By Nicole Morell, Director of Communications
Jayne Millerick served as the Chief of Staff to former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu from 2017 to 2025. She joined the Taubman Center as a Visiting Fellow January 2025, culminating her fellowship in December 2025. Learn about her chief of staff experience and insights —including advice for HKS students and alumni – below.
What interested you in becoming a Visiting Fellow with the Taubman Center?
I had great examples to draw from as I considered the opportunity. Some of the people who served as Visiting Fellows before me were very impressive chiefs of staff and folks I really enjoyed working with previously. I reached out to them and had very good conversations about what they were doing and the exciting work they had done in previous years. So, when the opportunity to serve as a fellow came up, I was excited to say yes. It was a great experience, and I knew it was the exact right choice at the time.
What topics at state and local government level are you most interested in?
As chief of staff to Governor Sununu, one of the unique aspects of my job was the size of the state we served – one of the smallest in the nation. And because of that, the services that we were able to offer to our constituents were different than many larger states as our resources are much more limited. Because of this, one exciting part of the role was being innovative and finding ways to help people while being very efficient with our taxpayer dollars.
An example of how we did this was New Hampshire’s strong system for substance use disorder. When I started as chief of staff in 2017, New Hampshire was the tip of the spear for substance misuse. We had one of the highest rates in the nation of deaths attributed to substance misuse. Our administration came in at a time when we knew something drastic had to be done. Under Governor Sununu’s direction, we scrapped the existing system and developed an entirely new approach that recognized the limitations and opportunities our state had. We totally redesigned our delivery system to ensure that people who lived in Manchester – one of our urban areas – as well as people who lived in the North Country far away from service centers were able to access substance use disorder treatment.
What pushed you to move from your career in political consulting to the role of governor’s chief of staff?
Though I most recently worked in consulting, I had served in many roles within state government in my younger years, including serving in a previous governor's office as a director of scheduling. I also worked on many campaigns over the years and was always a very strong volunteer, not to build my resume, but because it was important to me. I’ve long been very passionate about our elected officials and helping them to get into office by doing things like canvassing door to door and serving in some of those volunteer roles that are not always glamorous but are important. So, it may seem like it was a big jump to go from being a consultant to government, but, for me, making sure that government was being represented by folks that I agreed with and that I thought would do a good job was very much a part of my life.
Is there an ideal path to a chief of staff role? What are some skills and experiences that can help people to move into a role like this?
There is no one set path. And if you did this similar interview with 50 chiefs of staff across the nation, everyone's answer would be different. But there are a few truisms. The first thing I always tell students is that whatever you do, do it well and work harder than everyone else. Whether you're a lawyer, work in nonprofits, or are involved in grassroots organizations, you need to be known as the hardest worker in the office. Second, I have found that for the job of chief of staff, the most important character trait is honesty. There’s sometimes been this feeling that the truth isn’t important in politics, but as a chief of staff, you have to be the truth teller in situations that aren't always easy.
What’s most exciting about the chief of staff role?
The best part of the role is that you are working directly with the governor to impact the lives of every resident of that state. That can be big or small – from emergency management to day-to-day service delivery. You get to work with the team to ensure that some of those larger delivery systems, like mental health or substance use disorder, are truly designed and set up so people are receiving benefits from them.
You’re in the position where you can hear about a problem and you know exactly who to go to in the team and government to say, “Guys we’re hearing this is not quite right. How do we fix it?” Having that direct impact every single day was one of the best and most rewarding things about that role.
What have you found most challenging about the role?
In New Hampshire, there is this culture that government is not the answer for everything. So, it was always challenging when problems arise to ensure that we really looked at the role of government to decide, “Do we have a role to play here in this situation?”
What advice would you give to HKS graduates or current HKS students as they decide what path they want to take after they graduate?
Many of the students I've spoken with have very strong resumes. Many have come to the Taubman Center and Harvard Kennedy School to take a little bit of a pause, reassess, regroup, and figure out what they’re going to do next. These students already know their strengths by the time they're in the program. I would really encourage them to take that time to do a self-assessment. What did I like about my first few years in my career? What was I good at in that role? I may not want to do it forever, but what did I learn? What are some of the things I really enjoyed doing? And then try and translate those to see if they really do want a new career or perhaps just an elevated role.
I do hear from a lot of students that are saying, “I really liked what I was doing, but I know I don't want to go back there. I want to do something else.” That okay, but don't just throw away your prior work. Figure out what you’re good at and what you enjoyed. Then start translating that into different roles of government, and don't be wedded toward one part of government. For example, if you enjoy helping people, don't necessarily think that health and human services is the only state agency you can go to.
Don’t limit yourself. Students have many strengths that translate across multiple areas of state government, enabling them to expand their careers going forward.
What have you enjoyed most in your time as a fellow?
I just want to say how wonderful it's been. One of the best parts of being a fellow is the students; I have so enjoyed spending time with them and hearing from them. I've really enjoyed getting to know students and what makes them tick and helping guide them in a direction that feels fulfilling for the rest of their careers. Being a fellow has just been such a fantastic opportunity.
