Page 246 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

BECOMING A FELLOW

Regional finalists are expected to submit a narrative biography, a pho-
tograph, and the paperwork necessary to launch the FBI background inves-
tigation. Tom Carr recalled that in the program’s early years, the
background check was called a “full field investigation” and was carried out
by experts from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), who visited or
phoned dozens of each candidate’s associates. The CSC prepared a report
on each applicant that was hundreds of pages long, and it was Carr’s job
to summarize those reports one by one, distilling each into a brief memo
that contained only the key points. The President’s Commission would use
that document as an aid in selecting the Fellows. After the program’s first
few years, the FBI took over responsibility for the background checks
because many White House assignments require high-level security clear-
ances. Candidates who have been named regional finalists should let those
close to them know that they can expect a call or visit from a federal agent.
Levi Strauss CEO Robert D. Haas (WHF 68–69) wanted to keep his
candidacy a secret until he knew whether he’d been accepted to the pro-
gram, and so he didn’t tell his business partners that he had applied. One
afternoon while on a business trip, Haas received a frantic call from his
panic-stricken partners. They had just been paid an unexpected visit by
two FBI agents asking questions about Haas’s character, associations, and
activities. Exactly what, the partners demanded to know, had he done to
warrant an inquiry by the FBI?
My background check for the White House Fellows program turned
out to be much more than I bargained for. Because my late father had been
the personal physician to Panamanian general and dictator Manuel
Noriega, I was required to undergo a grueling four-hour polygraph exam-
ination. The FBI wanted to be absolutely certain that I was not a Pana-
manian operative trying to infiltrate the highest reaches of the American
government. Of course, the test revealed that I was a loyal American whose
sole motivation was to serve my country, not sabotage it. Nevertheless, the
polygraph exam was a nerve-racking experience that I sincerely hoped was
a once-in-a-lifetime event for me.
Regional finalists spend one and a half days being questioned by dis-
tinguished panelists, who review their applications with them to get a gen-
eral feel for their grace under fire as well as their overall suitability for the
White House Fellows program. Former program director Jocelyn White
saw many Fellows come and go during her time at the helm from 2001 to

231