In the latest Meet the Team installment of From the Lobby, host Joanna Pasceri sits down with Kara Hughes, Senior Advisor and Head of NYC Practice at O’Donnell & Associates, to trace a career built at the center of New York’s biggest political moments. From catching the political bug on Democratic campaigns in college to serving as Director of Economic Development for then-Senator Hillary Clinton during 9/11 recovery, to negotiating hundreds of bills inside New York City Hall, Hughes offers a candid look at how legislation actually gets done — and why she sees real reasons for hope in New York City right now, particularly on child care, housing, and transportation. She also opens up about the daily yoga practice that grounds her and the bittersweet reality of an empty nest.
Joanna Pasceri
Hi, everyone, and welcome back to From the Lobby with Jack O’Donnell and another Meet the Team episode where we get to know the people behind the success at O’Donnell and Associates. Joining us today is one of the firm’s standout leaders, Senior Advisor and Head of New York City Practice, Kara Hughes. Kara has spent her career in the middle of some of New York’s biggest moments, helping shape recovery efforts after 9/11 to negotiating major pieces of legislation at City Hall. She’s been on campaigns, inside government, and now helping clients navigate it all from the outside. Kara, thanks so much for joining us from the lobby.
Kara Hughes
Hi there, Joanna. Thank you so much for having me. It’s my pleasure.
Joanna Pasceri
We start off all of these podcasts with this question. How did your accomplished career get started? How did you know that politics and government were going to be your thing?
Kara Hughes
You know, it’s funny. It’s been a while now, and I first became interested in politics when I was in college, actually. I was originally planning to be a teacher. That was my original major. And I got involved in some different political activities and Democratic politics, and that completely changed the course of my life. I worked on some campaigns and I caught the bug, as they say. So I’ve never looked back. It was something that I found incredibly challenging, but yet rewarding. It’s a team sport, it’s very competitive, and I played Division 1 sports in college, so I like the competitive nature of it. And it’s been an amazing journey.
Joanna Pasceri
We can talk about your lacrosse career a little bit later. But you have had such a front row seat to a lot of major political moments in New York. When you look back, how have those experiences shaped the way you approach your work today?
Kara Hughes
I’ve seen a lot of different big changes throughout the course of working in politics over the last number of decades. And I think one of the most important things is being able to learn and be a lifelong learner. I’ve had a number of different jobs and a number of different big moments throughout the history of the city and the state and nationally as well. I think it’s very important to always be open to learning new things from people and open to hearing from different people about their perspectives. You have to be willing to be open and pivot and be nimble and quick on your feet. They say that the only constant is change. So if you can’t move with the change and learn how to impact it in different ways, then it’s really hard to get things done.
Joanna Pasceri
You worked closely on 9/11 recovery and redevelopment efforts in New York. That was such a defining time for the city. What do you remember most about that work and the responsibility that came with it?
Kara Hughes
That was a really incredible time. Obviously, in New York City, in New York State, in our country, in our world. I was really young and I was truly privileged to have the job that I had at the time working for then-Senator Hillary Clinton as her Director of Economic Development. I worked on her Senate campaign. And when I was hired for that job, it was to be focused on economic development for upstate New York. That was really the primary focus of my role. And when 9/11 happened, there was no playbook for that. There’s no map. There was nothing to really look back to in terms of how to do things. We all just kind of jumped in, used whatever we had in terms of our skill sets, and did everything we could to try to help the city. I really learned that government can work and government can really help people and make a real difference. To be part of that is one of the greatest privileges of my entire life.
At the time, Senator Clinton and Senator Schumer went into then-President Bush to talk to him and ask him for money for New York City. It wasn’t like they wrote a check for $20 billion and that was the end of it. We fought for many years, and a lot of the different pieces of the puzzle, a lot of the different funding mechanisms to try to provide support, had to pass through legislation and through appropriations. Something that I actually have in my office — I’m looking at it right now — the appropriation for the first tranche of money for the workers at Ground Zero. It took until February 2003 to get that passed. And it was the first $90 million to help with the health tracking for the workers and the firefighters down at Ground Zero. I have it framed with a note from Senator Clinton thanking me for my efforts. We worked with firefighters, we worked with first responders. We did so many press conferences. It was a team effort. That’s really where I learned you have to work together with others, sometimes people who you don’t always work with, find new friends and come up with new strategies to get things done.
