For Shaudi Fulp, politics is about tangible outcomes

May 12, 2025

by Alexander Rony

Shaudi Fulp graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004 with bachelor’s degrees in legal studies and political psychology, later returning for her master’s in political science. She now helps emerging and mature companies build government affairs teams and strategies across the globe. Even though she lives in Southern California, Fulp is very involved with campus, offering guidance through the Berkeley Social Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council and the Jack Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research’s External Advisory Committee.

Fulp spoke with UC Berkeley writer Alexander Rony about how the university prepared her for her career and how she gives back.

First off, I am very sorry about the impact that the LA fires had on your family. How is your school community doing?

You’re so kind to ask. My kids went to school in the Palisades, where their school burnt down, along with pretty much their entire social ecosystem: their rec center, all of their sporting fields, their library, and their best friends’ homes. Within hours of the catastrophic fires, our school community worked together, lending our diverse expertise to get the kids back into school as quickly as possible. That was mission critical. Within a week and a half, they were back in school learning – albeit in an office complex with plenty of open space and a playground.

I will say, this experience has stress tested all our assumptions about how we define a school, and I credit the head of our school and his team for keeping the kids at the center of every decision. The once bare walls of their interim campus are now brimming with children’s art and stories, which has become a living canvas of resilience.

That’s very impressive in such a short time. Speaking of your full-time job, what attracted you to government affairs?

The public affairs and government affairs landscape is going through a significant metamorphosis, and at a speed unlike any other time in history. Even basic assumptions that once seemed immutable have vanished. I liken it to a kaleidoscope — one small twist and the whole pattern shifts, demanding us to continually recalibrate strategies while safeguarding our clients’ core values.

You're also seeing a greater awareness of the need for government relations and public affairs infrastructure at the C-suite level. Early in my career, government affairs and communications departments were dismissed as cost centers but today, their direct impact on profits and core strategy is clearer than ever.

You obviously have to be flexible to meet your job’s needs. Did your interdisciplinary degree benefit you in your career?

When I first learned about the interdisciplinary studies field major, I felt like I had hit the jackpot. A few days before classes started my freshman year, I went through the 3-inch thick printed course catalog, highlighting and tabbing every class I wanted to take. My Unit 3 roommate joked that it looked like a radioactive porcupine, an inside joke I still haven’t lived down. When I found that I could put all these different classes together and create my own major in the field of political psychology, it shaped my entire college trajectory. There were so many classes I had marked, I ended up double majoring in legal studies as well – and graduated a year early to accept a job offer I couldn’t pass up. In fact, I started my first reporting job in Sacramento a week before graduation, and my boss later admitted he gave me a chance only because he believed that if I could navigate Berkeley’s bureaucracy and finish ahead of schedule, I could handle a newsroom!

A woman holding a microphone and a man in a suit

Reporting at her KTVU internship

A woman in a Cal hat, Cal's Oski Bear mascot, and a woman in a Cal jacket

Talking with Oski Bear and a Cal fan

A woman and man lock pinky fingers on the sidelines of a Cal football game

On the job at a Cal football game

25 students in formal or semiformal attire pose behind a desk with the words "Student Government" on the wall behind them

With her fellow ASUC senators

Did Berkeley shape your career interest at all?

Gosh, I owe so much of my career to Berkeley and my professors. I'm still in touch with all my mentors, like Jack Citrin, one of the premier scholars in the field of political psychology. I first took his classes in public opinion research and political psychology my sophomore year, and to this day, his lessons shape how I develop strategies and construct plans for my clients and philanthropic efforts.

I was also active in student government, which was my first foray into understanding electoral politics and how politicized even college student government could be. As a student senator, I was focused on getting tangible solutions in place, such as getting more athletic equipment at the Recreational Sports Facility and getting Cal card swipes accepted for dining off-campus. I was constantly driven by my desire to collaborate, find common ground, and get something done. It was surprisingly harder than I imagined and took a lot of negotiating on symbolic items we had no jurisdiction over to build rapport and support.

It takes a lot of confidence to speak publicly and meet business and policy leaders. Did this come naturally to you?

I wish it had come naturally, and it’s something I still feel like I need to work on! KALX was one of my first training grounds. After a full day of classes my freshman year, I would head to the basement in Barrows Hall to write and anchor the afternoon news. I challenged myself to develop my cadence, trying to emulate Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw. I’m convinced my dad was my only listener — and thank goodness, because I probably sounded ridiculous with every octave shift I tested.

I also interned at KTVU, the Fox station in Oakland, and KPIX, the CBS station in San Francisco. I worked for the 10 p.m. show on Fridays at KTVU and the 5 a.m. show on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at KPIX. As my college roommates were coming home from parties, I was getting ready and going to work. While I got to report on police ride-alongs and cover local elections — such as Gavin Newsom’s run for mayor and Kamala Harris’ run for district attorney — I got my “big break” at a Cal football game. The Fox Sports team was looking for a student reporter and when my KTVU colleague told them I was interning at several local news stations, they offered me my first real on-air gig. Learning how to think quickly on my feet and navigate passionate Cal sports fans and players was an educational experience that has served me throughout my career.

