144. Kellie Doucette, Unexpected Journey: Pink Sand Beaches to New Jersey Politics

Show Notes:

Kellie Doucette describes her journey as zigs and zags, with three distinct chunks defined by her location: Northern Virginia, Bermuda, and New Jersey. She worked for a small health policy consulting firm called the Lewin Group in Northern Virginia, DC, where she met her future husband, John Doucette.

A 13-Year Stint in Bermuda

Kellie, an actuary, began her career in the Bermuda market after taking the actuarial exams. She and her husband moved to Bermuda in 1996, and they enjoyed the adventure of visiting family on the East Coast and raising their children there. The reinsurance industry in Bermuda was growing rapidly, and Kellie joined a life and health group company and continued taking the actuarial exams. Their 13-year stint in Bermuda provided innovative career opportunities, working with clients and devising innovative ways to achieve objectives.

Pursuing a Path in Politics

However, Kellie left her job in 2008 to pursue a different path. She worked remotely for a few years, but she started feeling like she needed a change.  In 2016, she became unhappy with the trajectory of national politics and decided to become more involved in politics. She started volunteering for local government office campaigns and met a candidate running in her congressional district during the 2018 midterms who aimed to flip a seat from red to blue. During the midterms, Kellie lived in a swing district, which could potentially flip the seat.  Kellie found herself in the midst of New Jersey politics. She was fortunate to work with a candidate, Mikie Sherrill, who won a congressional race and is now running for governor in New Jersey. 

Establishing a District Office

Kellie worked to establish a district office for Mikie, which spanned over six years. As the district director, Kellie aimed to build bridges between the district and the mayors, ensuring they served the entire district, not just the blue parts. She prioritized building trust and respecting the fact that they were there for everyone, learning from the mayors, local electives, and community stakeholders. Kellie emphasizes the importance of showing up everywhere and respecting that it would take time to build trust with the community. Her experience highlights the importance of being genuine and understanding the needs of the community.

Working Across Party Lines

Kellie shares her experience working with a congressional office during a divisive time. The office was open to serving constituents and addressing issues that were not always seen in government. She found it rewarding to work with local officials and local officials across party lines to tackle various issues, such as flooding, public safety, and mental health. Since leaving the congressional office, Kellie continues to do what she can to support Mikie in her run for Governor. She has also been involved in consulting work for a county college and serves on two boards  - as vice chair of the board of her high school and on the board of Ibis Reproductive Health, a non-profit run by our classmate Kelly Blanchard. Kellie is excited to see what comes next in her journey! 

The Challenges of a Congressional Office

The conversation turns to Congress members setting up and running their offices, with a set budget that can be used in various ways due to different priorities and districts. New Jersey is a densely populated state, and in Kellie's district they could have a single district office serving everyone. A district in a western state, for example, may have to budget differently to accommodate multiple offices. Kellie mentions the importance of having support of more established congressional offices in New Jersey when they were setting up and the choice in Mikie's office to have two district directors to ensure mayors in their 54 towns had a senior contact in the office. Kellie also discusses the challenges of setting up a congressional office in a flipped district where you do not get as much cooperation from the prior office. She acknowledges the need for strong communication and organization and stresses the importance of a well-organized and efficient office environment. She goes on to share how the district office works and how the different agencies work.

Outreach During the August District Work Period

Kellie talks about her experiences with the August district work period, which is a time for organizing outreach for the Congresswoman in the district. She highlights how much she enjoyed learning about the strong manufacturing economy and pharma industry in the district, as well as the innovative work happening in various sectors. How important it was to bring local electeds and colleges into the conversations to support these companies and ensure they have the workforce pipeline and education system in place to attract talent. She talks about the role of the bipartisan group of mayors, known as The Strike Force and how it has assembled to deal with the issue of flooding in the area.

Influential Harvard Professors and Courses

Kellie, a former government major, transitioned to economics as a better fit for her. She took Public Sector Economics under Larry Summers, which highlighted the integration of her policy and economic interests. She appreciates the breadth of classes and the opportunity to learn from different perspectives. She believes that the best learning experience was managing the football team at Harvard.

Timestamps:

02;25: Kelly's Career Journey: Northern Virginia and Bermuda

07:37: Transition to New Jersey and Political Career 

12:27: Building Trust and Serving the District 

35:05: Challenges and Achievements in District Work 

41:14: Reflecting on Harvard and Career Insights 

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellie-doucette-a3424a11a/

Email:  [e-mail]

 

 

 

Featured Non-profit

The featured non-profit of this week’s episode is recommended by Angela Romans who reports:

“Hi. I'm Angela Romans, class of 1992. The featured nonprofit of this episode of The 92 Report is Innovation for Equity. Innovation for Equity is a network of changemakers across the education ecosystem committed to transforming the life outcomes of black learners of all ages. Co-founded by several Harvard 92 and 93 graduates, I have been privileged to serve as the founding executive director of Innovation for Equity, or IFE, since 2021 you can learn more about our work at Innovation Equity dot O, R, G, and now here is Will Bachman with this week's episode.”

 

To learn more about their work, visit: InnovationEquity.org.