Woman of Influence: Leigh Hixon, Senior Director Alabama Policy Institute
Leigh Hixon has been making waves since her college days at Auburn University. Spending a majority of her career in fields dominated by men, Hixon wasted no time in making sure her voice was heard, and her ideas executed. She grew up in Saraland, Ala. and graduated from Auburn University in 2008 with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Government. When asked what influenced her to pursue a career in government and policy, Hixon responded; “When I was a student at Auburn University, I led the SGA’s Lobby Board and helped to create an organization for freshman to get involved in government and politics on campus.” “I brought legislators to campus and shuttled hundreds of students to Montgomery for higher education lobbying days over the years. Just as I believed then it was important for students to have their voices heard in Montgomery, I still believe it is important to stay actively engaged in political debate,” said Hixon. In January of 2009 Hixon went on to work as a Scheduler for a member of the Alabama delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives and stayed on the Hill until January 2012; when she shifted her career from government to the private sector. Hixon began working in Government Relations at Airbus, “Navigating an unknown industry, aerospace and defense, it was important to prove not only to myself, but to my colleagues, that I had an ability to quickly build the knowledge base and skill set to succeed,” explained Hixon. And succeed she did. By identify stakeholders and investment opportunities for Airbus, Hixon guaranteed long-term success for the organization. In 2016 she made an even greater leap — moving to New York City and working at The Nasdaq Stock Market. There she advised, managed, and built relationships between Nasdaq’s CEO and executive team and executives of Nasdaq-listed companies and prospects, and worked with Adena Friedman, the first woman to ever become CEO of a major U.S. stock exchange operator. In 2017 Hixon made the decision to return to her policy roots, and headed back home to the Yellowhammer state to take a position as the Senior Director of Policy Relations for the Alabama Policy Institute. For the past year she has worked in Birmingham, and across the state, leading a team of professionals who provide in-depth research and analysis of Alabama’s public policy issues. Hixon is a woman of high-calibre, and displays an amount of strength and ambition that many young women hope to one day obtain. She was kind enough to answer some of our questions on her work, influences, and how she gained those qualities: How have other women influenced your success? For much of my professional career, I have predominately worked in male-dominated industries: policy, aerospace, and fin-tech. I owe a great deal of gratitude to the female trailblazers and mentors who empowered, challenged, and supported me early in my career, and to countless male colleagues who embraced equality in the workplace. It is true that it’s important to surround yourself with people who believe in you and your abilities. One of my former managers on Capitol Hill, and a mentor to this day, cheered me when I told her I was leaving the office to pursue a more challenging role off the Hill. Her words still ring true to me today: always set the highest expectations for yourself and use your self-confidence to motivate and inspire others. One female trailblazer purposefully helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses. We worked through the StrengthsFinder, a performance assessment to identify my natural talents. Pinpointing those strengths, I was then able to develop a skill set which enabled me to identify stakeholders and invest in opportunities that ensured profitable, long-term growth and success for the company. I had the privilege of working with the first female CEO of a U.S. stock exchange. She would say stop with the timid voice. Assert yourself into conversations, and you will be heard. This was a tough habit to break for a girl growing up in Alabama, but I intentionally stopped always replying with a “Yes, Sir”, “Yes, Ma’am”, “No, Sir”, “No, Ma’am”, and use other pleasantries or assurances to respond in certain conversations, instead. Don’t get me wrong, I have and will always respect my elders and those with honorable distinctions. But in casual conversation, by constantly saying “Yes, Sir” “No, Sir” to my male peers, I felt as though I was putting myself at a disadvantage and lowering my ability to “compete” on an equal playing field. I prefer to use other pleasantries to convey respect, removing any attempt to deference my role or abilities in conversation. What has been your favorite area of service, and what is your favorite thing about that position? Throughout my career I have demonstrated an ability to work effectively with others. It is my goal and mission to help build up the next generation of conservative leaders in Alabama, while identifying policies that are good for our state and working with others to find opportunities for change. I enjoy working in a results-oriented and demanding environment with a group of driven people. (I’m listing out here because I can’t choose just one.) Compassion for the less fortunate and a desire to help those in need Grit for the long days, when all seems to be against you, and the will power to persevere Faith in God, my husband and family; reliability and loyalty to my friends and my career Keeping an open mind, because as they say, your brain is not going to fall out. What advice would you give to young women who want to work with policy or government relations? Coming back to Alabama after almost ten years, I have learned the unfortunate truth that progress in policy is slow. Stay motivated and focused. No matter how difficult the challenge, the right team and a good attitude can overcome any obstacle. Having a positive mindset is the first step to taking on any career path, and
