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Spotlighting T 16 MOVING PAST


BOUNDARIES Ona Alston Dosunmu BY PATRICK FOLLIARD


Not all think tanks are the same. Created expressly to generate ideas and promote policy, these increasingly busy bastions of thought come primarily in two varieties—strictly nonpartisan, researching policy issues without regard to political outcomes, and those whose main function is to provide intellectual support to politicians or political par- ties. The latter type varies according to ideology: For instance, the Heritage Foundation is famously conservative; the Cato Institute promotes Libertarian reforms; and the Center for American Progress is without a doubt liberal.


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he Brookings Institution, a very infl uential, non-profi t public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., is often characterized by the press as left-leaning, but its general counsel Ona Alston Dosunmu says otherwise: “If you look at our


roster of scholars you’ll learn that’s just not the case. Brookings doesn’t subscribe to only one ideology. In fact, we spend a tremendous amount of energy, focus, and resources trying to protect our independence.” As Brookings’ general counsel, Dosunmu’s job


is not to make policy recommendations, but rather to facilitate those who do. On any given day, Dosunmu handles a wide array of matters including advising on human resources issues, purchasing and fi nancing real estate, and advising high-level executives and trustees on confl ict of interest and government ethics issues. “Fortunately, I’ve discovered that I love being a gener- alist,” she says. “At fi rms people tend to become narrow and deep in terms of expertise, but as Brookings’ GC, [and one-person legal team] not only do I regularly use what I learned as a transactional attorney in private practice, but I’ve become familiar with other practice areas too.” Dosunmu’s offi ce is responsible for the institution’s


immigration and global mobility work, and she super- vises a non-lawyer professional, Elena Anderson-De-Lay, who does the day-to-day management in this area. Because Brookings employs 287 resident and non- resident scholars, many of whom come to the institution from all over the world via a professional exchange visi- tor program, the immigration piece of her offi ce’s work is very important. Conversely, they also assist in staffi ng Brookings’ offi ces in Doha, Qatar, and Beijing, with Americans, third-party nationals, and locals. “While securing visas may sound like a drag, it’s


actually one of the most exciting and rewarding things we do,” says Dosunmu. “Among Brookings’ major goals is to become a global institution. Our director [Strobe Talbott] has been very clear about that. My assisting in ensuring that fellows are able to come and go contributes to the strategic vision that our leader- ship team has laid out.” A $90 million international research organization


established in 1916, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in econom-


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