CU in DC: The view from Capitol Hill
President Todd Saliman and the university’s Office of Federal Relations hosted the inaugural CU in DC conference June 23-25 in Washington, D.C. The event drew Coloradans from across the state to the nation’s capital to learn from and engage with federal legislators, foreign policy experts, members of the media and others.
“We were eager to offer our community members an exclusive, CU-focused program in D.C. this summer where they could gain a bipartisan perspective on our democratic process,” Saliman said of the event. It was offered in lieu of the Colorado Capital Conference, which the university has cohosted annually with Colorado Mesa University. The Capital Conference recently was moved to a biennial cadence. “I’m grateful to our hardworking team members for facilitating such an exciting and memorable experience for our CU in DC participants.”
Over the course of the conference, members of the Colorado congressional delegation – including Reps. Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse and Jeff Crank – provided insights into the federal landscape, as did Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington; Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-California; Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and prominent figures in foreign policy, journalism and AI policy.
Participants also enjoyed an after-hours tour of the Capitol building with Rep. Neguse and an evening at the International Spy Museum, where they heard from former CIA operatives Joe Keogh and Jonna Mendez, both of whom have strong connections to CU. Keogh is a CU Boulder alumnus and Mendez’s late husband, Tony, was a student at the Boulder campus. Tony Mendez was the mastermind behind the daring rescue of six American diplomats in Tehran beginning in 1979 that served as the basis for the 2012 film “Argo.”
Conference participants included CU alumni, students from all four campuses and business and community leaders, in addition to Regents Frank McNulty, Ilana Spiegel and Mark VanDriel, CU Anschutz Chancellor Don Elliman, UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet and CU Boulder Women’s Basketball Head Coach JR Payne.