Did you sleep at all during college?

[Laughing] I’ve been an “early to rise, early to bed” type most of my life. Most of my colleagues think I started the early 4 a.m. rise after working with WME’s Ari Emanuel, but even Capitol Weekly in the early aughts wrote about my early rising. My international colleagues appreciate having a longer window to fit in calls!

When the magnificently inspiring Dean Raka Ray asks you to do something, you step up and serve.

Shaudi Fulp

What was behind your career pivot from journalism to government relations?

I started out as a political reporter covering Arnold Schwarzenegger when he first ran for governor — before social media and the advent of the iPhone. Sacramento was on the international news stage, but a few of my mentors warned me about the deep cuts that were coming and the big shift for political news towards the scandalous and salacious. I wanted to do deep policy reporting, and a lot of my colleagues with decades of reporting experience were let go after the “Schwarzenegger effect” died off and digital media began to rise. Witnessing all of this at an impressionable age, I immediately started to think about my career longevity and began to question what my future would look like in the industry.

Serendipitously, the former president pro tempore of the state Senate decided foie gras should be outlawed, catching the eye of a national news outlet that urgently needed a soundbite. After he firmly rejected my first interview request, I circled back, respectfully asking again if he might squeeze me in between meetings. With considerably more flair — and profanity — he shot back, asking if I knew how to take no for an answer. Hiding my sheer petrification as a new reporter, I reflexively replied, "Senator, it's not my job to." I got the interview — and, unbeknownst to me, my future lobbying boss witnessed the exchange and handed me his card with a wry smile: “Kid, you're in the wrong business.” The stars aligned eventually, and I entered the lobbying corps. At the time, I figured I’d learn more about how the proverbial sausage is really made behind the scenes and return to reporting with more knowledge about the industry.

You mentioned Jack Citrin earlier. What motivates you to support the Citrin Center now?

Jack has been my mentor and friend since graduation, and when I became the chief advocate for a Fortune 500 company in Sacramento, I served on his board at the Institute of Governmental Studies for 10 or so years. When he retired, we endowed UC Berkeley’s Citrin Center in his honor, and I joined as an inaugural board member. It's been incredible to see this center go from not having existed seven and a half years ago to producing cutting-edge public opinion research and bringing world-class speakers to campus. We recently launched a first-of-its-kind survey with POLITICO juxtaposing the opinions of the CA general electorate with those of “policy influencers,” which was a resounding success. We are currently fundraising for the next series of surveys which we hope to release in the fall.

When I first learned about the interdisciplinary studies field major, I felt like I had hit the jackpot.

Shaudi Fulp

Why did you join the Dean's Advisory Council for Berkeley Social Sciences?

When the magnificently inspiring Dean Raka Ray asks you to do something, you step up and serve. I met her when she was early into her term as dean of the Division of Social Sciences and was blown away by her vision for the department and the field, in general. She's one of those rare gems who has the ability to combine vision, leadership, and execution, which explains why she leads one of the strongest teams on campus. She is such a champion for her professors and students, and seeing the impact and visibility of the social sciences grow is a testament to her.

What do you hope to accomplish through this role?

At Berkeley, I was lucky to have so many generous mentors — professors, graduate student instructors, and classmates — who helped guide me throughout my formative college years. Being involved with the Dean's Advisory Council, I've met countless Cal students who are incredibly bright and passionate and are seeking out careers in public policy and government affairs, but don’t quite know where to start. If I'm able to connect them with folks who can help open doors and shape their career choices, that is one wonderful measure of success. I’ve met with several students from SSCRIP, and I am thrilled to report many of them have landed fantastic internships since!

I also hear you will provide advice for an upcoming Berkeley Liberty Initiative series on “Difficult Conversations.”

This is a big priority for me. No person, party, or institution has all the answers. Meaningful progress requires empathetic dialogue, a willingness to find common ground, and incremental but meaningful victories. While unprecedented access to data and connectivity offers immense potential, our capacity to foster thoughtful, constructive debate has lagged behind. The calcification of our electorate, the rapid infusion of AI into everyday life, and our shifting consumption of media are significant, yet they represent just a fraction of a larger, more complex equation. We risk becoming trapped within algorithmic myopias, unreceptive to other perspectives precisely when we need them most. We must equip the next generation with the tools not only to disagree respectfully, but also to collaborate effectively — recognizing that wisdom emerges from navigating differences, not avoiding them.

Topics

Alumni topic page, Public Policy topic page, Social Sciences topic page