing in Innovation, or i3, Fund; and other grant programs.

What follows is an edited transcript of a 30-minute interview on June 14 with Ms. Rogers...

Read the full article.

Read the full transcript.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (NM '77) accepted the Elmer Staats Award for Public Service yesterday on May 26, 2010 at Truman Scholars Leadership Week, hosted at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo.

Read full article.

With neither candidate receiving 50 percent of the vote in the Arkansas Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate, Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter (AR '81) will face incumbent U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln in a primary run-off election on June 8. 

Read the full article.

Ryan Quarles (KY '05) beat his opponent in the Republican Primary for the Kentucky House of Representatives, 62nd District. He will face incumbent Democrat Rep. Charlie Hoffman in the November election.

Read the full article.

Ann Fields (IA '91) was recently featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The city of Independence is celebrating the 126th birthday of President Harry Truman. Truman is one of Missouri's most famous natives and great politicians. And, Saturday's celebration shows he hasn't been forgotten.

Click here for the full article and video.

Ann M. (Schultz) Fields (IA ‘91) was appointed President of William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Fields has served as interim president since July 2009 and is the first female president in the institution’s history.

Richard Constable III (NJ ’93) was named Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor.

Jim Lewis (CA ’96) currently serves as Assistant City Manager and as President of the Office of Economic Development for the City of Atascadero, California.

Claire Markgraf (OR '05) and Jeremy Sueker (PA '05) are engaged. They will be living in China for the next year and welcome visitors to their luxurious pullout couch.

Rob Sand (IA '05) will graduate from the University of Iowa College of Law in May 2010. In April, the University of Iowa awarded him the Hancher-Finkbine Medallion. It is the University's highest award, given for learning, leadership, and loyalty. He also recently accepted a position as Assistant Iowa Attorney General, and will be moving to Des Moines, where he will happily host any Truman visiting or passing through Iowa.

Please submit updates about yourself and other scholars to news@trumanscholars.org.

Almost 45,000 people came to Copenhagen last December to be a part of the United Nations Climate Change negotiations. Among them were more than a few Truman Scholars. Whether as government representatives, researchers at universities, or leaders of advocacy groups, we continued a long history of international Truman public service in the fight to stop climate change.

The two of us came as leaders of the youth-run sustainable development policy organization SustainUS. Jennie co-leads SustainUS's Agents of Change program, which brought more than 25 U.S. youth to participate in the Copenhagen talks, and Kyle chairs the organization and served as our official Head of Delegation in Copenhagen. SustainUS has advocated for a fair and binding science-based climate treaty for several years at the UN meetings. This was not the first UN climate negotiation for either of us, but it was easily the biggest.

While deeply concerned by the outcomes in Copenhagen, we were excited to be a part of the growing international climate movement, represented by the tens of thousands who tried to participate in the talks (we made it in, but many were locked out due to overcapacity in the negotiating halls), and the more than 100,000 who marched outside in Copenhagen’s streets. We were also thrilled to help lead the development of the international youth climate movement, which brought more than 1,500 young people from over 100 countries to participate in the negotiations, and last year secured formal UN recognition as a civil society participant. SustainUS helped to facilitate the training and coordination of some of the estimated 500 U.S. youth who came, including almost 200 inside the meeting and more than 300 in the streets.

We were also thrilled to be a part of the diverse Truman presence in Copenhagen. Paul Bodnar (CA ‘98) and Clare Sierawski (PA ‘04) serve on the State Department’s climate negotiating team. Scott Moore (KY ‘07) came with Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, and Emily McGlynn (PA ‘08), supported by SustainUS accreditation, attended as part of her work as a winner of the German government’s Transatlantic Renewable Energy Fellowship.

Many other Trumans have lent their talents to the international climate change effort, including some we probably don’t even know about (sorry!). Both Scott and Kelly Greenman (FL ‘08) were SustainUS delegates to the Bali negotiations in 2007, where the path to Copenhagen was agreed on. Michael Gale (WV ‘02), who now serves on SustainUS's Board of Directors, participated in the 2005 Montreal negotiations, essentially helping to start what would later become the international youth climate movement. Before that, Joy Hecht (MA ‘78) co-authored an influential paper in 1998 on the Kyoto Protocol and biodiversity conservation that SustainUS still references in its forest policy work today. And we learned just last month in the Class Notes section of this blog that Tom Burack (NH ‘80), Commissioner for the State of New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services, chaired the Climate Change Policy Task Force established by the Governor to develop a Climate Action Plan (CAP) for his state, and now chairs the NH Energy and Climate Collaborative.

Climate change didn’t end in Copenhagen. Neither, we suspect, will Truman Scholars’ efforts toward its solutions – internationally in UN climate negotiations, locally in our communities, and everywhere in between. Humbled by the legacy we’re now a part of, we look forward to seeing new Scholars apply the same passion and ingenuity toward this global struggle that made them Trumans in the first place.

