Nick Rathod, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, will deliver Nebraska Wesleyan University’s annual Curtis Lecture on Public Leadership on Tuesday, April 28.

His lecture, “Why States Matter: How a Broken Washington is Pushing Policy Making to the States,” begins at 7 p.m. in Olin B Lecture Hall, located one block east of 50th and St. Paul Ave.

Rathod is now executive director of the State Innovation Exchange, which provides expert resources and tools to help advance progressive legislation. Prior to leading this organization, Rathod served as the director of state campaigns for Mayor Bloomberg’s Every Town for Gun Safety, where he oversaw legislative campaigns around issues of gun safety and violence prevention.

Rathod previously served as a special assistant to the President and deputy director for intergovernmental affairs at the White House. He was responsible for setting up the Intergovernmental Affairs Office for the Obama White House and was primarily responsible for President Obama’s policy and political work in the states and U.S. territories.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American University College of Law Alumni of the Year Award, National South Asian Bar Association’s Public Interest Attorney of the Year Award, and the Frederick B. Abramson Foundation Award, recognizing him as one of Washington, D.C.’s top public interest attorneys. Rathod graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan in 1997 with a degree in political science.

The Curtis Lecture on Public Leadership is free and open to the public.

Mildred Curtis established the Senator Carl T. Curtis and Mildred M. Curtis Lecture on Public Leadership in 2005 to honor her late husband and senator, and to explore aspects of public and civic leadership.

The Curtis Lecture features public service leaders such as federal and state officeholders, diplomats and leaders in areas of political science, history, human relations and communication.