A Visit with … Jennifer (Jen) Fox

February 2020

Political Affairs Manager
Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU)

Do you remember your first Council event?

I certainly do. This was five or six years ago, and I was fresh out of the George Washington University. I was working for the National Restaurant Association, having been offered a job there while I was still in college, doing an internship at the association. I was put in charge of our lobbying filing and participated in a Council webinar on LD 203 compliance. I barely knew what LD 203 was and I was responsible for compliance with it. So the webinar was a big help. Thanks to that webinar, I felt like I knew what I was doing.

Internships are increasingly important in landing good jobs, aren’t they?

They are, and one of the great things about going to GWU is you have so many opportunities in Washington. I could walk to my job at the National Restaurant Association and to an internship I had the previous semester at the White House.

Tell us about that.

I was in the Office of Presidential Correspondence under President Obama. I never met him, but I did get to meet Sunny and Bo, the family’s two dogs. I met the First Lady at the holiday party for employees. One day I was taking my parents on a West Wing tour, and Vice President Joe Biden came out and introduced himself to them. He talked to us for about 15 minutes and was really pleasant. I remember him asking them, “I’m not holding you up, am I?”

What did you learn at the White House?

Reading all that mail, I saw the effect of policy and legislation on real people — on individuals and their families. This was in the middle of the drama around the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. I majored in international affairs at GWU but minored in nutrition, so I was fascinated by health care policy. In fact, that was one reason I could be effective at the National Restaurant Association.

How so?

Menu labeling is always a major concern, and because of my background in nutrition, they put me to work reading studies in medical journals and writing reports on their findings. I loved the work, and before I knew it, I was working there as a regular staffer, right out of college. I had my job before I graduated. From there, I figured out my true passion for grassroots and member engagement – and the rest is history.

What are you working on now, at AALU?

The retirement crisis is a major concern of our members, and we lobbied hard for the SECURE Act, which President Trump signed into law in early January. Social Security is running out of money, and the gap between what Americans have saved and what they need when they retire is almost $4 trillion. AALU ‘s members are financial security professionals who help families and small businesses deal with these challenges and reach their retirement goals, while preparing for the unexpected. We’re always working to equip our members to serve their clients more effectively, but a major priority of ours is, in a sense, internal.

Internal in what way?

In 2019, AALU and GAMA International announced that they’d merge, which will be finalized within the year. We’d don’t even know what the new name will be, but it’s an interesting challenge. GAMA’s specialty is leadership and professional development and AALU has focused on advocacy.  Where we’re complementary — and this is key — is that we’re both dedicated to elevating the profession. Our missions seem totally different, but they’re really not.

If you weren’t working in public affairs, what would you do?

I love public affairs and engaging individuals to advocate, so it’s hard to imagine doing something else. I have a side gig, so I’m already doing that other thing. I’m a fitness instructor and personal trainer. And if I weren’t doing that, I’d be a stay-at-home dog mom.

Reach Jen at 202.742.4644 or [email protected].