American Magazine, July 2015

where we are
Samuel Olens
SIS/BA ’78, SIS/MA ’80
GEORGIA ATTORNEY GENERAL
PHOTOS BY BRYAN MELTZ
Georgia’s attorney general didn’t so much embark on
a political career as he was drafted into one.
“If you’re a banker, a CPA, a small business owner,
or a lawyer and you show up to an annual homeowners
meeting, they call you a board member,” Samuel
Olens says. “It was through my association with the
homeowners board and subsequent activities in the
community that I decided to run for local government.”
Since being elected a commissioner in Cobb County
(outside Atlanta), he’s upgraded offices. Last year he
won his second, four-year term as the state’s top lawyer.
“We are the day-to-day advisors for the governor
and all executive agencies,” he says. “State attorneys
general are really the only lawyers or law firms that
deal with every area of the law.”
Olens worked to rewrite Georgia’s sunshine law “to
make government more accessible to the public.” He’s
also made cracking down on sex trafficking a priority
and reached out to high school students about the
dangers of prescription drug abuse.
On July 1, his office, which includes more than 150
attorneys, assumed oversight of the Governor’s Office
of Consumer Protection. Reforming that agency will be
a big focus of his second term. Will there be a third, or
perhaps a run for another job?
“My job is to work every day to be the best attorney
general I can be and to handle those questions at a later
date,” he says.
It’s a lawyerly answer that nevertheless reveals the
reality that this once-reluctant politician has come to
love public service.
“It gives you both a legal position as well as the bully
pulpit to improve other people’s lives, and that’s why
we’re here.”
CARTER CENTER
Laura Castelli, SIS/MA ’12, educational program
assistant. This nonprofit/advocacy guru gives youth
a global experience. The center, founded by Jimmy
and Rosalynn Carter, has sent more than 2,600
interns to study peace and health worldwide.
CNN
Noah Gray, SOC/BA ’14, producer. A self-proclaimed
“eager backpack journalist,” Gray started young, founding
a nonprofit at age 15. Today he creates news packages,
documentaries, and public service announcements for
CNN and other outlets.
GEORGIA STATE CAPITOL
Curt Thompson, SIS/BA ’90, senator and lawyer.
A Georgia native, this District 5 senator holds
monthly forums to spur candid community
conversation—and even learned
Spanish to better reach citizens.
AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 45