The Strategerist

Latest Episodes:

Dr. R. Gerald Turner -- Shaping SMU's Legacy May 29, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Turner served as SMU’s president for 30 years. During his impressive career, he achieved significant milestones from being a key player in bringing the George W. Bush Presidential Center to SMU’s campus to getting SMU into to the ACC. He has left quite a legacy. Dr. Turner visited the Bush Center for the annual Forum on Leadership and met with Strategerist host Andrew Kaufmann to discuss his thirty years at SMU along with the story of bringing the Bush Center to SMU’s campus — which had some fierce competition!

Damon Wilson — National Endowment for Democracy President and CEO May 08, 2025

Show notes

To learn more about the Bush Center’s work on Advancing Free Societies, visit bushcenter.org/topics/freedom-and-democracy. And learn more bout the National Endowment for Democracy at https://www.ned.org/

Colonel Edna Cummings & Milauna Jackson — Advocating for “The Six Triple Eight” May 01, 2025

Show notes

Strategerist host Andrew Kaufmann and Devon Yarbrough, Communications Manager at the George W. Bush Presidential Center sat down with Milauna Jackson who portrays Captain Abby Campbell in the 2024 Netflix film, “The Six Triple Eight” and Retired Army Col. Edna Cummings, a passionate advocate whose work led to two crucial recognitions for the 6888. Milauna discusses what it was like working on the Netflix film while Col. Cummings shares the behind-the-scenes bipartisan advocacy for the battalion who played a critical role in World War II.

Veteran Leadership Program’s Dennis Miller — Service and Story: Upholding the 6888 Legacy Apr 29, 2025

Show notes

To learn more about the incredible heroes of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion like Dennis' grandmother, Sylvia Armstrong, watch the documentary The SixTriple Eight.

Robert Edsel -- Remembering Our Fallen Service Members from WWII to Modern Times Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

Order a copy of Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom and a Forever Promise Forged in World War II on the Bush Center's website.

SMU's Dr. Jeffrey Engel -- Insights into Presidential History Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Jeffrey Engel is an award-winning presidential historian and the David Gergen Director of the SMU Center for Presidential History. He’s authored or edited thirteen books on American foreign policy and spent a good part of his career at the Bush School of Government and Public Service in College Station before coming to SMU. He joins host Andrew Kaufmann and Kevin “Sully” Sullivan, former White House Communications Director under President Bush and Senior Advisor to the George W. Bush Presidential Center, to discuss his passion for presidential history, the shift in legacies post-presidency, and why we need to continue learning about our past to build our future.

Captain Flo Groberg -- Leadership Lessons with a Medal of Honor Recipient Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Retired U.S. Army Captain Florent Groberg is one of 3,528 recipients of the Medal of Honor—the highest military honor awarded to those who serve in the United States armed forces. Flo joins host Andrew Kaufmann and Michael Bailey, Deputy Director of the Leadership Programs at the Bush Institute to discuss his service to our country and what leadership means both in the uniform and as a civilian.

Chuck Todd — Local Journalism and the State of News in 2025 Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

Chuck Todd is an Emmy award-winning journalist while NBC’s Chief Political Analyst and former moderator for Meet the Press, which he stepped away from in September 2023. Although he stepped away from the moderator’s chair, he still covers politics this his podcast, The Chuck Toddcast. He joined Strategerist host Andrew Kaufmann and Senior Editorial Advisor at the Bush Institute Bill McKenzie to discuss how the journalism ecosystem has changed and evolved and how local news should be driving national news (not the other way around).

Jared Cohen — From Presidential History to Technology Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

If you enjoyed this episode, watch Purpose Beyond the White House: A Conversation on the Post-Presidency, an Engage at the Bush Center event presented by NexPoint featuring Jared Cohen.

James D. Rodriguez — Former Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training Service Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

The Honorable James D. Rodriguez served as Assistant Secretary within the Biden administration Department of Labor Veterans’ Employment and Training Service from January 2021 until January 2025 where he served 440,000 veterans annually. He is an accomplished executive leader with over 30 years experience across the government and corporate landscapes and over 20 years in the United States Marine Corps in numerous leadership and management positions. Last year, he joined Strategerist host Andrew Kaufmann and the Bush Institute’s Casey Rodriguez, the Senior Program Manager of Leadership Programs. But not only is Casey managing the operations of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program, she’s the daughter of Secretary Rodriguez.

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