DAVID GARGARO

While in residence at the 2016 Salzburg Music Festival, I was invited to present to an audience which included members of the Austrian government, former Chancellor of Austria, Wolfgang Schüssel, UN officials, The American Austrian Foundation, and key players in global strategy. Austrian officials, who were in the throes of their general election at the time, had drawn parallels between what was happening politically in America and their home country and were interested to hear from somebody in an artistic leadership position who represented the United States at an important time of social change.

 

Shortly after returning to the United States, I realized that the U.S. was headed in a difficult direction, politically. With Donald Trump’s growing momentum in the polls, I felt compelled to volunteer for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. In the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, I made the decision to alter my career focus and make a shift into the world of international relations, and diplomacy.

 

In realizing that I had a limited political background, I decided that in order to repurpose the leadership skills I had learned as an orchestral conductor, I would have to go back to university to better streamline my goals. Currently, I am pursuing a second Master’s degree as a Prudential and Daniel Morgan Graduate Scholar at The George Washington University, Graduate School of Political Management with a concentration in Global Politics. I was also recently voted in as the Student Association’s 2018-19 Graduate Senator for the College of Professional Studies.

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Of late, I have focused my thoughts on global issues; more specifically, on the urgent matter of climate change. Recent engagements have included addressing the European Parliament in mid-October in Brussels at Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s collaboration with the European People’s Party Conference: EU’s Leadership in Global Climate Change.