Inside the Office of…Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.): Michael Harold

Michael Harold

Title: Scheduler

Age: 25

Hometown: Lake Oswego, Ore.

Education: B.A. in political science with a minor in international relations, American University

Last job: Scheduler/executive assistant for Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.)

Biggest scheduling nightmare: Forgetting to put important meetings with important people on the calendar! Having someone your boss knows show up for a meeting that you forgot to put on the calendar. It’s a nightmare that plays out in my head every single day there are votes. Also … trying to track down my boss when [I] have no idea where he is but know where he’s supposed to be and he’s not there.

Explanation you most often use when rescheduling your boss: I use the phrases “leadership,” “just called for” and “caucus” a lot. No one really questions those three items when they’re clumped together. I use them on an hourly basis. 

Best scheduling trick: The best thing you can do as a scheduler is confirm, re-confirm and forecast the floor schedule so you know when and how to shift your boss’s afternoon meetings around. 

Most embarrassing moment on Capitol Hill: Having to tell my boss that I couldn’t rent him a car in Tunisia because he was too old. He took it pretty well, though. 

Interests outside of work:  I try and stay true to my Northwest roots by getting as much hiking, biking and camping in as possible; avoiding the Red Line; playing, listening and seeing good music; bike-light dance parties; drinking coffee; reading; pretending I don’t have a BlackBerry on the weekends.

Michael Harold doesn’t always shelve his knack for adventure when he comes to work. Before he became Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s (D-Ore.) scheduler, he drove for Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), and when he couldn’t find an off-ramp after once missing an exit, he banged a U-turn in the middle of the road to get the congressman to an important vote.

“I was like, ‘Hold on tight!’ ” Harold said, leaning to his left and spinning an imaginary steering wheel. 

In Blumenauer’s office, Harold feeds his passions for running, hiking and biking alongside a boss and office mates equally interested in leading highly active lifestyles. He bikes to and from work every day and participates in various activities with colleagues, such as runs, triathlons and mountain biking. 

Although he said the mountains in the D.C. area don’t compare to those of his home state — “They’re more like glorified hills” — his uncle in Charlottesville, Va., is close enough to visit on weekends. From there, Shenandoah National Park — where Harold enjoys the swimming holes, hiking and bike trails — is only a short drive away. 

When he’s at work, Harold and his colleagues find ways to have some lighthearted fun: Take their zany bike-light dance parties as an example. 

“It’s just a little joke — when we’re all ready to go, we’ll bust out our bike lights from our backpacks and start dancing,” Harold said with a laugh. 

To have your office featured on Inside the Office of…, contact Kris Kitto at 202-628-8539 or kkitto@digital-staging.thehill.com.