User:Pdguymikeg

My name is Mike Garretson and I'm a 25 year male who is knowledgeable about U.S. public diplomacy, current affairs and international relations. I am also interested in immigration issues, public radio, foreign languages and cultures (particularly French), U.S. Civil War history, OU Sooner football, DC United soccer and Belgian beers.

Since February 2007, I have been the Communications Coordinator at the American Council of Young Political Leaders. Previously, I worked for a small public affairs firm and supported outreach as well as media and government relations efforts as an intern at Qorvis Communications.

During the summer of 2004, I was an intern at the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, a bipartisan panel created by U.S. Congress and appointed by the President to provide oversight of U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics.

In 2004, I studied French language and culture as well as contemporary U.S. history at the the Université Michel de Montaigne – Bordeaux III in Bordeaux, France. I earned a B.A. in International Studies with minors in French and Religious from the University of Oklahoma in December 2005 and completed a graduate certificate in PACs and Political Management at the Graduate School of Political Management at the George Washington University in 2008. In September 2008, I will begin studying towards an M.A. in Political Strategy and Communication at the University of Kent's Brussels School of International Studies in Brussels, Belgium.