St. Albans School of Public Service

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St. Albans School of Public Service

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The St. Albans School of Public Service is a four-week program for rising high-school seniors interes Students reside in the St.

SPS lasts four weeks each summer, from the end of June to mid-July. Albans dorms and eat in the school refectory, the old-fashioned name for the building's dining hall. SPS also offers an option for students to be day students. We begin accepting rolling applications for the summer session on December 1. Spots generally fill up by mid-March, so apply early to guarantee spots will be available. If you have any questions, feel free to email our office or the program director, Nicole Chapin Duke.

07/21/2026

After four incredible weeks, we have officially concluded SPS 2026!

Last Monday morning, SPSers heard from Sujit Raman, Chief Legal Officer at TRM Labs. Then, they heard from Former CIA Dave and Kim Everett. In the afternoon, the students made a visit CNN’S Chief National Security Analyst Jim Sciutto, who gave them a tour of the office, which included getting to see a live broadcasting! We closed out our academic day with a talk from Rep. Jamie Raskin.

Tuesday morning began with a trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In the afternoon, SPSers had their Press Conferences where they presented their Bill Projects to their peers and stepped into the roles of journalists to ask one another questions.

On Wednesday, the students heard from Jeff Wall, former Acting Solicitor General of the United States. Then, STA teacher Michael Hansen spoke about the role of statistics in public policy. After lunch, SPSers visited to the Irish Embassy, meeting Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason. In the evening, the students attended the Great Americans Medal Ceremony at the downtown!

On Thursday morning, SPSers enjoyed a session on Networking and Professionalism led by Kristen Hohman. Then we visited SPS alum Nick Gallagher of the White House Counsel’s Office. They closed out the day by hearing from Former Commander of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team and DC Field Office David Sundberg. In the evening, SPS held our annual Talent Show, where we discovered many new talents and had an epic dance party:)

Friday morning, SPSers heard from Zach Bauer who is CEO at Passages Israel. Then, Nikki Magiziner-Mills, Director of STA’s College Counseling Office, talked to us about how the SPS experience can help students in the college process. SPSers concluded the academic day with their Final Congressional Debate!

To close out an incredible month, the students enjoyed delicious food at the annual SPS Banquet, where students spoke from the heart about their time together at SPS—some happy tears were shed!

We have had such an amazing time with this cohort. What a truly special SPS class! We miss you all already💙

07/11/2026

Our third week of SPS has concluded, and it was a great one!

SPSers began Monday morning with a field trip to the Federal Courthouse to visit U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper. Later in the day, they prepared for and participated in a Climate Change simulation. At night, we celebrated SPSer Faith’s birthday and watched the USA vs. Belgium World Cup game!

On Tuesday, the students made a visit to the Atlantic Council where they were welcomed by SPS alum Katherine Golden, an associate director of editorial at the Atlantic Council. In the evening, after two weeks of hard work, the students presented their Executive Authority Projects to their fellow classmates and a panel of SPS alums. We were incredibly grateful to welcome back Gabriella Lewis ‘18, Will Holland’19, Ethan Minkoff ‘19, and Kaylee Burkett ‘23!

Wednesday morning, SPSers heard from Nawaf Al-Sabah, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Afterwards, they heard from Former Director of the Policy Planning Staff of the U.S. Dennis Ross, who spoke to them about present dynamics in the Middle East. After dinner, the students listened to a panel discussion with mid-career public servants, featuring St. Albans alums Griffin Wong, Bobby Cunningham, and Albert Kammler.

On Thursday morning, we visited the U.S. Supreme Court for a tour and a meeting with Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Then, in the afternoon, SPSers heard from Phillip Wallach, who is an author and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Finally, SPS closed out the week on Friday morning with John Walke, who serves as the Federal Clean Air Director & Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and afterwards participated in a case study regarding Greenland and the Paris Agreement. Lastly, we concluded the academic day by listening to book author and political commentator David Brooks. After dinner, we watched Encanto outdoors and enjoyed a beautiful summer night!

It’s been a great week at SPS, and we cannot believe we only have one left!

07/11/2026

Our third week of SPS has concluded, and it was a pretty great one!

SPSers began Monday morning with a field trip to the Federal Courthouse to visit U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper. Later in the day, they prepared for and participated in a Climate Change simulation.

On Tuesday, the students made a visit to the Atlantic Council where they were welcomed by SPS alum Katherine Golden, an associate director of editorial at the Atlantic Council. In the evening, after two weeks of hard work, the students presented their Executive Authority Projects to their fellow classmates and a panel of SPS alums. We were incredibly grateful to welcome back Gabriella Lewis ‘18, Will Holland’19, Ethan Minkoff ‘19, and Kaylee Burkett ‘23!

Wednesday morning, SPSers heard from Nawaf Al-Sabah, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Afterwards, they heard from Former Director of the Policy Planning Staff of the U.S. Dennis Ross, who spoke to them about present dynamics in the Middle East. After dinner, the students listened to a panel discussion with mid-career public servants, featuring St. Albans alums Griffin Wong, Bobby Cunningham, and Albert Kammler.

