Alumni Serving in D.C.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Gregory Slavonic

Retired Rear Admiral Gregory Slavonic, ’71 journalism and broadcasting, was nominated to be the next assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs. Slavonic is a native Oklahoman and chief of staff for U.S. Senator James Lankford.

Before that, he was a senior leader at the Computer Sciences Corporation, where he planned and executed several national Navy community outreach engagements. He also has been executive director of the Jim Thorpe Association and president of Flagbridge Strategic Communications, a consulting company focused on strategic communications and leadership. Slavonic retired from the Navy after a 34-year career, which started with his enlistment as a seaman recruit.

Everett Eissenstat, ’85 political science and Spanish, is the current deputy director of the National Economic Council and deputy assistant to the president for international economic affairs in the senior administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Prior to his appointment, he served as chief international trade counsel for the Senate Committee on Finance. He has also served as assistant U.S. trade representative for the Western Hemisphere.

John Tahsuda III

United States Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke appointed John Tahsuda III, ’90 business administration, as the principal deputy assistant secretary – Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior. Tahsuda is serving as the first assistant and principal adviser to the assistant secretary – Indian Affairs in the development and interpretation of policies affecting Indian Affairs bureaus, offices and programs. Prior to joining the department, Tahsuda led the tribal affairs practice for Washington, D.C.-based Navigators Global LLC. Before joining the company, Tahsuda served on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs since 2002, first as senior counsel and later as staff director with responsibilities for federal policy and legislation affecting gaming, federal recognition, self-governance and health care. Tahsuda earned a juris doctorate from Cornell Law School in 1993.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lance Allen Robertson for U.S. assistant secretary and administrator for the Administration on Community Living in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Lance Armstrong

After serving in the U.S. Army, Robertson earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from OSU in 1993 and a master’s degree with honors in public administration from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Robertson has been Oklahoma Department of Human Services’ director of Aging Services for the past decade, overseeing a range of programs that included the Older Americans Act and the state’s Home & Community Based Services Medicaid Waiver (ADvantage). He was also an administrator for 12 years in the OSU College of Human Sciences, where he co-founded and served as assistant director of the OSU Gerontology Institute and as director of the college’s University Extension. During this time, Robertson was also executive director of PartnerShips for Aging, the largest regional gerontology association in the nation. In 2013, the College of Human Sciences named Robertson an honorary alumnus to honor his partnership with its gerontology program.