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Alumni Spotlights

 

Close Up alumni have gone on to become leaders in government, advocacy, business, education, media, and a number of other fields. We are grateful to have these visionaries as members of our alumni network and we invite you to join if you haven’t already, to make valuable connections and share your own story with us.Read a selection of our alumni stories and memories below! 

 

Found 26 Results
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Anita Ortiz | Student 1988

Alumni Spotlight | September 24, 2018

Anita Ortiz (née Woerner) began her connection with Close Up during a week-long high school program in 1988, learning about American government in collaboration with peers from across the country. She and other participants stayed on the Gallaudet University campus, a historic and prestigious institution for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in DC. Meeting students from […]


Maya Nieto | Student 2009

Alumni Spotlight | September 24, 2018

Maya Nieto was one of over a million people who filled the National Mall on a frozen Tuesday morning in January 2009 to witness President Barack Obama’s first inauguration. During her senior year at Mercy High School (San Francisco, CA), she traveled to Washington, DC, with several schoolmates, joining more than 3,000 students from across […]


Dr. Frank Mora | Student 1981

Alumni Spotlight | September 24, 2018

Dr. Frank O. Mora, a 1981 Close Up alum, currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs. In that position, he oversees policy issues and defense relations involving countries in the hemisphere as well as US government funding of hemispheric defense cooperation. Dr. Mora’s fascinating career has included teaching, advising, speaking, […]


Leon Harris

Leon Harris | Student 1979

Alumni Spotlight | September 24, 2018

Leon Harris may have moved to Washington in 2003 to become a news anchor for WJLA ABC7, but his first trip to DC was for a Close Up program in the spring of 1979. Arriving by bus from Akron, Ohio, Harris recalls seeing the sites of the nation’s capital for the first time and thinking: […]


Geoffrey | Student 2004

Alumni Spotlight | April 17, 2018

Geoff Browning knows his way around the Capitol Building, having worked since 2010 in the House of Representatives. He currently serves as a Legislative Aide for Katherine Clark, Representative for the Massachusetts 5th Congressional District, with a policy portfolio that includes education, defense, foreign affairs, and homeland security. Rep. Clark’s office is lined with block […]


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