Liberty and Leadership
TFAS has reached more than 46,000 students and professionals through their academic programs, fellowships and seminars. Representing more than 140 countries, TFAS alumni are courageous leaders throughout the world – forging careers in politics, government, public policy, business, philanthropy, law and the media. Join TFAS President, Roger Ream, as he reconnects with these outstanding alumni to share experiences, swap career stories, and find out what makes their leadership journey unique. The Liberty and Leadership podcast is produced at Podville Media in Washington, D.C. If you have a comment or question for the show, please drop us an email at podcast@TFAS.org.
Liberty and Leadership
Restoring Civic Engagement and Volunteerism with Eric J. Tanenblatt
What has led to the erosion of civic engagement and volunteerism over the course of the past generation? This week Eric J. Tanenblatt joins host Roger Ream to discuss how his TFAS experience led to him to pursue a career in government and public service, and the memorable moments he experienced as a result (coordinating the 2004 G8 Economic Summit, serving in the George H. W. Bush administration and serving as chief of staff to former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue). Tanenblatt also emphasizes the importance of civic engagement and volunteerism and gives his thoughts on effective leadership.
Eric is the global chair of public policy and regulation at Dentons Law Firm. For over three decades, he has worked at the highest levels of federal and state government, including serving in three presidential administrations. He is also an alumnus of The Fund for American Studies’ class of 1987 and was recently presented the TFAS 2024 Alumni Achievement Award at this year’s 34th Annual Scholarship Dinner.
The Liberty + Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS president Roger Ream and produced by Podville Media. If you have a comment or question for the show, please email us at podcast@TFAS.org. To support TFAS and its mission, please visit TFAS.org/support.
Welcome to the Liberty and Leadership Podcast, a conversation with TFAS alumni, faculty and friends who are making an impact. Today I'm your host, roger Ream. Today I'm excited to welcome Eric J Tannenblatt to the Liberty and Leadership Podcast. Eric is the Global Chair of Public Policy and Regulation at Denton's law firm. For over three decades he has worked at the highest levels of federal and state government, including serving in three presidential administrations.
Speaker 1:Eric's commitment to civic engagement includes working with the Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference for Service and Voluntarism. He is the founder of Hands on Georgia and has been recognized as one of Georgia's 100 most influential persons and was one of the state's 40 under 40 rising stars. I'm pleased to share that Eric is an alumnus of the Fund for American Studies Class of 1987, and over the years has maintained a supportive relationship with us. He serves on our Board of Trustees and led our 50th anniversary campaign. A man who certainly leads by example. Eric models the many qualities that TFAS encourages its students to emulate. Because of this, tfas presented its 2024 Alumni Achievement Award to Eric at this year's 34th Annual Scholarship Dinner. Eric, welcome and thank you for joining me.
Speaker 2:Glad to be here. Thanks for inviting me.
Speaker 1:If I could start, you know close to the beginning, which is 1987, when you attended our economics and public policy track, which was at that time the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems, Could you tell me how you first heard about our program while a student at Emory University?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's hard to believe that was over 35 years ago. But I was looking to do something different. During the summer of my junior year, so I guess it was in the fall of my junior year I started to explore what opportunities were out there and I went into the Emory Career Planning and Placement Center. They gave me a book and it was filled with various programs and opportunities and I started perusing the book and saw the brochure for TFAS and for the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems, was intrigued, didn't tell my parents or anyone and I just applied and got in. That's how it happened.
Speaker 1:They probably don't have that book anymore, but I'm sure they've got a lot of online resources. That's right. Hopefully we're in there. Share some memorable experiences from that summer in 1987, when you spent it in Washington DC with us.
Speaker 2:Seriously, it was a life-changing experience for me because it really set me on a path from a career standpoint to pursue a career in government policy and politics.
Speaker 2:I didn't know what to expect when I got to Washington. I'd always been involved in student government and was always intrigued by government and politics, but never really worked in or around government and politics, and being in Washington DC, it was all around me and through the TFAS program we had these unique opportunities to see things that most people don't get to see. And I remember going to the House floor and Congressman Newt Gingrich this is before he was in leadership spoke to us on the floor of the House. Just being in the House chambers alone was pretty. We were all pretty much in awe. I remember going to a lunch that we were all invited to at the Washington Hilton and Ronald Reagan spoke. And for a young kid to see the President of the United States, especially Ronald Reagan, and at the Washington Hilton, which has historic significance with regards to Ronald Reagan, and I remember when he walked out he walked right by our table and it was definitely an aha moment for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really neat. It's still an aha moment when students happen to see even the presidential motorcade go by, or something like that. In what sense did the TFAS experience influence your career trajectory?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, after that summer I had decided that I really thought that this was a path that I wanted to pursue, and it was the fall of 1987. So that was the start of the 1988 presidential election, presidential election. And so I decided that during my senior year I was going to get involved in a presidential election and I researched all the candidates that were running and the candidate that was most aligned with where I was was George HW Bush, who at the time was the vice president. So I made contact with his campaign leadership in Georgia and I said I want to volunteer on the campaign and they got me involved.
