Building A Career in Washington, DC

Program Manager College and Workforce Inclusion Programs
American Red Cross

United States Secret Service

Stephen Kowal
Education Program Specialist
Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and Environment
Office of Education
USAID

In this role, Steve Kowal manages and coordinates operational plans, performance plans and reports, and budgets for the office. He also provides input and guidance on these processes for USAID’s education sector as a whole. He provides support and technical assistance to USAID education and program staff, with a focus on local capacity development and government-to-government assistance. He has provided on-site field support to USAID Missions in Afghanistan, Egypt, Mozambique, and Pakistan.

Originally from Amherst, Ohio, Steve earned a Bachelor’s degree in Integrated Language Arts Education from Ohio University. After teaching at various grade levels, he received a Master of Public Administration degree from the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. Directly before starting at USAID as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2009, he served as an Undergraduate Programs Advisor for the John Glenn School of Public Affairs.

Larry Myers
Director, NEH Office of Planning and Budget

Larry Myers has been a federal civil servant since 1980. In his more than three decades at the National Endowment for the Humanities—a small grant-making agency that supports projects and programs in history, literature, languages, philosophy, and other humanities disciplines—he has served in a variety of capacities, including grant program officer, senior program analyst, Congressional and White House liaison, and, since 2001, as director of the agency’s Office of
Planning and Budget.

Mr. Myers holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in American history (minor, American literature) from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Christian Peele, Director of the White House Internship Program, completed her undergraduate studies at Mary Baldwin College and received her Master of Divinity degree at Duke University. After finishing her graduate studies, she worked for the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York and the Church of the Saviour, a faith-based non-profit community in Washington, D.C. Her work with the Church of the Saviour specifically involved creating educational opportunities for the incarcerated. Christian completed a White House internship in the fall of 2009 and became the director of the program in May of 2011.

United States Secret Service

Trudy has spent twenty-eight years in the field of teaching, training, and career development. She has been on several NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) committees and taskforces, as well as chaired several national conferences including the June 2006 New York City NACE Conference. In addition to these, Trudy has been a presenter at numerous national meetings and conferences and has been recipients of both NASPA and NACE Excellence awards. She has served as consultant to universities, (including Sciences Po in Paris), and corporate recruiting organizations.

Trudy has been interviewed extensively and appeared as a national expert with: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, Daily News, Newsday, New York Post, Crain’s, NBC, CBS, ABC, MTV, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC.