This article has been updated to include a statement from Texas State University.
The political science center at Texas State University, which is lead by an Obama appointee, partnered with a left-wing nonprofit on a congressional internship program.
Texas State University’s Center for Research, Public Policy, and Training, which “conducts research and publishes content” on public policy issues, and the Open Horizon Foundation created a congressional internship scholarship program for two Texas State students.
Dr. Helen Lowman, the director of the Center for Research, Public Policy, and Training (CRPPT), described Open Horizon to prospective participants in a September 9 online presentation. She said the Alexandria, Virginia-based nonprofit “generally” serves the Washington, D.C., area and elsewhere. “Their mission is about ‘advancing racial and social justice’ and they do that by funding things like these scholarships.”
According to the Open Horizon website, “equity” is one of the nonprofit’s values and, as such, it seeks “to build more equitable and inclusive systems.” Its executive director, D’Lynn Jacobs, previously assisted other organizations in advancing anti-racism and “supporting LGBTQ+ youth.”
Open Horizon offers $10,000 scholarships to selected first-generation, Pell-eligible students for its Spring 2026 congressional internship program, which includes a three-credit leadership course and nine-credit internship during the semester.
During the presentation, Dr. Lowman said the internship program’s first two interns were presently assigned to Texas Democrats in Congress: one to U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, and the other to U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson. Dr. Lowman said this “is an amazing opportunity to learn how government really works … and to build your network for the future.”
Open Horizon and Texas State’s CRPPT have another link other than this program. Open Horizon’s co-founder Lisa Cohen is also on CRPPT’s leadership council.
According to Cohen’s biography at CRPPT, she advanced DEI in the federal government in 2014, when she co-founded an Intercultural Competence, Diversity & Inclusion program in the U.S. Peace Corps.
Individuals with work experience from the Obama and Biden administrations comprise nearly half of the CRPPT’s leadership, including Director Dr. Lowman.
President Barack Obama appointed her to multiple positions. First, in July 2010, she served as the U.S. Peace Corps’ Regional Director for Europe, the Mediterranean, and Asia. Later, Obama appointed her as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Director of Individual and Community Preparedness Division. Her resume also showed she worked as Country Director and Associate Director of the U.S. Peace Corps program in Chengdu, China during the President George W. Bush administration.
Other examples of Democrat appointees on the leadership council include Elisa Montoya, who worked in the Biden-Harris White House Office of Management & Budget Transition Team, and Robert Shriver, who advanced the LGBT ideology at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management during the Obama administration. President Joe Biden appointed him to run OPM, where he served until President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration.
The selection process for interns is well underway, according to the program’s website. The deadline for applications was September 30, 2025. A review committee will select applications, and the program will begin placing interns with Congress members in November.
Texas State University’s Political Science Department, part of the College of Liberal Arts, houses the Center for Research, Public Policy, and Training. Dr. Kenneth L. Grasso is the department chair, and Dr. Mary Brennan is the dean of the college.
TSU replied to a request for comment. “Texas State University facilitates connections between students and thousands of internship opportunities across a wide range of companies and organizations, equipping them with the experience and skills needed for future career success,” a TSU spokesperson wrote, and pointed to its Career Services website for examples of employer partners.
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