Chloe Edwards is a second-year student at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy (SPP).
She is specializing in American politics and policy and state and local government.
Edwards graduated magna cum laude from Azusa Pacific University in 2020 with a bachelor
of art in English. She played on the Women's soccer team and was an editor for the
school's literary magazine, The West Wind. This summer she interned for the James Wilson Institute, a nonprofit think tank founded
by Hadley Arkes and centered on studying, spreading, and understanding natural rights
and law. She is currently the communications intern at the Liberty Justice Center,
a non-partisan public interest litigation firm focused on protecting the Constitutional
rights of the American people. Edwards hopes to work within the nonprofit sector after
her graduation on both a state and federal level.
Eric Green is a second-year student at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy (SPP).
He is specializing in American politics along with the state and local Policy track.
He is from Newport Beach, California, and enjoys engaging in education issues, especially
anything related to career and technical education. He graduated from Grand Canyon
University with a bachelor's in sports management. When he graduates from SPP, he
hopes to work in education issues at the local level of government, on the K–12 level.
Lacey Kestecher is a second-year student at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy
(SPP) where she is specializing in applied economics and American policy and politics.
Hailing from New Jersey, Kestecher graduated from Binghamton University with a bachelor
of science in finance. She is currently a research assistant at SPP and has previously
interned with the Leadership Institute, the Daily Caller, and the Manhattan Institute.
Clare McKenzie is a Duke University graduate currently earning her master of public
policy at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy (SPP). She has experience researching
and lobbying for international sustainable water policy and is motivated by the potential
of public policy to mitigate the impacts of climate change upon the most vulnerable
communities in America. During her time at SPP, McKenzie interned for both Los Angeles
Waterkeeper and the Sierra Club, researching stormwater policy solutions for California,
coordinating beach cleanups, and grassroots organizing. McKenzie hopes to continue
her career in environmental policy after her 2023 graduation.
Pete Peterson
Dean
Braun Family Dean's Chair
School of Public Policy
Pepperdine University
Pete Peterson is the dean (Braun Family Dean’s Chair) of Pepperdine’s School of Public
Policy, and a leading national speaker and writer on issues related to civic participation,
and the use of technology to make government more responsive and transparent. He was
the first executive director of the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement at the
school and continues to lead public sector training programs for the Institute. He
has co-created and currently co-facilitates the training seminar, "Public Engagement:
The Vital Leadership Skill in Difficult Times" a program that has been attended by
more than 4,000 municipal officials, and he also co-created and co-facilitates the
certificate program, "Leading Smart Communities: Creating a Better Future through
Emerging Technologies”. He serves on the Leadership Council of California Forward,
the Healthy Democracies Advisory Council organized by Public Agenda, and chairs the
governance committee for the Public Interest Technology-University Network. Peterson
was the Republican candidate for California Secretary of State in 2014.
Lani Romero is a second-year student at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy. They
specialize in American politics and policy and state and local government. Romero
is a graduate of California State University, San Bernardino, with a bachelor's in
political science and a minor in pre-law. They have an article published in an upcoming
book on Foster Care in America. This summer, they interned at Ismail Mediation Center.
Romero hopes to work in the public sector, namely with casework.
Dan Schnur
Adjunct Faculty
School of Public Policy
Pepperdine University
Dan Schnur is a professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School
of Communications and the University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Governmental
Studies. He has been teaching courses in politics, communications, and leadership
since 1996 and has also taught at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University and George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management.
He is the director for the "California Influencers" project, a statewide program in
which 60 of the state's foremost experts in politics, policy, and government discuss
the 2018 campaign. He is the founder of the USC/LA Times statewide political poll.
Previously, Schnur worked on four presidential and three gubernatorial campaigns as
one of California's leading political strategists and served as the national director
of communications for the 2000 presidential campaign of US Senator John McCain and
was the chief media spokesman for California Governor Pete Wilson. In 2010, Schnur
was appointed chairman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC),
where he implemented groundbreaking campaign finance disclosure requirements. He also
was a founder and cochairman of the Voices of Reform project, the bi-partisan statewide
effort whose work laid the foundation for California's landmark redistricting reform.
After completing his FPPC term, Schnur registered as a No-Party Preference voter and
launched Fixing California, an organization dedicated to campaign finance and political
reform.
In 2014, he ran for statewide office as a non-partisan candidate for California Secretary
of State. Schnur has been an advisor to multiple foundations, trusts, think tanks,
and a variety of K-12 education and college and workforce preparedness efforts. His
commentaries have appeared in several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Sacramento Bee, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. In addition, he has been an analyst and political commentator for CNN, MSNBC, Fox
News, and National Public Radio. He is a graduate of the American University in Washington,
DC.
Aemon Viens is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the Pepperdine School of Public
Policy (SPP). Before attending SPP, she attained her master of social work at California
State University, Northridge. Viens worked as a mental health specialist for a homeless
service provider and discovered her passion as an advocate for those experiencing
homelessness. She decided to go back to school because she wanted to effect change
on a policy level. She specializes in dispute resolution and state and local government.
She currently works as a legislative deputy for Mitch O’Farrell in the Council District
13 City of Los Angeles. Upon graduation, she wants to work as a policy specialist
for a nonprofit specializing in homeless service delivery.
