One Person Can Truly Make a Difference

At work in Public Policy

Peg McGlinch ’95 lives by that motto every day as chief of staff for Representative Tim Walz, Minnesota Congressional District 1.

It was a weird stroke of luck that Peg began a life of public service more than a decade ago. Her parents were attending a wedding in Rochester, Minn., and happened to be sitting by someone who worked in Tim Penney’s congressional office at the time. “You don’t need interns, do you?” her parents asked. “We sure do!”

Peg volunteered her first two summers out of high school as a case worker in the office, working on everything from securing visas for adopted children and locating missing social security checks to expediting passports.

“You call and shake things loose as a case worker,” Peg says. “When someone brings a problem to a congressperson, it’s a big problem in their life at that moment. They are desperate and need help. At 18, I was able to give such concrete help. It was a unique way to see the government because you see that you can make things happen.”

Her case worker experience was followed by an internship for Senator Paul Wellstone that pretty much “sealed the deal” for Peg. She graduated magna cum laude from the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in government. That was followed by a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a J.D. from Harvard Law School 2001.

Peg was a Truman Scholar in 1994, one of 85 award recipients out of 852 applicants. And in 2001, she was one of only 10 Heyman Fellows at Harvard. From there, she served Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) on environmental issues and managed his congressional campaign; served on the Wellstone campaign; worked with Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) as an advisor on economy, labor, trade, taxes, budget, and financial services; and served Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA0 as a legislative director.

“My work excites me every day,” Peg admits. For the chief of staff, no day is typical. The staff meets, briefs the representative, answers hundreds of e-mails, and “figures out which brush fire is threatening to burn down the house and which will burn itself out.” Peg says, “One minute we’ll be meeting with the CEO of the Mayo Clinic, the next we’re sorting through vouchers to pay shipping bills, and the next minute we’re back to reviewing documents.”

Of all her work, Peg enjoys appropriations. “It’s such concrete help. Appropriations are not grand policy victories, but they are concrete.”

Whether interested in a life of public policy or simply being an informed, engaged citizen, Peg has one piece of advice. “It’s easier to get involved than most people think. I was lucky enough to figure that out early on,” Peg says. “It’s easy to get quality information and to be informed. Senators and Representatives truly are interested in what people have to say.”

In her camp, for example, almost every Saturday Representative Walz and the team are out in the community with town hall meetings, issue forums, and even strolling in the grocery store talking with constituents.

So, what’s next for Peg? She says, “I have never had the five-year plan of what would come next, but I know it will be fun.”