Inside the Office of Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.): Michael Shank

Title: Communications director

Age: 35

Hometown: Amish-Mennonite town of Kidron, Ohio

Education: Completing Ph.D., George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (dissertation: climate)

{mosads}Last job: Journalist; communications director, GMU

Biggest communications success: Communicating to Rep. Honda during my job interview that two communicator role models were Eleanor Roosevelt and Paolo Freire: Eleanor because of her championing civil and women’s rights while writing a nationally syndicated column six days a week for 30 years; Paolo because of his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Fortuitously, Honda, a former educator, loves the book.

Most memorable communications disaster: In my mid-20s I told my mother over the phone, and rather abruptly, that I was taking a job in the Philippines, specifically on the war-torn island of Mindanao. I remember the lengthy, audible silence before she eventually replied, nervously, “That’s interesting.” 

Best communications advice you’ve received: From Jurgen Habermas, a lesson on communicative action: The use of language is a medium for reaching understanding. Through discussion, universal truths can be uncovered, and by adopting each other’s perspective, society can develop actions which have just consequences for everyone. Without taking the viewpoint of another, we risk acting out of ignorance. Additional advice? See every media request, no matter how small, as a messaging opportunity.

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