Sunwater Institute’s Congressional Reform Program Announces Inaugural Advisory Council

September 7, 2023  

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Sunwater Institute
September 7, 2023
Jessica Friedman, Director of Marketing and Communications

North Bethesda, MD – The Sunwater Institute’s Congressional Reform program announces the inaugural members of its Advisory Council today. The Council will serve as a venue for Sunwater Institute scholars and staff to receive advice and guidance on projects from career practitioners and public servants. The Council will help ensure that our research and resource development efforts are best situated to help strengthen Congress as an institution.

“We are honored to have such an esteemed group of public servants with an array of experiences supporting the Sunwater Institute’s mission. Each Council member is a recognized leader in their field, and we look forward to tapping into their wealth of knowledge,” remarked J.D. Rackey, Director for Legislative Studies at the Sunwater Institute. Our inaugural Advisory Council members include:

Congressman Daniel Lipinski

Dan Lipinski served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2005 to 2021 representing Illinois’ third district. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Duke University and taught American Politics as an assistant professor before serving in the House. Lipinski is currently the Pope Leo XIII Fellow on Social Thought at the University of Dallas and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is a prolific scholar and is the author of Congressional Communication: Content and Consequences.

Honorable Philip Kiko

Phil Kiko was elected by the U.S. House of Representatives to serve as Chief Administrative Officer from 2016 to 2021 under Speakers Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi. Prior to that, he had a long career of service in many leadership positions within the House including, the Select Committee on Benghazi, Judiciary Committee, House Administration Committee, and the Science Committee. He has worked on numerous pieces of consequential legislation such as the Patriot Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Violence Against Women Act, and the Children’s Protection Act. Kiko is currently a Principal at the law firm of Williams & Jensen PLLC.

Sandra Strokoff

Sandra Strokoff was appointed the Legislative Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives in July of 2009, the first woman to hold the position since the Office of the Legislative Counsel was established in 1919. She served in the Office of Legislative Counsel from 1975 until her retirement from the Office in 2016. She is the co-author of The Legislative Drafter’s Desk Reference, Second Edition (Congressional Quarterly Press, 2008), and the author of “How Our Laws Are Made: A Ghost Writer’s View” (The Philadelphia Lawyer, Philadelphia Bar Association Quarterly Magazine, Vol. 59, No. 2). Strokoff is currently a Professorial Lecturer in Law at the George Washington University Law School and a consultant on legislative drafting for public and private organizations.