Joanna Pasceri
Just staying with policy right now. When you were at New York City Hall, you were negotiating hundreds of bills and working closely with the City Council. What did you learn about getting legislation over the finish line there?
Kara Hughes
Going back to my point about being a lifelong learner — when I went to go work at City Hall, I had been doing policy and legislative work for a good amount of time. I didn’t realize how much I was going to learn. New ways of doing things, new ways of getting things done. That was very eye-opening to me, learning about the legislative process firsthand in the city and how challenging that is. It’s a very, very detailed and somewhat complicated system. People think that this stuff is kind of easy and a lot gets done behind the scenes. What a lot of people see is kind of the beginning and then the end. They don’t see all of what happens in the middle. It’s a lot of negotiating. It’s a lot of time spent working with elected officials, with different people within the mayor’s office, the different policymakers depending on what the issue is.
We tackled a lot of different large issues while I was there. Being able to negotiate with a fair hand and also know when to push and know when to pull back — it’s definitely not as easy as it looks. But it really was incredible to see some coalitions come together that you never imagined would come together. People who you think would be on different sides of different issues would come together around certain issues, and that’s really what pushed things over the finish line. The team of folks at City Hall, they were the best and the brightest. Really amazing team of people who just worked so hard. We spent a lot of hours aging bills and a lot of hours in the office in City Hall negotiating bills. It really was a privilege to work with such amazing, smart, dedicated teams.
Joanna Pasceri
You certainly hit your stride with it and have had tremendous success with O’Donnell and Associates. When you look at New York City right now, where do you think the biggest challenges and opportunities are?
Kara Hughes
It’s a really interesting time right now, and I actually feel like there is so much hope right now. Although we’re facing a lot of challenges nationally and with the budget at the city and the state level in New York, and nationally with the economy, I feel like in New York City right now, in New York State, there’s a lot of hope. And I think that that comes with change. There’s a brand new mayor, and I think that he’s come in with a new mindset in terms of looking at issues from a different perspective. And it’s all about the art of the possible.
I think there’s a real opportunity to do some amazing things in child care. I’m a mother of two children, and to think about the possibility of having child care be part of something that was, you know, just like school — it’s a game changer for so many families in New York City and New York State. Also with housing — housing is a huge challenge in the city. Working with the private sector and with elected officials, I think that there’s going to be a real opportunity for partnerships there to actually get things done. And also on transportation, I see an amazing opportunity to make things more accessible for people. As a New York City resident in Queens, the thought of free buses and making our transportation and infrastructure stronger, I think there’s a real opportunity there. Looking at things through a different lens and saying what we can do versus what we can’t do, I think is very exciting.
Joanna Pasceri
Let’s dial it back a little bit here. When you’re not in the middle of policy and politics, what do you like to do to recharge? Do you still play lacrosse? What does your time away from work look like?
Kara Hughes
Well, I definitely don’t play lacrosse anymore. Time away from work and balance is very hard, especially when you’re working on campaigns or in government. But I think it’s so important to find those different outlets outside of work. One for me is yoga. I actually do yoga every morning. I have my own practice. Usually I do it outside, even in snow. It depends on how deep the snow is. But I try to do it outside, weather permitting, every morning. If not, I do it inside. It’s very important to me to start the day off with — even if it’s a quick practice, including meditation — something that if I don’t do, it makes the day more challenging for me. Also, eating at all the great restaurants in my neighborhood with my husband, and then also spending time with my two college-age daughters whenever I can. I miss them so much with them both away, and as much time as I can spend with them — that’s the greatest joy to me.
Joanna Pasceri
That empty nest is interesting to get used to, isn’t it?
Kara Hughes
Oh my goodness. It’s so challenging. It’s such a challenging time, but it’s also so exciting. It’s like a roller coaster. It’s so exciting that they’re doing well and that they’re on their own. And it’s also so sad at the same time because I miss them so much. But I’m so happy that they’re both happy and settling into their new lives, which makes the time that I get to spend with them even more special.
Joanna Pasceri
Well, Kara, this has been a great conversation. We really appreciate your insight and hearing about your journey. Thanks for joining us from the lobby.
Kara Hughes
Thank you so much, Joanna. I really appreciate it. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me today.
Joanna Pasceri
And thanks to all of you for tuning in to our Meet the Team series — a closer look at the people behind the work and the service the firm delivers every day. If you want to learn more about our rockstar team and what we do, head to our website at odonnellsolutions.com. Thanks for listening, everyone. We’ll see you next time From the Lobby with Jack O’Donnell.
