Where Are They Now? Tim Dunn, 2001 Session Assistant

When did you participate in the Undergraduate Session Assistants Program or Senate Fellowship?

I was in the Undergraduate Session Assistant program in 2001.

Which Senate office were you placed in during your internship?

I was placed with Senator Tom Libous from Binghamton.

Briefly describe your responsibilities/day-to-day activities in your internship office placement.

I was lucky, in that Senator Libous’s office wanted interns to be actively engaged legislatively, meaning I had bills I was responsible for – managing them directly and gaining really great experience in the process.  I also tracked general legislative and bill memos, providing committee staff support and had some specific policy responsibilities.  I also accompanied the Senator every day to Session, gaining some really interesting experience in the nuts and bolts of the legislative process.

Where are you working now? Briefly describe your responsibilities/day-to-day activities in your current place of employment.

Today, I run my own consulting firm (Dunn Strategy Group), providing marketing communications strategy and content creation for a variety of clients – Fortune 500 companies, political organizations, trade associations, tech startups, and non-profits.  My daily activities start with checking emails and social accounts at the start of the day, making my kids breakfast and getting them on the bus, then diving into client work after a quick trip to the gym.  That could be anything from developing strategic plans, to pitching media outlets, to placing social media content, to a variety of meetings.  I work from my home, so I’m pretty flexible and rarely are two days the same.  Often times, my work has me traveling around the State or Country. 

I’ve stay active in government and politics – I’m an elected Town Councilman in Malta and am active in my Town and County GOP committee, working to elect candidates across the county.

Later this year, I’ll be launching two new divisions – DSG Events and DSG Healthcare.

What did you learn from participating in the New York State Senate internship programs that you have been able to carry over to your new position?

While I didn’t realize it at the time, I learned a lot about other people’s opinion and how they’ve developed their political philosophy from their own life experiences.  I had classmates in the program that came from very different geographies, religions, social environments, and family backgrounds than me. Exposure to that diversity helped me a great deal in understanding others.  I didn’t truly understand it then – I had a lot of crinkled forehead moments back then.  But looking back, it was really a tremendous learning experience.

I also learned that being young and in politics is one of the most fun worlds in which you can be a part.  Fun because the dynamic environment and fast pace is married with the reality that you’re doing things that impact people’s lives.  I learned that optimism is the only way to succeed!