Speaker 2:The vice president did his Southeastern announcement in Atlanta and I helped get a bunch of Emory students to volunteer and help with that event. And then they gave me another task of organizing organizations for the vice president on college campuses throughout Georgia, organizations for the vice president on college campuses throughout Georgia. And then I had, because of my summer at TFAST, I actually had enough credits to graduate after my first semester. So the Bush campaign asked me if I wanted a full-time job that January, prior to the I guess we had a Super Tuesday primary in March and so I started out organizing telephone banks for the campaign. And then about a month later they sent me out in the field and I was assigned a congressional district and got involved in the presidential race and then ultimately, when President Bush won, was invited to serve in his administration. And so it all sort of took off from there and it started that summer of 87.
Speaker 1:Well, it's interesting you mentioned that the credits you got at the TFAS program helped you graduate early and sounds like it made a big difference in enabling you to get to work in the primary and in the campaign. You, of course, took the economics and government classes we offer In any way. Did those courses or your TFAS participation influence or provide any help to you in your now jobs with three presidents a US senator, the governor of Georgia how, if in any way, did this help prepare you for those career opportunities?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, because you're in Washington for the summer and it's an intense period. You're doing so much in six weeks and it was unlike my experience at Emory during the semesters. I was there because this was really an intense focus on comparative political and economic systems and we were constantly debating issues, talking about issues, and it exposed me to things in a way that I wasn't exposed to in my political science classes at Emory and that really helped me. As you know, I entered my career. My first job in the Bush administration was actually at the Department of Health and Human Services in their legislative affairs. At the Department of Health and Human Services and their legislative affairs and because of you know the experiences I had over the summer at TFAS and friends that worked on Capitol Hill, you know I had some knowledge of the legislative process.
Speaker 2:And then I went to the Peace Corps and worked under the director of the Peace Corps doing congressional and intergovernmental affairs. But the Peace Corps is an agency that you know sends Americans overseas. So the international exposure while it was just over the summer was definitely helpful and it was actually during. I was working at the Peace Corps during the Gulf War and so that was interesting too, because you were dealing with a lot of international challenges. President Bush built a strong alliance. A lot of the allies that you know were part of that alliance were, you know, countries we talked about during the summer of 87. So all of that was very helpful and it's been helpful throughout my career.
Speaker 1:Well, now, in 2004,. You had the opportunity to coordinate and participate in the G8 Economic Summit and you've mentioned that over your shoulder is a picture that shows the participants in the summit. Tell me what that was like. And that was in Georgia, wasn't it? Was it in Sea Island?
Speaker 2:It was in Sea Island, georgia, that was really meaningful for a number of reasons. First of all, in 2000, I played a leadership role in then-Govern then President George W Bush's campaign in Georgia, and so the G8 summit in 2004 was hosted by President Bush. But I was also the chief of staff to Sonny Perdue, who was the first Republican governor in Georgia since Reconstruction, and while I was the chief of staff to the governor, we really made our case as to why President Bush should select Sea Island to host the G8 Economic Summit. So I was actually part of the lobbying team lobbying the White House to select Georgia, and then, once it was selected, governor Perdue asked me to serve as the state coordinator. So I've worked with the federal government, the State Department, the White House on all of the preparations leading up to the actual summit and was actually down on Sea Island during the summit.
Speaker 2:And I mean that is a unique experience when you have the at the time, the eight world leaders plus the host of the summit gets to invite other world leaders, if he chooses, to the summit, and so there were Middle Eastern leaders, african leaders, and they all converged on Georgia, and I remember one of the roles that Governor Perdue, played along with Senator Saxby Shambliss, who is our United States senator, was to greet the world leaders when Island, so it was definitely a memorable experience. Every time I go down to Sea Island, they have a room that's dedicated to the G8 Summit, so I go in there and I see all the memorabilia from the summit. So it was quite a memorable experience and I was just really honored to have been part of it.
Speaker 1:Now we have several of our PFAS alums who are in the governor's office today, including the chief of staff to the governor of Georgia. You were chief of staff to governor. What's that like?
