Navigating the Career/Political Dynamic: Lessons from 30 years at the Treasury

Elected officials and new administrations enter office with an ambitious policy agenda but often don’t understand how to turn policy into practice. Furthermore, they inherit existing bureaucracy consisting of civil servants, programs, rules and regulations, and technology that they don’t understand or know how to manage effectively. Yet their ability to navigate these complex issues will often determine their success or failure. 

In this interactive session, CPL Hauser Leader Dave Lebryk '83, MPA '88, who served 12 Secretaries of the Treasury across 6 Presidential Administrations, will discuss his experiences navigating the career-political dynamic. We will discuss the nature of the relationship between career civil servants and political appointees, the importance of effective and principled leadership, and explore ideas for how political appointees and career civil servants can serve the nation more effectively. 

Lunch will be served.

More about Dave Lebryk ’83, MPA ’88 

After graduating from the Kennedy School, Dave joined the federal government as a Presidential Management Intern and held numerous Senior Positions, including Acting Secretary of the U.S. Treasury in 2025.  As Fiscal Assistant Secretary, Mr. Lebryk served as the senior career official at the United States Treasury, responsible for some of the most important functions of government -- the financing of government operations, making of payments, collections or receipts, managing the government’s cash, and accounting and reporting of government financial activity. He is a 2025 recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award, Treasury’s highest honor, and was recently named the 2025 Samuel H. Heyman Service to America Federal Employee of the Year.