Featured Alumni

Todd Hauptli

Current Employer: American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE)
Current Job Title: Senior Executive Vice President
Current Job Sector: Transportation (Aviation)

How did you break into the profession? What made you choose that career path?
I had always been interested in government and politics growing up. I came to Washington DC two days after graduating from college with no job and no place to live. I managed to get a paid internship on the Hill for a couple of months, turned that into a full-time job and then was lucky enough to land a couple of great jobs in the Reagan and Bush (41) Administrations, which then led to the current job I have.

What are some common misconceptions about your job?
Not surprisingly, a lot of people think lobbying is schmoozing. That might have worked in the old days, but today if you don't know your stuff—if you can't navigate the intersection of public policy and politics—you aren't going to cut it.

Do you have any anecdotes or funny stories about things that have happened in your professional life?
Yes, tons of them. Selfishly though, I'm saving them for my book. Sorry…

What is the importance of integrity and trust in your day-to-day work interactions?
Integrity and trust are absolutely essential in a job like this. It sounds like a cliché, but it is true: You are only as good as your word. Bryce Harlow set the bar. I'll spend an entire career trying to meet the standard he set and I'll be a better lobbyist and a better person for it.

How did being a Bryce Harlow Fellow (fellowship, connections, mentoring, etc.) assist in your graduate studies? In the professional world?
I was lucky enough to be included in the very first batch of Bryce Harlow Fellows. While there was the obvious benefit of having my graduate level work in political science paid for, it was really less about the money and more about the honor of being selected for the initial group that was really important to me. A year or two after being selected, I had the honor of serving on the White House staff along with Larry Harlow, Bryce Harlow's son. Larry was in a very senior position and I was in a much more junior slot, but you can't imagine the pride I felt serving alongside him, knowing that his father had blazed a trail in the same halls years before. A quarter of a century later, I still consider the Bryce Harlow Fellowship one of the most significant achievements of my career.

What is some advice that you can offer students just starting out on their careers in advocacy? What did you wish you would have known? What should they make sure to learn?
Lots of advice, most of which won't fit in this space. If you are interested in a deeper dive, call me at my office and I will talk to any Bryce Harlow Fellow for as long as you like. Here's one piece of advice though, and an anecdote to illustrate the point…

In Washington, one day you are up and the next day you are down. One day someone has power and the next day they don't, but the day after that, they might have it again. Treat everyone with respect; you never know where someone is going to end up.

Here's the anecdote…

There was this important staff person over on the Senate side who was very smart. He lost his job in a staff shakeup and ended up finding a job over on the House side in a less exalted position. In my opinion, many people judged him by the position he was in, rather than by the size of his intellect and the scope of his knowledge. He was ignored by many because he no longer was in a position of power. Luckily, I knew how smart he was and continued to ask his opinion, and seek his guidance on certain public policy matters because he had a lot to offer based on his experience, even though his current job was outside of my issue area. I wasn't the only one who thought he was really smart. The Speaker of the House thought so too, and hired him as his policy director. This guy went from a cubicle in the Rayburn Building to the right hand of the Speaker of the House and you should have seen the folks scrambling to "suck up" and try to regain his ear. While others were busy trying to play catch-up, I had his direct line and was consulted regularly on items of importance to my members. People remember how you treat them; it's human nature.

One other piece of advice: return your phone calls.

What do you like about living in DC? What are your favorite things to do? Things that shouldn't be missed?
It will sound corny to some folks, but living at the epicenter of public policy and politics is, for me, the coolest part of living in DC. Every morning, I drive down the GW Parkway to work and I see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capital and the Jefferson Memorial. Twenty-five years after coming to town, it still takes my breath away.

As far as things to do, get thee to the National Gallery of Art. Make sure you can tell the difference between a Manet and a Monet; a Cezanne and a Gauguin. If I have one complaint about Washington, it is that it is a "company town." There is more to life than politics. Find something to be passionate about beyond work and you'll be a happier person for it.