November 10, 2011<\/p>\n
Winona State alumnus Terry Lierman \u201969<\/strong> performs a delicate political balancing act as chief of staff for Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. Writer Shari Kiple<\/strong> caught up with Lierman at his Capitol office, which looks out towards the White House and National Mall. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the best job in the world,\u201d says Terry Lierman \u201969, emerging from the ornate office of U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland). \u201cIt combines policy, politics, management, and working with a terrific boss. There are very few jobs in the world where you can do all that.\u201d<\/p>\n As chief of staff, he works with policy and moves legislation forward while interacting with the White House as well as Congressional and other regional offices. He also manages Hoyer\u2019s leadership team and communicates with a myriad of other constituencies. What makes him most proud? \u201cBeing at the center of the storm and working on priorities that will impact Americans for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n He joined Hoyer\u2019s staff in 2007. They met, however, years earlier when Hoyer attended a party Lierman was hosting for then Speaker of the House Tip O\u2019Neill. The two have been friends ever since.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not very often you can know someone as a friend and then work in the trenches every day and respect that person even more than you did before,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes I wonder if he\u2019s the big brother I always wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n Raised in the small town of Shopiere, Wisconsin, he has two older sisters. Their father tended bar and their mother worked nights at a factory.<\/p>\n \u201cMy father gave me $20 when he dropped me off at Winona State,\u201d recalls Lierman, a political science major who put himself through college by sweeping boathouse floors each morning and stocking groceries most nights.<\/p>\n Today Lierman is a long way from Winona State, but he remains grateful. \u201cWinona State, through various experiences, internships, and professors, propelled me toward my interest in public service. Professors [Ahmed] El Afandi and [Jim] Eddy took me under their wings and helped me get an internship with the city manager in Winona.\u201d After that, he landed a student assistant position for the chancellor of the Minnesota State University system.<\/p>\n Those internships, he says, allowed him to apply his education in real and tangible ways. They also made him rethink his plans to become a teacher.<\/p>\n After graduating with honors from Winona State, he pursued his master\u2019s at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the height of Vietnam War protests. \u201cLooking back, it was an amazing time: tear gas, presence of the National Guard, protests day after day.\u201d<\/p>\n A conscientious objector to the draft, Lierman saw a chance to serve through public service and politics. His education, internships, and life experiences, he says, \u201cled me to believe I could make a difference. What better place to make a difference than Washington, D.C.?\u201d<\/p>\n He graduated from UW-Madison in 1971 and planned a move to the nation\u2019s capital. How he would get there is a story of perfect timing.<\/p>\n While distributing anti-war leaflets door-to-door for the Quakers, Lierman met Ed McManus from the National Institutes of Health. \u201cWe became fast friends,\u201d he recalls. Their connection led to an internship with the NIH, the first step of his career in Washington.<\/p>\n After the NIH, he became director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Lierman left in 1980 to create a healthcare lobbying and public relations firm and start other related ventures. He returned to politics in 2003 as national finance co-chair for Howard Dean\u2019s presidential campaign, helping raise $51 million, then a groundbreaking amount. From 2004 until his appointment as Hoyer\u2019s chief of staff, he chaired the Maryland Democratic Party.<\/p>\n His career path has taken turns over the years; his faith in public service has not wavered. \u201cOne of the things I\u2019m most proud of is my volunteer efforts. If it\u2019s a priority, you make the time.\u201d<\/p>\n He has most definitely made the time. Lierman is dedicated to helping others: by founding the Pancreatic Cancer Network, founding and chairing the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, serving as vice chair of UNICEF, and founding the Children\u2019s Research Institute at the Children\u2019s National Medical Center. At Winona State, he created a scholarship for political science students involved in service.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe the most noble thing one can do is public service,\u201d he says. \u201cThat can come in many forms, be it elected official, public servant, or volunteer in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n What sparks this passion for service?<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, everything comes down to human rights. If people are treated with respect, if they have self-worth and a sense of purpose, that equates into good things happening. I believe things always come around in circles. Look at what has happened in my life. I\u2019m the most blessed person you\u2019ll ever meet.\u201d<\/p>\n Terry Lierman \u201969 comments on issues other than national policy and politics:<\/strong><\/p>\n Paying for college<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u201cThe crazy thing is that you can\u2019t work your way through college now like I did. There\u2019s such a disparity of what you get paid and what higher education costs. That\u2019s a huge disincentive to students today.\u201d<\/p>\n Making a difference<\/strong>:\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t see protests [like those I saw at the University of Wisconsin] as much anymore. Our campuses have gone silent at a time when we need them most.\u201d How to make your voice heard? \u201cLetters to the editor, opinion pieces, peaceful protests, campaign involvement, and conversations with your elected officials.\u201d<\/p>\n Staying true to your roots<\/strong>: \u201cIf you\u2019re from the Midwest you are the heart of this country for other than geographic reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Quoting a favorite<\/strong>: \u201cNo act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.\u201d\u00a0 (Aesop)<\/p>\n Memorable words<\/strong>: \u201cChildren are living messages we send to a time that we will not see. What message are we sending through our daily deeds?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" November 10, 2011 Winona State alumnus Terry Lierman \u201969 performs a delicate political balancing act as chief of staff for Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. Writer Shari Kiple caught up with Lierman at his Capitol office, which looks out towards the White House and National Mall. \u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s the best job in the world,\u201d says Terry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,2],"tags":[130,625,627,626,628,624,281,159,7,8],"class_list":["post-1046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-wsu-magazine","tag-alumni","tag-democrats","tag-politics","tag-republicans","tag-steny-hoyer","tag-terry-lierman","tag-university-of-wisconsin-madison","tag-volunteering","tag-winona-state-university","tag-wsu"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PQMT-gS","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1046"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1047,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1046\/revisions\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.winona.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}