Donald Trump threatens Syria strike, cancels summit travel
After threatening a military strike against Syria, President Donald Trump on Tuesday cancelled plans to travel to South America later this week, choosing to stay in the United States to manage the response to an apparent chemical weapons attack. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday that Trump will not attend the 8th Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru or travel to Bogota, Colombia as planned, remaining in the United States to “oversee the American response to Syria and to monitor developments around the world.” The decision marks the first time an American president has not attended the summit. Vice President Mike Pence will travel in Trump’s place. Trump on Monday promised a decision on Syria within hours, declaring that Russia or any other nation found to share responsibility for Saturday’s apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians will “pay a price.” The White House sharply rejected any suggestion that Trump’s own words about pulling U.S. troops out of Syria had opened the door for the attack, which killed more than 40 people, including children. Trump, asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin bore any responsibility, responded, “He may, yeah, he may. And if he does it’s going to be very tough, very tough.” He added, “Everybody’s gonna pay a price. He will. Everybody will.” Amid the tough talk from the White House, the U.S. military appeared to be in position to carry out any attack order. A Navy destroyer, the USS Donald Cook, was underway in the eastern Mediterranean after completing a port call in Cyprus. The guided missile destroyer is armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, the weapon of choice in a U.S. attack one year ago on an airfield in Syria following an alleged sarin gas attack on civilians. The Russian military, which has a presence in Syria as a key Assad ally, said its officers had visited the weekend site in a suburb of Damascus, the Syrian capital, and found no evidence to back up reports of poison gas being used. Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, accused Washington of deliberately stoking international tensions by threatening Russia in a tone “beyond the threshold of what is acceptable, even during the Cold War.” Trump said there was little question that Syria was responsible for the apparent weekend attack, although the government of President Bashar Assad denied it. “To me there’s not much of a doubt, but the generals will figure it out,” Trump said. He promised a decision on a possible military response within 24 to 48 hours, “probably by the end of today.” Emphatic in his condemnation of the apparent gas attack, Trump noted graphic pictures of the dead and sickened, calling the assault “heinous,” ″atrocious,” ″horrible” and “barbaric.” Fielding questions at the White House, Trump press secretary Sarah Sanders said it would be “outrageous” to say that Trump’s recent announcement that he intends to remove all U.S. forces from Syria in the coming months had emboldened Assad. “I think that it is outrageous to say that the president of the United States green-lit something as atrocious as the actions that have taken place over the last several days,” she said. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, in separate remarks at the Pentagon, also suggested Moscow bore some blame. He criticized Russia for what he suggested was its failure to ensure the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal under terms of a 2013 agreement. Trump was to meet late in the day with senior national security aides, and no action was “off the table,” the president said. Monday was the first day on the job for his new national security adviser, John Bolton, who has previously advocated military action against Syria. Trump said, “If it’s Russia, if it’s Syria, if it’s Iran, if it’s all of them together, we’ll figure it out.” The United States, meanwhile, urged the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution that would condemn the continuing use of chemical weapons in Syria “in the strongest terms” and establish a new body to determine responsibility for chemical attacks. The draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, was circulated ahead of an emergency Security Council meeting. An American official said the U.S. was discussing with allies whether they would participate in a retaliatory strike. If Trump decides to proceed quickly, the most likely partner would be France rather than Britain, because of concerns about obtaining permission from Parliament, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the planning publicly and requested anonymity. As U.S. officials consider whether and how to respond, they are looking at what type of chemical agent might have been used. When Trump ordered airstrikes last year after a chemical weapons attack, it was a response to the use of sarin gas, which is banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention that Syria has signed. An attack with chlorine, which can be used as a weapon but is not outright banned by the treaty, could raise precedent issues, as there have been numerous recent allegations of chlorine attacks in Syria that have drawn no response from the Trump administration. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Randall Woodfin downsizes security detail after promise to eliminate it
