From Ann Arbor to the White House – White House Fellows Program

Panelists:
Martha Darling
Commission on Presidential Scholars; Class of 1977-1978 White House Fellow
Annie Maxwell
Ford School MPP '99; Class of 2009–2010 White House Fellow
Regent Katherine E. White
U-M Board of Regents; Class of 2001-2002 White House Fellow

Founded in 1964, the White House Fellows program is one of America's most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. The program gives promising young leaders 'first-hand, high-level experience in the workings of the Federal Government and increases their sense of participation in national affairs.' A panel of former White House Fellows will provide an overview of the program, share their experiences and discuss the application and selection process.

About the Panelists:

Martha Darling
On moving to Ann Arbor in 1998, Martha Darling retired as a senior manager with The Boeing Company, where she served in a variety of program management and public policy roles. Prior to her work at Boeing, Martha was a vice president at Seafirst Bank, senior legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Bill Bradley and a 1977-78 White House Fellow, serving in the Department of Treasury as Secretary W. Michael Blumenthal's executive assistant. Martha has been actively engaged with a number of community and national nonprofit organizations. She is currently board vice chair of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation; founding co-chair of Washtenaw County's Success by 6 Leadership Commission, a major community collaborative working to ensure all young children in our region are ready to start school to succeed; secretary of the University Musical Society Board; and secretary of the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund. She is a former board chair of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, the Ann Arbor Symphony and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. She is also a member of the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and the Council on Foundation's Community Foundations Leadership Team. She holds degrees from Reed College and Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School.

Annie Maxwell (MPP, '99)
Annie Maxwell is the Chief Operating Officer of the Skoll Global Threats Fund. She joined the organization after serving as a 2009-10 White House Fellow, working in the Office of Vice President Biden, where she focused on implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

From 2002 to 2009, Annie was with Direct Relief International, serving most recently as Chief Operating Officer. From 2005 to 2006, Annie was seconded to the United Nation's Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, led by Special Envoy President Bill Clinton. She served as Partnerships and Outreach Officer, focusing on environmental issues and the role of NGOs in the recovery effort. Annie served as chair and vice chair of the Alumni Board of Governors at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy and as a member of the founding Board of Directors for the nonprofit Wizzy Digital. In 2007, she was selected for the Marshall Memorial Fellowship. Annie received her Master's in Public Policy and B.A. in English and Political Science, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan. She attended the university on a full athletic scholarship and was captain of the university's Division I volleyball team.

Katherine E. White
Regent White, a Democrat from Ann Arbor, received her B.S.E. degree from Princeton University in 1988, a J.D. degree from the University of Washington in 1991, and a LL.M. degree from the George Washington University Law School in 1996. From 1995–1996, she was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Randall R. Rader, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. From 2000–2002, she was appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to serve on the United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Public Advisory Committee. She is currently a Professor of Law at the Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. She also serves as a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army reserves.

She is currently the reserve Associate Dean of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School (JAG) at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. She served as a 2001-2002 White House Fellow and Special Counsel to Ann M. Veneman, Secretary of Agriculture. In addition, she is a Fulbright Senior Scholar and a registered patent attorney.

She was elected to the Board of Regents in 1998 and re-elected in 2006.

Sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.