Awards

O'Neill School of Public & Environmental Affairs Distinguished Alumni Awards - 2013

About Bernie R. Toon, II

Bernie Toon's first brush with politics came at an early age in his small hometown of Medora, Indiana. It was there he first met Representative Lee Hamilton at a local town hall meeting. Toon was intrigued by the issues Hamilton was passionate about and the work he was doing in government. When he decided to commit to studying public policy after two years as a theatre major, he transferred to Indiana University. "IU had a world class poli-sci program and my mother was a 1937 graduate of the business school, so the move fit perfectly."

A 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, Toon is a founding partner of The FIRST Group, a bipartisan strategic planning, communications, and government relations firm. Toon's work is about helping people solve problems, about "bringing your expertise to the table in order to get your head around their challenge, and help them find a path to dealing with it �" that's rewarding."

Toon's career working on Capitol Hill in both the public and private sectors spans more than 30 years. He has served as chief of staff to U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Joe Biden (D-Del.), and Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), and to U.S. Congressman Tim Roemer (D-Ind.). He worked as a staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), and for Hamilton on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He also took time off from the public payroll to manage political campaigns in Indiana and New Mexico for the U.S. Congress, U.S. Senate, and governor.

After earning a B.A. in political science from IU, Toon pursued an MPA in public finance. One of his most valuable lessons came during a conversation with SPEA Professor Jerry McCaffery. Struggling with whether to take a policy or budget track at SPEA, McCaffery opened up a new perspective for Toon when he said, "Bernie, I have news for you, budgets ARE policy." Toon realized that how public money is spent reveals and reflects officeholders' priorities, and he was able apply this new awareness as a Presidential Management Intern at the Pentagon and subsequent jobs in Washington.

The skills Toon developed at IU �" the ability to speak well, write clearly and succinctly, work hard, and anticipate the needs of policy makers �" carried on to his professional life. "I think the greatest gift that IU gave me was that it made me a well-rounded person. I took a number of courses in very diverse disciplines; IU made me appreciate not just diversity in people but diversity in issues �" preparing me for work in both the public sector and the political arena."

Toon has always had one mandate for his career: "Always have fun in your work. Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."