Tag: policy

 Dan Byman, Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution discussed Middle East security with  Brookings Executive Education (BEE) Legis Congressional Fellows and Capitol Hill staffers recently on a hot D.C. afternoon in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Dan Byman speaks to over 100 hill staffers and Legis Congressional Fellows

Byman’s research focuses on counterterrorism and Middle East security. He served as a staff member on the 9/11 Commission and worked for the U.S. government.

Over 100 people listened as Dan Byman spoke on a wide range of topics. Byman’s depth and breadth of knowledge of Middle East security issues were demonstrated as he answered audience questions.

Byman was recently called to testify at the Joint Subcommittee Hearing (Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa) regarding the subject “The Terrorist Threat in North Africa: Before and After Benghazi”. Watch videos of the hearing by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The Legis Congressional Fellowship is an extended opportunity for public or private sector managers to acquire an in-depth understanding of the legislative process.

Legis Congressional Fellows

Fellows learn to interact more effectively with Congress and gain an insider’s knowledge of congressional affairs and public policy.

BEE regularly coordinates events for current and alumni Legis Congressional Fellows to gather, connect, and learn.

Byman’s most recent published pieces include: Around the Halls: U.S. Foreign Policy and Syria and Why Drones Work: The Case for Washington’s Weapon of Choice. 

Policy and leadership were smoothly woven together in the Brookings Executive Education (BEE) course Politics and Policymaking. This open enrollment program is one of the required courses for the MS-Leadership.

Combining academic expertise and illustrious experience from Capitol Hill, this course brought to life the intersection of these two essential learning elements. Lynn Ross, PhD, of Georgetown Public Policy Institute introduced the class to the policy process via the policy windows framework. This model provides participants with the means to actively engage in the process as policy entrepreneurs.

Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

Steven Smith, professor of political science, and director of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis, discussed real world examples of rational choice theory and spatial theory.This additional analysis provides participants with a tool to assess the likelihood of policy change.

Closing the program was former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Dennis Hastert. Speaker Hastert emphasized the way to learn is to jump in and do it.  Nothing can duplicate personal experience. He additionally advised that knowledge is the greatest power an individual can acquire and the key to being effective is to stay savvy on key issues. In essence, Hastert said, “knowledge is power”.

Capitol dome photo by: SMSGT Munnaf Joarder, U.S. Army familymwr

 We are keenly aware that investing in executive development during a time of dramatic budget cuts, furloughs, and hiring and pay freezes might seem paradoxical. Yet the only real solution to doing more with less is to develop new ways of thinking and adopt new tools for leading.

Brookings Executive Education’s (BEE) new paradigm for executive success—Leading Thinking™—provides the mind-set and frameworks to lead organizations in this challenging environment.

The Brookings Executive Education 2013-2014 course catalog is now available. BEE is managed by Olin Business School in partnership with the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C.

New Courses at Brookings Executive Education:

Leading Through Influence
In this new, interactive course, learn how to influence people both within and outside the chain of command. Develop key skills of informal leadership: navigating politics, understanding power, and exercising influence.

Insider’s Budgetary Process
This in-depth course on the federal budget process examines the methods that go into formulating both the president’s budget and the congressional budget and, ultimately, authorization and appropriations.

Flexibility and Decisiveness
In this new class, you will learn how to adapt and work effectively within dynamic change, to see possibilities that lead to breakthrough concepts, and to employ models of decision making appropriate to the situation at hand.

Regional Challenges, Threats and Opportunities: South and Central America
Latin America presents opportunities for government and businesses alike. It is a region with countries that are creating new identities and establishing strategic alliances with partners around the globe. In this new seminar, you will learn about the economic and political changes that represent threats and opportunities for the region’s northern neighbor.

View all BEE 2013/14 courses at-a-glance

Students started Tuesday with one question: What was BEE thinking by starting the day with a talk on the federal budget? Coffee hadn’t kicked in and students were hearing about jurisdiction, appropriations, and authorization already!

It was the second day of the Washington D.C. immersion week for students in Business & Government: Understanding and Influencing the Regulatory Environment – the new Olin-Brookings Executive Education course taking place this week inside the beltway.

Jaime Harrison shares his political expertise with students at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

It didn’t take long for students to switch into political gear. Former Michigan Congressman Bob Carr’s presentation on the budget was fascinating and illuminating. As a result, the students will be discriminating consumers of news broadcasts that conflate the federal deficit and debt.

Jaime Harrison, former House Floor Director for Democratic Whip Congressman Jim Clyburn and now chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, was the next guest speaker on the agenda. He shared the secrets of advocacy, explaining the many nuances of communications strategies. This presentation should certainly help with the class assignment to develop an advocacy plan on the topic of high-level nuclear waste repository.

The luncheon speaker was David Burstein, author of How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Our World. It was clear that the millennials he has interviewed do not reflect the experiences of our Olin students. David should visit St. Louis to learn about the challenges so many of this generation are facing.

Class members had a chance to role-play Members of Congress in an interactive and eye-opening simulation about Congress. Everyone was able to master the process and got re-elected by the time the exercise concluded. Former Congressman Bob Carr returned to share dinner with the group while discussing how closely the simulation depicts reality. Given the chaos produced during the exercise that might not be consoling news.