Page 268 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

FELLOWS AT WORK

White House representative to that convention. I would never have gotten
in otherwise, and when I got there, they were like, ‘Okay, President Clinton
sent you. Would you like to make some remarks?’ This was all in my first
action-packed week.”
In the final week of her Fellowship, Cook returned to the Roosevelt
Room to sit in on her last cabinet meeting. At that meeting, former White
House Fellow Henry Cisneros, who was serving as secretary of housing
and urban development, made her an offer she couldn’t refuse when he
asked her to work for him as HUD’s faith liaison. Cook accepted and over
the next two years worked with HUD to develop its faith initiative. Then,
in 1996, President Clinton appointed Cook to his advisory panel, the Pres-
ident’s Initiative on Race. She has authored several popular inspirational
books since that time.

HOW ABOUT HOT DOGS?
Although it’s true that presidents are always looking for sharp Fellows like
Dr. Cook to help further their political initiatives, at least one Fellow was
singled out by a commander-in-chief in need of personal advice. Caro
Luhrs (WHF 68–69) was the first physician ever selected for a White
House Fellowship. When she learned that she was being assigned to the
Department of Agriculture, she thought a terrible mistake must have been
made because she didn’t know the first thing about growing crops; she was
from the city and had never set foot on a farm. However, it turned out to
be the perfect placement for Luhrs, who quickly discovered that there was
much more to the Department of Agriculture than corn and soybeans. It
had all kinds of interesting things for a doctor to get involved with: it han-
dled food programs, poultry and meat inspections, disease prevention, and
much more.
Once she got her bearings, Luhrs dived in and quickly established her-
self as a go-to person in the department on issues of human health. In fact,
she caught President Nixon’s attention at a cabinet committee meeting in
which the participants were discussing hunger and proper nutrition in the
United States. It was March 17, 1969, and the room was full of experts,
cabinet members, and staff, including Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was
serving as Nixon’s counselor for urban affairs. Moynihan was sporting a
verdant green tie and gigantic green boutonniere in honor of Saint Patrick.
“It is a long time to remember back,” Luhrs said. “If it had not been

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