The Luther Hodges Scholars program was pleased to welcome back alum and former Student Body President, Kevin Martin, for a lunch & learn. Martin currently servs as the head of Meta’s Washington D.C. Office and Vice President for Public Policy North America & Global Competition. Martin’s career highlights include service as the Commissioner and Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), co-chair and partner of the telecommunication practice at Squire Patton Boggs, an international law firm, and White House Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Martin was keen to provide insights and takeaways related to his work across the sectors in government, law, and technology policy.
Opportunities like Martin’s lunch and learn allow Luther Hodges Scholars to meet in small exclusive settings with distinguished thought leaders and researchers and business and policy executives. Scholars engage with invited guests through discussions of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices.
Kevin Martin’s visit was no exception. He shared key insights while highlighting some of his most notable experiences with cross-sector collaboration between the government and business sectors. His non-linear career path, which started with an interest in technology and then public policy led to a career in law before transitioning to work for the FCC owing to his related litigation experience. Martin shared the importance of working hard, especially on things you are passionate about because “that’s where you will be your best”.
This belief has led Martin to work as a consultant lawyer, on government campaigns, and for large corporations like Meta. He spoke of the critical importance of being an interdisciplinary player and of having multiple perspectives to better understand the world’s dynamism, notably the cultural and economic disruptions and changes brought about by developments in AI technologies, robotics, and machine learning. According to Martin, these apparent upheavals are not new to the American economy and society; he cited similar alarms that accompanied the 1830s introduction of the telegraph.
He concluded by applauding the scholars’ commitment to working across the sectors—the private sector, policy and government and academia to address some of our most pressing problems.