WASHINGTON (March 13, 2026) - GW’s Graduate School of Political Management and College of Professional Studies will be hosted by Katie Phang and special guest Norm Eisen in a political discussion at the Fahrenkopf-Manatt Lecture Series. The event will feature a student-centered dialogue with speakers on the current political climate, threats to the election process, the rise in political violence, and perspectives on populism in the 2026 elections as America approaches its 250th anniversary.
This lecture is part of a series named after Frank Fahrenkopf, former chair of the Republican National Committee during President Ronald Reagan’s administration and current co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, and Charles T. Manatt, former chair of the Democratic National Committee who later served as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. While the two leaders held different views on issues such as tax policy and defense spending, they championed the integrity of the U.S. electoral process. Their careers as political leaders helped to set the direction for the Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) through its first 20 years.
For more event information, please visit the website here.
WHO:
Norm Eisen is a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, executive chair of the States United Democracy Center, and a globally-recognized authority on law, ethics, and anti-corruption. He served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee for the Trump impeachment from February 2019 to February 2020. Eisen also served in the White House from January 2009 to January 2011 as special counsel and special assistant to the president for ethics and government reform, and was the U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014. He is the author of A Case for the American People: The United States v. Donald J. Trump and The Last Palace: Europe’s Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House.
Katie Phang is a trial attorney and consultant specializing in media relations and crisis management. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science with an international relations focus from Yale University. Phang is an adjunct professor of litigation skills at the University of Miami and a legal contributor for NBC News and MSNBC. She previously hosted The Katie Phang Show.
Rina Shah is a Washington, D.C.-based geopolitical risk advisor, political strategist, and media commentator with more than two decades of experience in government relations, political intelligence, and public affairs. As founder of VSAG, she advises elected officials, diplomats, and business leaders on navigating complex policy and geopolitical landscapes. Shah is also a frequent political analyst appearing on outlets including BBC, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and PBS. Her work focuses on providing insight into U.S. and global politics while advocating for bipartisan collaboration and women’s leadership in public life
WHEN:
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
WHERE:
The George Washington University
Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20052
Media Guidance: Any media interested in attending must RSVP in advance to Skyler Sales at skyler [dot] sales
gwu [dot] edu (skylers[at]gwu[dot]edu) or Nadia Payne at nadia [dot] paynegwu [dot] edu (nadia[dot]payne[at]gwu[dot]edu). Please indicate whether you will need a camera location.
-GW-