The Connecticut native was one of 13 men and women selected from 100 regional finalists for the program, which is designed to help train future public service leaders. The Fellows Program numbers Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao among its alumni.

During his year in the program, Spaner served as special assistant to the Homeland Security advisor. He worked closely with Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge and his senior staff to get the 2002 Homeland Security Act passed through Congress. Of the 13 fellows, he was the only one who worked in the West Wing. Although Spaner’s fellowship concluded August 31, he was invited to stay on with the Homeland Security Council for another year and now serves as director for Cargo and Port Security.

Spaner came to Krannert following undergraduate education at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S Naval pilot training in Pensacola, Florida, and operational search-and-rescue flying in the Pacific Northwest. Although young for the school’s executive management program, he says he talked his way into it, hoping to learn from not only the Krannert faculty but also from the corporate leaders who would be his peers in the program. He credits the Krannert faculty, along with classmates — especially executives from Lockheed Martin, Boeing, United Technologies Corporation, and Disney — with giving him a solid background in the decision-making process. That knowledge helped him in his work on national policy during his time at the White House.

"Without the executive program, I would never have been a White House Fellow," Spaner says of his time at Krannert. "The lessons I learned about leadership and decision-making were particularly important to my work in homeland security."

In addition to his work as a Coast Guard aircraft commander, Spaner has served as a reviewer and policy advisor to the chief of staff of the Coast Guard. He worked on budgetary matters, particularly in the area of information technology, and oversaw overarching policies, programs, and budgets that guided the operation of two facilities: a research and development facility, and an information technology operations system center.

When asked why he applied for the fellowship, Spaner says, "I was learning a lot with the Coast Guard, but I wanted to learn how decisions and policy-making occur at the very highest levels of government. In the future, I want to work in higher government and private-sector roles."

— Linda Terhune

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