A lot must happen in the 76 days between Election Day and the inauguration to effectively transition to a new presidential administration.
The National Press Club Journalism Institute and the Partnership for Public Service offered a briefing that helped journalists understand the post-election milestones and planning requirements that presidents-elect must follow to ensure a smooth, effective transfer of power — and what happens when the incoming administration has not followed the traditional process.
Additional resources:
- Partnership for Public Service
- Center for Presidential Transition
- Presidential Transition Guide (Center for Presidential Transition)
- Political Appointments Tracker (Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service)
- Webinar slides (Partnership for Public Service)
About the speakers
Max Stier is the founding president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service. Under his leadership, the Partnership has been widely praised as a first-class nonprofit organization and thought leader on federal government management issues.
Max has worked previously in all three branches of the federal government. In 1982, he served on the personal staff of Congressman Jim Leach. Max clerked for Chief Judge James Oakes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1992 and clerked for Justice David Souter of the United States Supreme Court in 1994. Between these two positions, Max served as Special Litigation Counsel to Assistant Attorney General Anne Bingaman at the Department of Justice. In 1995, Max joined the law firm of Williams & Connolly where he practiced primarily in the area of white collar defense.
Max comes most recently from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, having served as the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation.
A graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law School, Max is a member of the Inaugural Advisory Council of the National Institute of Social Sciences, the National Academy of Public Administration, the Administrative Conference of the United States and the National Advisory Board for Public Service at Harvard College.
Valerie Smith Boyd is the director of the Center for Presidential Transition. She leads the Partnership’s efforts to support successful transition planning for current and future presidential administrations. She has had a long public service career, having served in the past three administrations in both career and political roles.
Valerie was part of the small team that stood up Department of Homeland Security headquarters in 2002. She supported President Bush’s transfer of homeland security knowledge during the 2008 transition and assisted President Obama’s team with their 2009 integration of the Homeland Security Council and National Security Council staffs. During her time at the NSC, she organized the interagency policy process and managed briefing and decision materials for the President and the Cabinet. Most recently, Valerie returned to DHS, where she oversaw policy development for homeland security partnerships around the world. Between public service, she has worked in corporate social responsibility.
She has degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Valerie has worked with too many outstanding public servants to choose a favorite and believes that leaders from across government must work together to solve problems in service to the American people.
About the Partnership for Public Service
The Partnership for Public Service is a nonprofit organization that takes a nonpartisan approach to building a better government and a stronger democracy. Through its Center for Presidential Transition, the organization has worked with presidential candidates and their transition teams for over 15 years to provide assistance on how to organize and execute a transition; help agency career executives prepare for new political leadership; offer guidance to political appointees on the unique aspects of government leadership; and engage with Congress to promote transition reforms.
About the National Press Club Journalism Institute
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest. The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you. Your donation today allows the Institute to offer the majority of its programming at no cost.