Speaker 2:It's an important job. It's probably the most difficult job I ever had. For me it was somewhat unique because, as I mentioned, sonny Perdue was the first Republican governor in 135 years. As I mentioned, sonny Perdue was the first Republican governor in 135 years. So if you have one party dominance for that long of a period of time and then a new party comes in, you're transitioning all of state government, and so, in addition to dealing with that, we also had divided government. We had a democratically controlled house. Governor Perdue, because of his previous service in the state Senate, was able to get four of his former Democratic colleagues to switch parties, so the Republicans took control of the state Senate.
Speaker 2:An issue that was one of several in that gubernatorial race was the previous changing of the state flag by the previous governor. That created some angst among a lot of Georgians for not feeling like they had a say in it. So we also had to deal with the lingering issues surrounding the flag, which ultimately led to the changing of the flag to the current Georgia flag. So the combination of the transition of government, divided government, the flag issue, and I should probably also mention we inherited a $1.65 billion budget deficit, so that one year I was his chief of staff felt like a dog year, felt like seven years, but it was probably the while. It was the most difficult. It was probably the most rewarding job that I've ever had.
Speaker 1:Well, georgia seemed to play an outsized role in the last presidential election. I imagine you're being inundated right now with commercials on television and all sorts of political activity leading up to our election in November. In fact, I know it for a fact because my daughter lives in Cumming, georgia, and she says I wish we weren't a swing state. You know, because of all the political advertising. But do you expect it to be a smooth election this time around? And or, if it's close, there'll be the usual controversy about the procedures or something?
Speaker 2:I hope it's a smooth election. I mean, everything's in place for it to be a smooth election and, you know, in 2020, it was also a smooth election. There were challenges, but all of those were investigated and found that there was no credibility to the challenges and the state legislature actually has taken action over the last four years to really make the elections even more bulletproof. Look, elections are never completely perfect, but I do believe that the state has done a very effective job. I'm sure that there'll be, as with every election, there's going to be some questions raised. I hope there's not an organized effort if the outcome isn't the way someone would like it to be.
Speaker 2:But it's been interesting in Georgia because, you know, when I first got involved 35 plus years ago, you know Georgia had elected Republicans in the presidential race and over the last 30 years we've been more of a right-leaning state, especially at the federal level. Bill Clinton did defeat George Bush in 92, but that was really because of Ross Perot. George Bush in 92, but that was really because of Ross Perot. But every other presidential election you know from George Bush, george W Bush, bob Dole, john McCain, mitt Romney they all carried the state and it wasn't until 2020 that Joe Biden carried Georgia and, unfortunately, because of some of the challenges and some people being so focused on the outcome of the November 2020 election, it suppressed the vote in the runoff that we had in January 2021.
Speaker 2:And Republicans lost two Senate seats. And now, with two Democratic senators who have their own state organizations, one of whom, senator Warnock, got reelected two years ago. And the demographics in Georgia have changed. It's become a much more purple and you could see from the polls that you know, the more recent polls that you know we're tied. The two candidates are tied in the state. So I think it's going to be a very close election and it's going to all go down. You know, get down to who can turn out their voters.
Speaker 1:Well, shifting a little to your current position at Denton's, you're with the world's largest law firm, as the global chair of public policy and regulation. Could you talk about what that job involves?
Speaker 2:Sure, Sure, I mean I lead a practice group of lawyers and professionals that really focus at the intersection of business, government and law, and they assist companies, organizations that have issues with the government, and we do that focuses on the federal government.
Speaker 2:We have people across the country that focus on state government. We also do work at the local level with large municipalities. We have an attorney's general practice that works with state attorneys general across the country and we have a public affairs practice that really looks at communications, because in the public policy world, one thing that I've seen over the last three decades that has changed is that there's a lot more involvement on the part of the media, grassroots coalition buildings. So we have a team of people in our group that focuses on that and that's in the US, and then every country is different in terms of public policy and the role that outside consultants or law firms play, and so you know, our firm has set up with different regions, so in each region there's a leader, and so, as the global chair, I coordinate all the leaders around the globe in my global capacity. So I have a global role, but my primary role is the head of the US practice.
Speaker 1:Now, you've written about autonomous vehicles over the past several years and have become somewhat of an expert in the legal aspects of that technology. From everything I've read, the use of technology and autonomous vehicles will dramatically reduce the number of car accidents. But there's a thorny issue involving the insurance and liability issues. Do you expect that that will somehow be worked out in a way that we can expect autonomous vehicles to flourish in the future?
