Frederick (Rick) Barton and Kathryn R. (Kit) Lunney have been named co-directors of the Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative (SINSI) at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Established in 2006, SINSI is designed to encourage, support and prepare the nation’s top students to pursue careers in the U.S. government, both in international and domestic agencies, through academic training that is integrated with work experience in federal agencies.
Barton and Lunney’s appointments will begin Sept. 1, 2016. They succeed Hilda (Bambi) Arellano, who has led the program since 2014.
“I’m thrilled that Rick Barton and Kit Lunney will lead the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative. They are a dynamic team and both have distinguished backgrounds that will serve this program well. I am confident they will continue the success of their predecessor, Hilda Arellano,” said Cecilia Rouse, dean of the Wilson School.
“SINSI is delighted to welcome Rick Barton and Kit Lunney as its new leadership team,” Arellano said. “They both bring to the program extensive careers in public service as well as a deep commitment to mentoring and guiding students toward careers in the federal government.”
Barton and Lunney, a husband-wife team, will be responsible for administering all aspects of SINSI including placement and mentoring, recruitment and outreach. This includes working closely with federal government agencies to identify and arrange summer internships and fellowships for SINSI undergraduate and graduate students.
Barton’s work is informed by more than 20 years of experience in more than 40 global hot spots. Before coming to the Wilson School as a lecturer, he was assistant secretary of state for conflict and stabilization operations at the U.S. Department of State and U.S. ambassador to the Economic and Social Council at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (U.N.). He also served as U.N. deputy high commissioner for refugees in Geneva, as the first director of the Office of Transition Initiatives at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and was a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and co-director of the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project.
Lunney is an executive and lawyer with a broad-ranging domestic and international career in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She was the first state court planner for Maine’s judicial system, an intergovernmental relations officer at the U.S. Department of Transportation and deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce. As co-leader of Book Relief, First Book’s response to the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, Lunney worked with the U.S. Department of Education, state and local governments and hundreds of nonprofits and individuals to deliver five million new books to more than 2,200 groups and organizations in 20 states impacted by the storms. In the private sector, Lunney worked as counsel to two technology companies in Maine. Most recently, she was chief operating officer of and then a consultant to Smith Dawson & Andrews, a government and public affairs company based in Washington, D.C.
“We are believers in the importance of federal public service and are honored to work with Princeton University, its amazing people and talented students to advance this cause,” Barton and Lunney said. “Identifying special opportunities and supporting young people as they pursue their careers is a lifelong commitment, and we greatly look forward to building upon Bambi's fine contributions.”
SINSI scholars are selected based on outstanding academic performance, a proven track record of accomplishment, leadership skills and a demonstrated commitment to a career in government service. Through the generosity of donors, SINSI is able to provide funding for summer internships with the federal government each year. Internships are available to Princeton undergraduates from all majors and fields of study as rising sophomores, juniors or seniors.
For two years, Arellano has successfully led SINSI thanks to her distinguished career in government service. Prior to coming to Princeton, Arellano was USAID’s senior development adviser at the Foreign Service Institute. Throughout her career, she served as mission director for USAID in Ecuador, the Budapest Regional Center for Europe and Eurasia, Peru, Iraq and Egypt. She also served as the counselor to USAID and was the coordinating director for development and economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan.
“It has been my privilege to work with an outstanding group of SINSI students as the program reaches its 10-year anniversary,” Arellano said. “I have been so impressed by the range of opportunities they are given during their internships and fellowships with the federal government. These opportunities are due entirely to the capacity of each SINSI to perform at the very highest level.”
SINSI is made possible through the generous support of The Robertson Fund; The David K.E. Bruce ’19 Scholars Fund; Andrea E. Bernstein ’80 and Tom A. Bernstein; Frank Carlucci ’52; The W. Hodding Carter III ’57 Scholars Fund; The Raymond H. Close '51 and Martha W. Close SINSI Endowment Fund; The Elkes Foundation; The Brooks Emeny ’24 Trust; Frederick P. Hitz ’61; Gilbert Omenn ’61 and Martha Darling MPA ’70; Michael Morandi MPA ’83; Gerald Parsky ’64; Jeffrey Peek ’69 and Elizabeth Peek; James Shinn ’73, Ph.D. ’01; James D. Zirin ’61 and Marlene Hess Zirin; and anonymous donors.
For more information about SINSI, click here.