Making News: A Glenn College Graduate’s Job as House Speaker’s Press Secretary

Published Date September 17, 2024
News Type Public Address

Athina Lawson, center, in white jacket, assists U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, in red tie, with media questions in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol Building following the State of the Union Address March 7. (Credit: Kent Nishimura)

By Joan Slattery Wall

Athina Lawson jokes that her job as a press secretary in Washington, D.C., is “herding cats and putting out fires you never knew existed.”

Lawson, who received her BA in public management, leadership and policy in 2018, is the official spokeswoman for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson. 

She manages media events and crisis communications, coordinates media coverage and issues statements for the congressman.

“Every day, I am privileged to play a role and witness how the power of communication shapes policies, drives change and inspires action,” she said.

 

Athina Lawson, center, accompanies U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, July 23 as he speaks to reporters about the resignation of United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. (Credit: Kent Nishimura)

Among her meaningful experiences, she counts helping to orchestrate the production of the State of the Union Address, which she said takes months to plan; witnessing the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to surviving Rosie the Riveters from World War II; hearing Andrea Bocelli at the National Prayer Breakfast in the U.S. Capitol building’s National Statuary Hall; and participating in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Growing D.C. Roots at the Glenn College

Lawson’s interest in the nation’s capital sparked when, as a student, she participated in the Glenn College Washington Academic Internship Program (WAIP), which selects outstanding Ohio State undergraduates to spend a semester in D.C. working in internships that reflect their career goals and academic interest.

“My former roommate from WAIP, Avery Pierson, a professional staff member for the House Appropriations Committee, is my roommate now. We joked at the end of the program that one day we’d be back in D.C. living together and doing this life,” she said. “Who would have thought — we’re exactly where we wanted to be almost 10 years ago.”

Through WAIP, she said, she gained a lifelong mentor in Lorraine Lewis, executive director of the United Mine Workers of America Health and Retirement Funds, who was general counsel of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee when Sen. John Glenn chaired it.

“Whenever I’ve transitioned jobs, had a tough time or just needed perspective, she’s been so helpful to me. I’m going to be indebted to her the rest of my life as much advice as she’s given to me,” Lawson said.

Athina Lawson and other Glenn College graduates shared career and life lessons with students at NEW Leadership Ohio, a five-day, nonpartisan leadership academy at the college that offers students the opportunity to meet successful women leaders and learn how to be effective advocates for issues that matter most to them.
 

Through the Glenn College, Lawson also participated in NEW Leadership Ohio, which offers college students the opportunity to meet successful women leaders and learn how to be effective advocates for issues that matter most to them.

“WAIP and the different experiences I had at the Glenn College have been very instrumental to where I’m at today. Even when I moved to D.C., I already had a network of folks. You hear ‘Ohio State’ or ‘Glenn College’ and you have an immediate connection with anybody,” she said.

Lawson now serves as a mentor for WAIP, and she is active in the Glenn College Alumni Society, where beginning this fall, she will co-chair the D.C. Outreach Committee. 

“I benefitted so much from all of the time and effort people through the Glenn College put in me,” she said.

“You rise by lifting others,” Lawson said. “I’m a big believer in that. If I can share my experience or help others get to a better place, why wouldn’t I?”

Finding the Right Avenue for Change

See how the Glenn College Washington Academic Internship Program (WAIP) led Ohio State graduate Mycheala Holley to Congress while she completed her law degree.

She remembers how Associate Professor Amanda Girth, one of her favorites at the Glenn College, invited to her class prominent speakers, such as an Ohio Supreme Court judge.

“She brought in real-world experiences, and I feel like that was helpful, learning by example or hearing it from someone else. She also allowed you to have your opinion and asked questions that made you think about things. It was very thought provoking or challenged maybe what you thought or why that policy should or shouldn’t change,” Lawson said.

Weathering Today’s Political Climate

Those skills, she said, have helped her work in a climate of divisive politics, but she has friends across the political spectrum and sees the need for society to get back to agreeing to disagree while still finding solutions. 

Athina Lawson, center, greets Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece, left, with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol Building July 9 during the NATO Summit, when Johnson met with Mitsotakis to thank him for Greece’s consistent commitment to a strong NATO.

“Maybe two members on opposing sides don’t agree on an issue, but I see them out in the hallway talking to each other just fine behind the scenes. There are a few bad apples whose voices are louder than others, and their voices tend to be the ones amplified the most because it writes the narrative that the news industry wants,” she said. “However, I think there’s more good than there is bad, and I think most members are here for the right reason and want to work together and advance good policy and do the right thing.”

She plans to continue her career in D.C. and, as she says, walk through doors when opportunity knocks. What’s on her horizon? 

“Who doesn’t want to be on the White House press team? I didn’t even think I was going to have this job next,” said Lawson, who previously was deputy communications director for the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations and worked for public affairs communications consulting firms. “I really enjoy being in the center of it all. I’m in rooms I never thought I’d be in, where decisions are made, and you get to see a lot of that happen.”

Read the latest edition of Public Address, the Glenn College magazine.