Speaker 2:I do. It'll be a little bit ugly at first, you know working all of this out, but you raise a really good point about safety. You know, right now 85 to 90% of accidents that occur is because of human error, and one of the things that autonomous vehicles will do is it'll take away that human error, and so I do think that safety will improve. Now you'll have a period of time where you're going to have people driving cars and these autonomous vehicles and I'm sure that there will be accidents and I'm sure the individuals that may be responsible will blame the machines as opposed to taking responsibility for it. But there's a lot that has occurred in the last seven years in the autonomous vehicle space.
Speaker 2:The states typically have responsibility for regulating the drivers and the cars. Regulations come from the federal government. The problem with autonomous vehicles, or the challenge I should say, is that the cars become the drivers, so a lot of this is being regulated at the state level. The federal government has been late to the party. That has changed in the last several years. There has been efforts, some fits and starts in trying to get Congress to pass laws, to put a legislative framework together. I think the DOT is playing a much bigger role the US DOT in regulating autonomous vehicles, but we still have a ways to go. That bigger role the US DOT in regulating autonomous vehicles, but we still have a ways to go.
Speaker 2:Look the people, it's fear of the unknown and, I think, the testing that's taking place. There's a lot of municipalities right now where you're seeing robo-taxis that are on the road. I think all of that stuff is good because the more people can experience it. Ride in an autonomous shuttle, ride in a robo taxi will make it a lot easier as society as a whole moves to autonomous passenger vehicles. And I also want one last thing because, as you can tell, I could probably talk about we have a whole podcast on this topic but I do think younger people tend to not want cars these days. They want to use, whether it's public transportation, uber or ride-sharing, and autonomous vehicles I think will be part of that ecosystem that you're going to see younger people gravitate to. And I think at some point the Ubers of today will be autonomous fleet vehicles that will just be traveling around cities, circulating, picking people up, dropping them off. And you know, electric vehicles have a lot longer shelf life or can last a whole lot longer than a combustible engine vehicle.
Speaker 1:Are there some countries in the world that are further along in adopting that technology?
Speaker 2:Sure, You're starting to see China. There's some places in Europe that have been at the forefront. The UK has been doing testing. You see it in Australia and Singapore. But look, the US is still a leader in technology and you see a lot of activity in the United States and I think we'll be at the forefront of it. We just got to work through some of the regulatory hurdles, and also the United States. Unlike some of other countries, we tend to be a more litigious society and because you're dealing with liability issues, as you mentioned, I think that may slow us down a little bit, but I think it'll ultimately get worked out.
Speaker 1:Well, that's your job there, Eric, to solve those problems along with your colleagues in the legal profession. Tell me about your work in the Buckhead community. You're a leader there. I've seen you quoted in news stories about things in Buckhead. I saw recently a report, I think you posted, about the drop in the crime rate. Tell us more about what you do in Buckhead as a leader there.
Speaker 2:So Buckhead is part of the city of Atlanta and it's the northern part of the city and it's a unique area in that it's a mix of residential, commercial and there's a lot of tourist hotels.
Speaker 2:And I'm a member of an organization called the Buckhead Coalition I actually am finishing my two-year term as chair and we focus on improving the quality of life for businesses, residents and visitors in the Buckhead area.
Speaker 2:When I took over as chairman and this, I think, gets to your point about crime, you know, coming out of COVID, as most metropolitan cities across the country, there was a spike in crime and Atlanta was not immune to that and so all across the city of Atlanta crime spiked, including Buckhead, and it actually birthed the movement by some that has now, fortunately, has gone away, but wanting to peel Buckhead out of the city of Atlanta and turn it into its own city, which I think would be a big mistake.
Speaker 2:And the city of Atlanta elected a new mayor, andre Dickens, who has done a really tremendous job, and when he came into office one of the top priorities for him was to bring down the crime rate throughout the city, but in particular in Atlanta. Buckhead historically has always had the lowest crime rate throughout the city, but in particular in Atlanta. Buckhead historically has always had the lowest crime rate in the city of Atlanta and we knew that, even though there was a spike as a result of COVID, we can get those numbers back down and working with the police department, the police chief, the mayor and leaders in the city council, and working with the state as well, we were able to do that. And now Buckhead again leads the city of Atlanta in the drop in crime. The whole city has seen a drop in crime and Buckhead is once again flourishing and it is a great place to live, work and raise a family. So anyone watching this podcast, I invite you to come to Buckhead.