On Thursday morning, we visited the U.S. Supreme Court for a tour and a meeting with Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Then, in the afternoon, SPSers heard from Phillip Wallach, who is an author and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Finally, SPS closed out the week on Friday morning with John Walke, who serves as the Federal Clean Air Director & Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and afterwards participated in a case study regarding Greenland and the Paris Agreement. Lastly, we concluded the academic day by listening to book author and political commentator David Brooks. After dinner, we watched Encanto outdoors and enjoyed a beautiful summer night!

It’s been a great week at SPS, and we cannot believe we only have one left!

07/06/2026

The second week of SPS has officially concluded and it was a blast! After a ferry ride from Georgetown to Old Town Alexandria last weekend, SPS students participated in a simulation for George Washington’s Cabinet at Mount Vernon.

Then, we began last week by hearing from Mike Curtin of DC Central Kitchen, and Admiral James Foggo III, a retired United States Navy admiral. On Monday evening, the students went on a twilight tour of the monuments downtown, taking in the beautiful sunset and extraordinary monuments of downtown DC!

Tuesday began with a visit to the Library of Congress, where their Education Specialist Rachel Gordon gave SPS students a tour of the building, as well as their current exhibit on the Two George’s. In the afternoon, students were able to go to Brookings to witness a panel discussion on the “Declaration of Independence Today.”

On Wednesday, we heard from Professor Chinh Le of UVA Law School, who is the Director of the Center for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, followed by Anna Bjerde, the Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank. Om Wednesday evening, a small group of students attended an optional viewing of a film from the Palladium Pictures Incubator.

Thursday morning began with an exciting simulation led by Charles Stimson, the former United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs. As he led the kids through simulation-like experiences and had a rapid Q&A session, students analyzed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. SPS braved the (intense) heat in the afternoon to have lunch in Annapolis, MD, followed by a visit to the Maryland Statehouse to hear Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller speak.

On Friday, we were able to put what we learned from Mike Curtin to good use and spent the morning volunteering at DC Central Kitchen. After returning from campus, we heard from Jared Genser, a human rights lawyer and Managing Director of Perseus Strategies. We rang in the holiday weekend with a pizza party and a dorm room game night.

Cheers to another wonderful week at SPS. It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through our program!!🎆🎇

06/23/2026

SPS is officially underway! We celebrated our first students to arrive with our traditional photo outside of the Lane-Johnston building, and once everyone had arrived we set out on a campus-wide scavenger hunt. Our first day ended with a beautiful night (and ice cream!) enjoyed up on the St. Albans roof. What a wonderful start to

04/14/2026

Last Friday, SPS Alums gathered together on the St. Albans Rooftop. On this beautiful spring evening, alums reconnected with old classmates and faculty (or in the case of the Class of 2020, met in-person for the first time!), met those who had come before or after them in the program, and enjoyed bites and beverages while soaking in the beauty of DC. We had such a blast seeing everyone there, and we hope to be able to have another alum event soon!

04/02/2026

Calling all past SPSers! We are hosting an Alum Event next week, and we would love to see you all there! Check your email for an invite, or DM us if you didn’t receive an invitation but would like to know more!!
💙💙💙

12/10/2025

Our next Alum Spotlight is Sayed Mirbacha, a 2024 graduate of SPS! After completing SPS, Sayed began to focus on mental health advocacy and empowering students surrounding the subject of mental health. Sayed completed the Community Leader Program and served later as an advisor for the program. His work as a Community Leader empowered him to paint an inspirational mural at his school (pictured on the next slide!). Sayed received the Marilyn Shular Human Rights Award for the City Club of Boise during his senior year of high school. After graduating, he registered to be a Crisis Text Line volunteer. Now, at Boise State University, Sayed is working to create a peer mentoring program, “providing mentorship in rehabilitation facilities and shedding light on the lives of those feeling lost.”

Congratulations on all that you have accomplished, Sayed, and those of us over here at SPS cannot wait to see what you will do next!

11/11/2025

On this Veteran’s Day, we honor and thank all of those who have served our country (if you are an SPS Alum and a Veteran or an Active Service Member, please let us know! We would love to spotlight you in a future post).
We also want to take a moment to honor SPS Board Member Paul Ignatius, who died at age 104 last week. Mr. Ignatius was a long-time public servant, ultimately rising to be Secretary of the Navy. As you can see from the attached picture, he even has a guided-missile destroyer named after him. Mr. Ignatius was a founding member of the SPS Board and its longest-serving member, an important enough position in his life that it merited a mention in his obituary in the New York Times.

To read more about Paul Ignatius, click here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/us/politics/paul-ignatius-dead.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

10/30/2025

We are back with another SPS alum spotlight! This week, we are highlighting Spencer Moffat, SPS Class of 2016. Spencer served in the U.S. Army for 4 years as an infantry officer, and was stationed at Fort Campbell with the 101st Airborne Division for over 2 years. During this time, Spencer was awarded an air assault badge for passing air assault school, served as an assistant operations officer, served as a rifle platoon leader, and was awarded 2 Army Achivement medals.

SPS teaches students that there are countless ways to serve the public, and our alums are a reflection of that truth! Thank you for your service, Spencer!

Address

3001 Wisconsin Avenue
Washington D.C., DC
20016

Telephone

+12025375286

Website

http://schoolofpublicservice.org/

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