[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 98 (Thursday, June 8, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING DR. KARI MOE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 8, 2017

  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the public 
service of Kari Moe, my Chief of Staff for over 10 years.
   When I was first elected to Congress, many of my friends and 
colleagues said the one thing I had to do was hire a great Chief of 
Staff. Kari has been more than great--she has been irreplaceable.
   Kari Moe met my personal hero and a mentor, Senator Paul Wellstone, 
when she was a freshman at Carleton College, where he was a professor. 
When the college's conservative administration moved not to renew 
Senator Wellstone's contract in 1975, Kari organized campus protests to 
grant him tenure. Kari and her fellow activists were victorious, and 
Wellstone was granted tenure.
   That event marked the beginning of a long and successful career in 
organizing and leadership. Soon after graduating, she moved to Chicago 
to work for another personal hero, Harold Washington, the city's first 
black Mayor.
   After Paul Wellstone won his Senate race in 1990, he called Kari to 
ask her to join his team in D.C. As Senator Wellstone's Chief, she 
helped achieve many progressive victories and helped develop staffers 
with her signature nurturing leadership style.
   Kari has exceeded all expectations in her role as lead staffer for 
my office. She has, perhaps more than anyone, shaped my Congressional 
career. She helped us serve the 5th Congressional District, advance our 
policy agenda, and build the work of the Congressional Progressive 
Caucus. We have worked together every step of the way and I have 
appreciated her leadership. I will miss her and know she will continue 
to advance our agenda in her future work with young leaders.
   She will be remembered in my office for her strength, empathy and 
leadership, always urging staff to act with purpose, and to remember 
that real change doesn't come from the top--it comes from empowering 
people at the grass roots.
   I thank her for her service and will miss her in my office.

                          ____________________