How to Succeed on Capitol Hill

Succeeding on Capitol Hill isn’t quite a mathematical equation, but there are some important guideposts that will make that success much more likely. In this session, long-time Hill veteran Bill Wichterman offered very practical guidance about how to become an excellent staffer who is more likely to advance.

Bill Wichterman is Senior Advisor at Covington & Burling LLP. Mr. Wichterman has more than 30 years of experience in and around the White House and Capitol Hill. Bill was Special Assistant to President George W. Bush in the White House, Policy Advisor to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and Chief of Staff to Congressman Joe Pitts and Congressman Bill Baker. He has been a senior advisor on several Presidential Campaigns and remains active in Republican politics. Prior to entering politics, he was a missionary to Turkish guestworkers in West Berlin. He is fluent in German and conversant in Turkish.

Wichterman is the author of the book, Dying to Live: Finding Joy In Giving Yourself to God (Oakton Foundation Press, 2014), and he authored an influential essay entitled, “The Culture: Upstream from Politics,” which appeared in the 2001 Eerdmans book, Building a Healthy Culture: Strategies for an American Renaissance (ed. Don Eberly). He co-authored an essay entitled, “Making Goodness Fashionable” in the Stroud & Hall book Creating the Better Hour: Lessons from William Wilberforce (Ed. Chuck Stetson, 2007). He has also written op-eds for National Review, Daily Caller, Townhall.com and Redstate.com.

He is co-founder of Wedgwood Circle, an angel investment network driving investment into arts and entertainment that seeks to renew culture. He is President of Faith and Law, a ministry to congressional staff seeking to integrate their faith with their calling to the public square, and he is Chairman of the Board of the political arm of the March for Life. He is a member of The Gathering and Generous Giving, and he is an active angel investor and impact investor in the developing world. He and his wife founded an international visual arts competition through their family foundation (Oakton Foundation). Mr. Wichterman holds an M.A. in Political Theory from the Catholic University of America, and a B.A. from Houghton College.

He is married to Dana Wichterman, and is the father of three red-heads. He is a member of Christ Church Vienna (Anglican), and is a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. And he is an avid sailor.