2024 recipient Lillie Thurman is a graduating student in the Strategic Public Relations M.P.S. program. She is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in communications and account management. She has worked with a range of clients across many sectors.
About the Award
The Founding Dean Arterton Award is given to the graduating student who epitomizes professional distinction and ethical conduct in political management. F. Christopher Arterton, who served as dean of the Graduate School of Political Management from its founding in 1987 to 2010, established this award to celebrate the core ideals valued by a school of professional politics. Before joining the GSPM, Professor Arterton taught political science at Yale, MIT, and Wellesley, achieving national recognition as a scholar of American politics and as a professional pollster. As the founding dean of the GSPM, Arterton advanced his vision that, beyond teaching abstract theory, institutions of higher education have an affirmative obligation to prepare their students for practical participation in democratic governance and electoral politics. In the process, Dean Arterton created the new academic discipline of political management. Having led the merger of the school into the George Washington University, Arterton subsequently expanded the school’s curriculum of political management to include programs in legislative affairs, strategic public relations, and the politics of governance. During the 23 years of Dean Arterton’s leadership, the GSPM emerged as the foremost academic institution of applied democratic politics in the world.
About the Awardee
Lillie Thurman is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in communications and account management. She has worked with a range of clients across many sectors, including NBA team, the Miami HEAT, and major brands such as Shell, Samsung and Bath & Body Works. Outside of her corporate and sports industry background, she has substantial experience in government consulting, having worked with the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Lillie's expertise spans media relations, digital solutions, event management, crisis communication and strategic account management. She holds a B.A. in Communication & Information Sciences from The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.