Alumni Spotlights showcase former IOP Student Advisory Committee Members (SAC) and other student leaders who have gone out in the world to pursue careers in politics and public service and make a difference in their communities.
Eric Lesser served on the Institute’s Student Advisory Committee and graduated from Harvard College in 2007. After college, he worked on Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign. Eric started at the bottom of the ladder – his job was to accompany Obama on campaign stops around the country and keep track of his luggage.
He ended up working one door down from the Oval Office, and later worked for President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he collaborated with business leaders, organized labor, and entrepreneurs on policies to create jobs, restore manufacturing, improve education, expand infrastructure, and build an economy for the 21st Century.
Currently pursuing a Harvard Law School degree, Eric is also running for State Senate (www.ericlesser.com) in the First Hampden & Hampshire District in Western MA.
We caught up with Eric recently to ask him about life on the campaign trail and what he remembers most about his years at the IOP.
Tell us about your current position/career.
For the last several years I have been a student at Harvard Law School, and I’m a former undergraduate at Harvard College where I was active with the IOP and a member of the Institute's Student Advisory Committee.
After college, I worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and then two years for (the President’s Senior Advisor) David Axelrod in the White House – sitting one door down from the Oval Office, an eye-opening and exciting job.
I also worked as the director of strategic planning at the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors reporting to Council Chairman Austan Goolsbee. I then came back to Harvard to get my law degree. While at Harvard Law, I’ve really enjoyed continuing to collaborate with the IOP on programming and remained close to the IOP family.
I'm now in my last semester at Harvard Law, and have taken a leave from school to dive into a race for State Senate in a district that includes my hometown (Longmeadow) in Western Massachusetts. We are just a few weeks into it but have already seen a tremendous response.
My campaign will be inclusive, grassroots, and volunteer oriented. I hope to follow the example of President Kennedy and the IOP by striving to make politics and government a noble calling. There is so much cynicism in politics today, and justifiably so – the system isn't working – what we need is more young people and those with different perspectives and views to get involved in the process and focus on good ideas.
Did the Institute of Politics help you along this career path? How?
The IOP's central mission is to inspire youth to be motivated and get involved in politics. What the IOP did for me was give me a sense that government and public service and politics can be a force for good in the world, but you have to have the right values and get into it for the right reasons. My work at the IOP taught me how important that is.
What was your involvement with the IOP as a Harvard undergraduate?
February 27, 2005 — Former IOP student leader Eric Lesser introduces a John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum panel discussion, "Redistricting: Impact on Democracy."
I was involved in the IOP in multiple ways. One was as a volunteer civics teacher in Boston and Cambridge middle schools through the IOP Civics program. Another was as president of the Harvard College Democrats as an undergrad, where I worked very closely with the Institute on our programming.
I also, with other students, started a student policy research group looking at the issues of redistricting and polarization and tried to offer a proactive, implementable solution – which was an inspiring process. It's great that the IOP's policy program is still going strong today and looking at a number of important topics.
Why did you decide to get involved at the IOP?
I learned at a young age in my hometown – where I'm running for office now – that politics can be a force for good. I ran a grassroots coalition to help protect education funding and teacher jobs, we were able to secure a new stream of funding for our school and avoid layoffs.
I often think – what would have happened if we hadn't done anything? The result would have been less teachers in our schools, and a worse education system for the students who came after me. It was an early lesson that people who care deeply can work hard to improve their communities.
Do you have a favorite IOP memory?
There are lots, one funny one that comes to mind is Joe Lieberman singing a Frank Sinatra song during a reception following his MSNBC Hardball appearance in the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum. All of a sudden, he just grabbed the microphone during this reception and starting singing Sinatra. Nobody quite knew what to make of the whole thing.
Why is Public Service important to you?
Because it has the capacity to inspire and make life a little bit better, and leave things better than we found them. And ultimately, that’s all that we want out of our work.