Christopher Galen
Grad Year: 1985
Major: Broadcasting
Current Position: Senior Vice President for Member Services & Strategic Initiatives, National Milk Producers Federation
Current Location: Arlington, VA
Where are you currently working and what are you doing?
I have worked at the National Milk Producers Federation in Arlington, Virginia, since 1997. NMPF is a trade association representing the public policy interests of the nation's dairy farmers. My current position is Senior Vice President for Member Services and Strategic Initiatives. This mostly involves communications and stakeholder relations activities, working with our members and other external allies and NGOs on a variety of economic, CSR and political activities. My degree in journalism and the content creation skills I picked up in college are still at work!
Are you currently working on any special projects?
Not to be maudlin or discuss the personal rather than professional, but in April, my mother Betty, who lived in Seward and earned her Master's degree from UNL in 1983, passed away. My brother Luke (UNL class of 1988) and I are recognizing her decades-long legacy as a professor at Concordia University through a family endowment to the new music center about to be built there. I mention this project because she, her late husband Bill - also a professor at Concordia - and my brother and I shared a belief in the transformative powers of both education and music, and this project allows that passion to live on.
Any funky talents or hobbies? Life-changing experiences?
No hobbies that rise to the level of talents. In terms of experiences, I'd be remiss if I didn't also plug my three semesters working at the Daily Nebraskan in 1982-83. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories I wrote - mostly prosaic ones, but each assignment taught me how to write about the mundane in ways that - hopefully - weren't. I also was able to do some longer-form article series that had an impact on others, and on me, and it was one of the first lessons I had in the importance of shared communication and its ability to shape other's opinions.
What would you say is the most important skill or quality to have "out in the real world"?
I'm going to cheat with this answer by listing several such qualities, in no particular order: active listening skills; curiosity about how things work and how they can be changed; authenticity, meaning being true to who you are; and lastly, the ability to communicate in impactful ways. Writing skills help with all of this, and the great news is that they get better over time if you keep at it.
Why should Nebraska students enroll in CoJMC courses?
Picking up on my last answer, journalism as it was practiced in the 20th century is over. Journalists, editors and media outlets serving as intermediators between newsmakers and the public....that tale has been told and it's over. Now, we all have the ability to create our own content and share it globally. That makes everyone a "journalist," but only the real pros will have the ability to discern between news and noise. That's where some educational credentials and training can help.
What advice do you have for current students, prospective students?
I will offer the same advice that I gave to my daughter, who last year began her journey in higher ed as a freshman at the University of Mary Washington: Make the effort. Whether on the personal level, in relationships with parents, partners, siblings or children....or with your professional pursuits, success is most often realized at the end of a process where you have given a damn about something enough to stick with it. I saw in college in Lincoln, and in every other thing I've done since, a wide range of attitudes about the task at hand. The ones who attend each class, and then show up every day at work, are the ones who succeed.