Speaker 1:It is a beautiful, beautiful part of that. Atlanta You've served in important roles in promoting philanthropy, voluntary service, public service, both at the national level as well in Atlanta, as I mentioned in my introduction, and your service in Buckhead is one aspect of that. But it seems to me that one trend that's been a little disturbing over the last, oh, maybe 20 to 30 years is that people more regularly turn to government when there's a problem in a community. Let's get Washington DC especially to try to solve that, and many of the solutions can be found at home through citizens working voluntarily in their communities to solve those problems in their communities, to solve those problems. Could you talk some about the work you've done in this area, both in your service nationally, as well as whether you think this trend to move everything to Washington to be solved can be slowed down or stopped?
Speaker 2:I'm glad you raised that, because it's actually I don't want to say a crisis, but there's actual data that shows that volunteerism in general is on the decline, and that's really unfortunate. I've always had a passion for civic engagement. I think it's part of our duty as citizens, as Americans, going back to when the country was founded, and neighbors help neighbors, whether it was raising a barn or working in faith-based organizations helping your neighbor. And so I have been engaged in civic activity, even going back to when I was a little kid and more recently had the honor of being appointed by President Bush to serve on the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which is the largest grant-making organization in the federal government for the AmeriCorps program. And to your point about government, americorps is actually a unique program. Most people don't realize it because it's a public-private partnership, so the federal government just provides some of the funding, but it has to be matched at the state and local level, so it's actually a 17 to 1 return on investment for the federal government, and so I think there's a role that government can play to be a catalyst for programs like AmeriCorps. But I do think that there's more that individual citizens can do, nonprofits can do that corporations can do, working with local nonprofits, so that we're not so dependent on government.
Speaker 2:I now sit on the board of Points of Light. That was something that was founded by President George HW Bush, which is really interesting because it comes full circle, because, as I mentioned earlier, that was the first person I worked for, you know, out of college was the Bush administration and you know he saw that everyone can be a point of light, everyone can do something to help their community, and I, you know, really believe that that's something that we all it's an obligation that all of us, you know, need to take seriously, and I'm hoping that we can change the trend in volunteerism and more people will get involved, helping their community.
Speaker 1:At our annual scholarship dinner, you are awarded our TFAS Alumni Achievement Award and it's an alumni-initiated process that puts forward the names of our alumni, and we were so pleased to give it to you this summer, eric, and could you talk a little bit to our alumni and current students about what it means to be an effective, courageous leader and what kind of leadership lessons you might offer?
Speaker 2:Well, first I want to thank TFAST and those that selected me. That was a real honor because, as I hope to have demonstrated in our conversation, tfas was really influential in my life and the career that I pursued and what I do every day. So to be acknowledged by the organization was really meaningful. I have been very fortunate throughout my career to have had tremendous mentors, and to students and future students, I hope that you have afforded the same opportunity. I was taught early on in my career by.
Speaker 2:Probably the person that was the most influential was the late US Senator Paul Coverdale, who I started working for him when he was director of the Peace Corps and then worked for him in the United States Senate, and one of the things he taught me was that it's really important to listen and that, while you may not always agree with someone, you will likely learn something from listening, and I think that was something that has always stayed with me and that's something that I have used throughout my whole career and in positions of leadership, because I think it's easy to lead people when you understand the people that you're leading and the people that you're leading feel respected, and one way that people feel respected is to have someone listen to them.
Speaker 2:One of the other expressions or things he used to say a lot is that the competition of ideas is a good thing, that when you have a competition of ideas, the best ideas bubble up to the top, and you know it's unfortunate that. You know we're living in a time that is very divisive. People tend to be in their own corner, listen to what they want to hear, and we're not doing a lot of listening, and I think we as a nation can do a whole lot better if we were doing a lot more listening. So I guess that would be what I would want to convey to current students and others that are listening.
Speaker 1:Well, that's excellent. At our orientation program each summer for students, I emphasize the importance of listening, that you do learn more from listening than just by talking, and I picked this up somewhere that I like to say to them. God endowed us with two ears and one mouth and expects us to use them proportionally, and it's something I emphasize too in our fundraising team at TFAS the importance of listening, because when you go visit with a supporter, you know we want to hear what they think, what kinds of things they're trying to accomplish. And that's the way in any sales position, whether it's fundraising or selling a product. You want to listen to your customer to learn what it is they're trying to accomplish.
Speaker 1:Well, eric, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I know you keep a very busy schedule and you're often not only in Washington DC but probably traveling the globe on Denton's business and other work you're doing. We're proud to call you a TFAS alum. Thank you for your service on our board of trustees as well. It's very valuable there and appreciate you being with me this morning.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, and I always have time for T-Fest.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Liberty and Leadership podcast. If you have a comment or question, please drop us an email at podcast at tfasorg, and be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app and leave a five-star review. Liberty and Leadership is produced at Podville Media. I'm your host, roger Ream, and until next time, show courage in things, large and small.
