2016 LBJ DC Fellow
Wyatt Ellertson received his joint Master of Public Affairs (DC Concentration) at the LBJ School and Master of Science in civil engineering at the Cockrell School of Engineering. He is a cum laude graduate from Utah State University (USU) with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. As an undergraduate, Wyatt worked for the National Security Agency in Washington as an engineering intern and as a project management intern, where he assisted with building design activities and construction logistics. In 2012, he garnered first place at an engineering student conference for an academic paper on the ethical implications of engineering design codes. Before commencing his graduate studies, Wyatt worked for an engineering firm as a structural engineer-in-training. He was also employed as an assistant for USU’s government relations director and worked to secure increased legislative funding for graduate education and new campus facilities. Wyatt's state government relations experience sparked his desire to work with the U.S. Congress and allowed him to see the importance of political strategy and policy analysis in the legislative process. In graduate school, he studied not only the technical side of policy issues relating to energy, water and infrastructure, but also has gained insights on overcoming political challenges when formulating policy at the federal level.
He undertook his 2016 Policy Apprenticeship at the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Energy Subcommittee (Majority).