First-Year Fellow Mentor: Edward Rynne '77

The First-Year Fellows program is a unique opportunity for first-year students to engage meaningfully in public policy early in their Dartmouth careers. Each year, around 20 students are selected and placed in fellowships with Dartmouth alumni in Washington, D.C., who are willing to take on a significant mentoring role.

"Shortly after arriving at the Smithsonian Institution as its Director for Real Estate in early 2009, I received an email from the Rockefeller Center describing in detail the First-Year Fellows Program, and requesting potential placement opportunities from Dartmouth alumni working in the Washington, DC area. Given its status as the largest museum and research complex in the world, and imbued with a founding mission for the ”increase and diffusion of knowledge,” it seemed inconceivable to me that the Smithsonian would not prove a hospitable environment for First-Year Fellows. After reviewing a number of potential alternatives within the Institution, I approached the Office of Policy & Analysis (OP&A), whose unit was responsible for conducting a wide array of policy and research studies. They responded favorably and enthusiastically to the idea of hosting interns from the program, providing substantive research and writing opportunities for a succession of Dartmouth interns." --Edward Rynne '77

Edward Rynne assumed his present position of Associate Director OPDC/RE at the Smithsonian Institution on March 16, 2009. He came to the Smithsonian from the Department of Homeland Security where he served variously as Facilities Chief, Acting Chief Administrative Officer/Director of the Office of Asset Management; Chief of Health, Safety, Environment and Energy at US Immigration & Customs Enforcement; and Assistant Director in the Office of Real Estate Services at the Transportation Security Administration. Previously, Rynne served with the USPS’s Facilities Department, initially at the Northeast and Pacific Facilities Service Offices, and subsequently for ten years as a member of the Realty Asset Management Group at USPS Headquarters in Washington, DC. Rynne received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and pursued graduate studies in urban and regional planning at the Kennedy School of Government and Gund School of Design at Harvard University.

Ed Rynne has mentored the following First-Year Fellows:

• Abhishek Bhargava '18
• Madison DeRose '18
• Alexa Sonnenfeld '17
• Sean Connolly '16
• Carene Mekertichyan '16
• Kamran Ali '15
• Jane Cavalier '14
• Grace Hart '13
• William Hix '12