Who Tells Our Story? A Reflection on Legacy, Mentorship, & the Next Generation

When I think about how I found my way into this profession, the honest answer is: carefully, and mostly alone. There were no clear roadmaps, no obvious mentors waiting with a hand outstretched. I figured it out the way a lot of us did, through trial and error, through relationships built slowly over time, through bumps and bruises I wouldn't trade because they made me sharper, more resilient, and frankly, better at this work than I might have been otherwise.

But I've thought a lot lately about the advocates who come after us. And I find myself asking: why should the path still be that hard?

As NILE marks its tenth anniversary this year, I've been reflecting not just on where we've been, but on what we leave behind. The founder, various board members and members throughout the years founded and helped build this organization on a simple but powerful conviction, that the lobbying profession deserves a strong, principled voice. NILE has spent a decade building that voice. Now I believe our next great challenge is making sure the next generation of advocates can find it.

There's a certain irony in our profession that I think about often. We are, by definition, people who tell stories for a living. We craft narratives, build coalitions, and make the case, sometimes against long odds, for the causes and clients we represent. We are professional communicators. And yet, when it comes to telling our own story to the young professionals considering this career, we have often gone quiet.

I've been fortunate. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to mentor many people on their professional journeys, not just in lobbying, but more broadly. While I certainly don’t seek recognition for it, I will say there is nothing quite like the moment when someone you've invested in turns around and, publicly or privately, credits you with helping shape their path. Those moments don't get old. They remind you that this work, the mentorship, the investment in another person's potential, matters in ways that outlast any single legislative victory.

That's the kind of legacy I want for NILE. And I don't think I'm alone.

At NILE, we continue to build out our young professionals group and deepen our mentorship programming. These aren't afterthoughts. They are central to what a professional association of our kind should be doing. We are committed to the next generation of government relations professionals having something we didn't always have: a community, a framework, and experienced voices willing to share what they know.

But we need more. We need more members of this profession, seasoned advocates, practice leaders, those of you who have earned your credibility the hard way, to step forward as mentors. The bumps and bruises you carry are not just your story. They are curriculum. They are the kind of hard-won wisdom that no certification program fully captures, and that a young advocate desperately needs to hear.

Who tells our story? Ultimately, we do. All of us. Not just through the work we do on behalf of clients, but through what we pour into the people who will carry this profession forward long after we've stepped aside.

Ten years in, NILE is stronger than ever. But our most important work may still be ahead of us, and it starts with each of us deciding to be the mentor we wish we'd had.

With appreciation,

Larry Gonzalez

President, National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics

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