Kyle Gracey (PA ‘05) is Chair of SustainUS and Master's student at the University of Chicago, and Jennifer Hatch (ME ‘09) is Agents of Change Coordinator of SustainUS and a senior at Wellesley College.

The SustainUS Copenhagen delegation - Kyle and Jennie 2nd row, 2nd and 4th from left

Preparing for a State Department meeting - Jennie and Kyle 1st row, far left and far right

Terry Babcock-Lumish (PA '96) writes on geography while stranded in Rome due to volcanic ash: 

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=355803&CategoryId=13303

Tom Burack (NH ‘80), Commissioner for the State of New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services, was recently elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Environmental Council of the States, the national organization of the environmental commissioners/directors from the 50 states and territories. Tom also chaired the Climate Change Policy Task Force established by the Governor to develop a Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the state, and now chairs the NH Energy and Climate Collaborative.

Bill Halter (AR '81), Arkansas Lieutenant Governor, is running for U.S. Senate: http://billhalter.com.

Chris Coons (DE '83), County Executive of New Castle County, Delaware, is running for U.S. Senate: http://www.chriscoons.com.

Ted Deutch (FL '86), Florida State Senator, is running for U.S. Congress: http://www.tedforcongress.com.

Lisa Boulden Williams (IL ’89) was recently promoted to Senior Vice President of Affordable Housing at The Habitat Company. She is responsible for managing all aspects of the company's Affordable Housing line of business, which includes 2,292 units of subsidized senior and family housing in nine Chicago communities. Lisa is always happy to speak with Scholars about nonprofit or housing opportunities in Chicago. Feel free to reach out at lwilliams@habitat.com.

Lauren Lien (TX '04) was selected as a finalist in the Washington Post's Peep Show IV contest.

Dena Simmons (CT ’04) recently left the classroom as a middle school teacher in the South Bronx and started Doctoral program at Teachers College, Columbia University in Health Education. Dena received the 2010 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans and will be a 2010 Education Pioneers fellow this summer.

Catherine Neale (VA '05), an MBA student at Harvard, was featured on the HBS website: http://www.hbs.edu/mba/profiles/students/2010/cneale.html.

Ryan Quarles (KY '05) is running for Kentucky State Representative: http://www.ryanquarles.com.

Rob Sand (IA '05), a third-year law student at The University of Iowa, was featured on the UI website: http://www.uiowa.edu/be-remarkable/portfolio/people/sand-r.html.

Please submit updates about yourself and other scholars to TSA@trumanscholars.org. 

Congratulations to Lauren Lien (TX '05), whose diorama made it to the finals of the Washington Post's Peep Show IV peep art competition!

To vote for Lauren's design, click "Peeple's Choice" at the top of the webpage and vote for "Little Bo Beep."

President Harry S. Truman popularized the slogan, "The Buck Stops Here," with a sign on his desk in the Oval Office. (Read history here.)

More than 60 years later, these words are still popular. President Barack Obama, referring to the failed Christmas Day bombing plot, said: "the buck stops with me."

Post your favorite Truman quotes or sayings in the comments below!

ABC News will announce George Stephanopoulos (OH '80) as an anchor of “Good Morning America,” to start as soon as Monday.

Read the full story here: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30387.html

Letter from A. Scott Henderson (FL '82) to The Washington Post:

I praise Elliot Gerson for his Nov. 21 op-ed, "From Oxford to Wall Street," noting the increasing number of Rhodes scholars who choose lucrative financial-sector jobs instead of lower-paying ones in other fields.

I share Mr. Gerson's concerns. As a member of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Finalist Selection Committee for 18 years, I have seen how the creeping (now skyrocketing) ascent of Wall Street salaries has siren-songed some of the brightest students away from public service. There have been notable exceptions -- Susan Rice and Janet Napolitano are both Truman scholars -- but the trend continues unabated among the country's most promising college graduates, scholarship winners or not.

Although President Ronald Reagan's demonization of government undermined the appeal of public service, nothing can compare to the riptide created by pay packages reaching far into the millions. We can only hope that Mr. Gerson's reasoned voice of caution can be heard above the unreasoned hogwash that passes for economic wisdom.

A. Scott Henderson, Greenville, S.C.

The writer is director of national and international scholarships at Furman University.

2005 Truman Scholar Saul Garlick, Founder of Think Impact, discusses how Generation Y approaches international development on the Skoll Foundation's Social Edge blog:

http://www.socialedge.org/discussions/business-building/generation-y2019s-global-development-strategy?utm_source=Social+Edge+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2cef19635f-Newsletter_Gen_Y_11_17_2009&utm_medium=email