Mark Penn served as a Democratic political advisor to President Bill Clinton and chief political strategist on Hillary Clinton's campaign for president. Mr. Penn currently serves as the worldwide CEO of the major public relations firm Burson-Marsteller and president of the polling firm Penn, Schoen and Berland. Karen Hughes was the former White House communications director for President George W. Bush and currently serves as the vice chairman of Burson-Marsteller. Mike Allen is the chief political correspondent for Politico. He previously worked at TIME magazine as their White House correspondent and at The Washington Post, where he covered President Bush's first term, Capitol Hill, campaign finance and the Bush, Gore and Bradley campaigns of 2000.

GW’s Graduate School of Political Management offers graduate programs in political management, legislative affairs, public relations, and PAC management, as well as international programs in Latin America and Europe. The school seeks to improve politics by educating its students and professionals about the tools, principles and values of participatory democracy; preparing them for careers as ethical and e ffective advocates and leaders at the international, national and local levels.