Majority Leader, Representative (D)
Wisconsin State Assembly, 5th District
Madison, Wisc.

After working for the 2000 Gore/Lieberman campaign, and later for different political research institutions, Tom Nelson was faced with two choices--working on a political campaign or going to graduate school. He opted for the latter. As it turned out, WWS served as an ideal bridge between the worlds of policy and political office, both of which he enjoyed equally.

Halfway through his first year at WWS, Nelson decided to run for the Wisconsin State Assembly, to represent his hometown of Little Chute. He divided his time between coursework, a WWS summer internship in Serbia, his policy workshop, and the coming campaign. He won the election over the incumbent in November 2004. In 2009 Nelson was selected to be the Majority Leader of the WI State Assembly.

"Interestingly, it was my time working with the Serb parliament and political parties that proved a formative experience in my political education. Helping an emerging democracy transition out of a dictatorship and witnessing the struggles these people went through, helped put into perspective the daily political challenges I would face in Wisconsin.

"Of course, none of my experiences at WWS would have been the same without the hard work and dedication of the School's Offices of Graduate Career Services and Admissions, and the entire administrative support staff." One of the WWS Career Service panels Nelson attended was "Campaigning for Public Office," featuring Senator Lance, who told his audience, "I participated in this forum with the hope that a greater percentage of WWS students will run for [elected] office." Thus encouraged, Nelson continued to mount his campaign for the Wisconsin State Assembly, and his service there is fulfilling Lance's hope.