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin downsized his security detail by one person following recommendations from the Birmingham police force. During his campaign, Woodfin often criticized the cost of then-Mayor William Bell’s security team. He made the decision to cut the detail upon taking office, Nov. 28, 2017 based on recommendations by police on how many officers were needed to effectively perform the job. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars a year go into paying for Mayor Bell’s security detail, which takes uniformed cops off our streets,” Woodfin said in a column he wrote for AL.com in March 2017. “These officers could be patrolling our neighborhoods, but instead, they’re protecting the mayor on the taxpayer’s dime. The mayor of Birmingham doesn’t need a full-time security detail, and as mayor, I would eliminate the security detail and have those officers reassigned to our highest-crime neighborhoods.” While it is not possible to make a full comparison of previous costs for the security detail, as the Woodfin administration has been in office just over four months, the combined salaries of the current detail during that span of time is $71,436. For perspective, the year-to-date salary for the same period one year ago was $109,954.42.
National Guard members begin arriving at U.S.-Mexico border
Some National Guard members have started arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border with more expected as federal government officials continue to discuss what they’ll do about illegal immigration. The Republican governors of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico on Monday committed 1,600 Guard members to the border, giving President Donald Trump many of the troops he requested to fight what he’s called a crisis of migrant crossings and crime. The only holdout border state was California, led by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, who has not announced whether troops from his state’s National Guard will participate and has repeatedly fought with Trump over immigration policy. Under the federal law Trump invoked in his proclamation calling for National Guard troops, governors who send troops retain command and control over their state’s Guard members and the U.S. government picks up the cost. Brown’s spokesman, Evan Westrup, said California officials still are reviewing Trump’s troop request. Trump said last week he wants to send 2,000 to 4,000 National Guard members to the border, issuing a proclamation citing “the lawlessness that continues at our southern border.” Trump administration officials have said that rising numbers of people being caught at the southern border, while in line with seasonal trends in recent years, require an immediate response. Apprehensions are still well below their historical trends during the terms of former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both of whom also deployed the Guard to the border. In Mexico City, a caravan of Central American migrants that had been heading north stopped in the Mexican capital. The caravan had sparked furious criticism from Trump, followed days later by his National Guard border protection deployment plan. Organizers said they never intended to go to the U.S. border. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey told a group of soldiers preparing to deploy from a Phoenix military base that their “mission is about providing manpower and resources” to support agencies on the border and denied that there was a political motive. “I don’t think this is a partisan issue or an identity issue,” he said. “You show me somebody who is for drug cartels or human trafficking or this ammunition that’s coming over a wide-open and unprotected border here.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told San Antonio radio station KTSA that he would add about 300 troops a week until the total number reaches at least 1,000 troops. Some Guard members will be armed if they are placed in potential danger, Abbott said, adding he wanted to downplay speculation that “our National Guard is showing up with military bayonets trying to take on anybody that’s coming across the border, because that is not their role.” There is no end date for the deployment, Abbott said: “We may be in this for the long haul.” New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez’s office said that more than 80 troops would deploy later this week. They will be the first of an expected 250 Guard members from New Mexico to serve on the border. South Carolina Gov. 6 a Republican, offered to send members of his state’s Guard as well. South Carolina sent troops to the border during Operation Jump Start, the border deployment ordered by Bush in 2006. Trump has said he wants to use the military at the border until progress is made on his proposed border wall, which has mostly stalled in Congress. Defense Secretary James Mattis last Friday approved paying for up to 4,000 National Guard personnel from the Pentagon budget through the end of September. Mexico’s foreign relations secretary said his government is evaluating its cooperation with the United States. Luis Videgaray said in a Monday interview with local media that he will give results of the analysis to President Enrique Pena Nieto in coming weeks. The country’s Senate passed a resolution last week saying Mexico should suspend cooperation with the U.S. on illegal immigration and drug trafficking in retaliation for Trump’s move. But Videgaray said “no decision has been taken to reduce or suspend any mechanism or cooperation.” Joel Villarreal, the mayor of Rio Grande City in Texas, said he did not agree with what he characterized as “the militarization of the border.” “It’s not good for business, to be frank with you,” Villarreal said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Navy Week launches in Birmingham
