You are from Columbia, Maryland, but earned your undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. How did this come about?

As a high school junior, I attended a summer public policy program at UT Austin, and I loved it. I knew from that time forward that this was what I wanted to do in my career — and this is where I wanted to pursue my undergraduate education. Also, Austin is a great city — a city with great music, great culture, and great BBQ.

What were your ambitions at that point? What did you want to do in the public policy area?

That’s easy. I wanted to run for public office, but I discovered pretty quickly that I didn’t have the appetite for electoral politics but could influence policy through behind-the-scenes advocacy.

Talk about your postgraduate education. You’ve been at Georgetown, the Kennedy School at Harvard, and Yale.

I’ve been fortunate to attend some really good schools and have had phenomenal experiences. I learned a great deal about global business and politics and the nexus between them. One of the most significant lessons that I currently use is how to develop a non-market strategy framework — a tool for analyzing and developing strategies related to a business’s non-market environment. It focuses on managing external factors such as government regulations, societal expectations, and political shifts. This has become vital in my work as a public affairs professional.

For the past several years, you’ve worked for organizations involved in the automotive industry. What has been most stimulating about that field?

One of the most stimulating things I’ve learned is the role technology plays in modern vehicles — the intersection between the connected car and automated driving. These interconnected safety features protect drivers and their passengers. Most car owners understand cruise control, a form of automated driving, but are unaware of their Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS). These systems use sensors like radar and cameras to monitor the vehicle’s environment and provide warnings or even take automatic actions to prevent collisions or assist with driving. Modern vehicles are really computers on wheels and there is more software and lines of code in a newer vehicle today than on the F-35, a supersonic stealth strike fighter used by the air force, which is amazing to consider.