America’s Navy has arrived in Birmingham with the Magic City’s mayor taking a huge leap to mark the occasion. Mayor Randall Woodfin helped kick off Birmingham Navy Week by doing a tandem parachute jump with U.S. Navy Parachute Team “The Leap Frogs” into Railroad Park today. Navy Week in Birmingham April 9-15 provides an opportunity for citizens to learn about the armed service, its people and its importance to national security and prosperity. Birmingham is one of only 14 cities selected to host a Navy Week this year. “Our sailors are extremely excited to visit Birmingham and showcase just a small portion of our Navy’s capabilities to the American public,” said Lt. David Carter, lead planner for the Navy Week. “The pride and professionalism they’ll display is just a snapshot of the larger U.S. Navy force that stands ready daily to carry out our nation’s work across the globe.” Rear Adm. Mark J. Fung, deputy chief of civil engineers, and deputy commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, will be the senior Navy representative presiding over Navy Week. “I am excited to share the Navy’s story with Birmingham,” Fung said. “I look forward to discussing the reshaping of the Navy into ‘the Navy the nation needs’ and how it is relevant to the people of Alabama.” Some of the weeks’ highlights include Navy Night at Regions Field during the Birmingham Barons’ home opener Wednesday night and Navy Day at the McWane Science Center all day Thursday. The week leads into the Tuscaloosa Regional Airshow, featuring the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, on April 14-15. Local native Command Master Chief Keith Wilkerson Jr., the senior enlisted sailor for Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron Island Knights (HSC-25) in Guam, will also be in attendance throughout the week. “Being born in Birmingham and spending my childhood running through the woods of Bessemer, I like to think of this place as being where the seed was planted for my service,” Wilkerson said. “I grew up around a lot of stories about the Navy and military and now after 19 years of service, I have one of my own to share. I’ve had the privilege to serve around the world, and currently in Guam, I get to see first-hand how America’s sons and daughters from places like Birmingham impact the world in a positive way and protect our way of life as Americans. Best of all, every day I have the awesome responsibility of putting on my Navy uniform and representing the great state of Alabama.” Navy Weeks bring a variety of events, equipment and personnel to a single city for a week-long series of engagements with the public, key influencers and organizations representing all sectors of the community. Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy’s flagship outreach effort in areas of the country without a significant Navy presence, with 210 Navy Weeks held in 74 different U.S. markets. “Navy Weeks allow us to showcase the sons and daughters of America who serve in today’s Navy. We focus on sharing in communities across the U.S. who often have little to no contact with sailors,” said Cmdr. Linda Rojas, Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) director. “We’ve found that these exchanges have gone a long way for raising awareness of the Navy and establishing and maintaining relationships with the people we serve.” During a Navy Week, 75 to 100 outreach events are coordinated with corporate, civic, government, education, media, veterans, community service and diversity organizations in the city, said Lt. Cmdr. Brett Dawson, NAVCO’s event planning department head. “We bring in as much of the Navy as we can to raise awareness of the Navy, its mission and its importance to the public,” he said. Navy Week cities are chosen based on a variety of factors, including Gallup data on Navy knowledge and awareness, Navy recruiting data, demographic information, namesake ties of ships and submarines, past outreach history in the market and geography, to ensure events are dispersed across the country. Last year’s Navy Week program, through the execution of more than 1,000 individual outreach events, showcased the Navy, its mission and its people to a combined audience of about 150 million Americans. The Navy plans to include the following elements in the week-long celebration: Sailors assigned to the state’s namesake ship, USS Alabama Navy divers and Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams S. Navy Parachute Team “The Leap Frogs” Navy Band performances Sailors from USS Constitution, the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat Navy Medicine personnel The Navy’s new virtual reality simulator. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
