Por Morgan M. Hurley | Editor

Changing the world, one idea at a time

On the surface, Shawn VanDiver and Kristen Kavanaugh couldn’t be more different; VanDiver is a straight, white, animated and often raucous former enlisted Navy sailor and a single dad; Kavanaugh is a lesbian of color, a calm, cool and collected former Marine Corps finance officer, and happily married.

When you scratch that surface, however, you find they have a lot more in common than meets the eye. Serendipitously thrown together as colleagues, the two became fast friends; they provide balance to each other and are committed to effecting change across the globe — together.

Kavanaugh and VanDiver are the co-chairs of the local chapter of the Truman National Security Project, a community of likeminded, progressive individuals focused on innovative policies and political advocacy with the overall goal of “a safer, more prosperous world.”

The Truman Project is currently in the midst of a nationwide membership drive that will last through Sept. 29, and VanDiver and Kavanaugh are looking for kindred spirits to join them.

According to its website, Truman membership consists of veterans, policy experts, front-line civilians and political professionals with a shared worldview: “America is strongest when we utilize all of our tools — defense, diplomacy, development, and democracy — to engage the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.”

Truman members call it the “4Ds.”

Launched in 2004, the Truman Project is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., established after John Kerry lost the presidential election, “in order to close the security gap that the Democrats had lost on,” Van Diver said.

It was the brainchild of Rachel Kleinfeld and Matt Spence — “two really smart people who understand the nuts and bolts of national defense” — who Van Diver said recognized that we need to take a more “holistic approach” to national security, which is where the 4Ds come in.

“We believe that to have true national security you have to have all four of those,” he said. “If you are missing even one, everything falls apart.”

The name “Truman,” obviously came from President Harry S. Truman.

“Yes, he was a humble guy from Missouri, but it’s about his work,” Van Diver said. “It’s about the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan — it’s about that whole worldview that we’re not alone and we can’t be. We can pick up our cell phones and we can connect to a resistance fighter on the ground in Syria who needs a car. We can get on Twitter and find one. The idea that we can be [an] isolationist country, America first, that just doesn’t work.”

While membership — currently at 1,500 nationally — is the heart and soul of the Truman Project, it is extremely competitive to get accepted and though there is no age requirement, applicants tend to be between the ages of 27 and 40.

“We’re looking for mid-career professionals who kick ass and take names, who want to continue changing the world, and are looking for an outlet to do that,“ Van Diver said. “And they should have a national security bent. Whether it’s working in national security, they are in the military or were in the military, or interested in national security.

Van Diver emphasized that an “interest in national security” includes clean energy, transportation, cyber security, border and immigration, and even human rights.

The local chapter, launched two years ago by Kavanaugh, VanDiver and Matti Miranda, who now lives in Washington, D.C., is 21 strong and currently recruiting its third class.

After an extensive application process, those selected must attend an orientation and annual conference in D.C. before fully being vested in their membership.

VanDiver and Kavanaugh said the Truman Project has provided them a valuable and necessary outlet for their personal aspirations.

“If an individual has a specific focus either in their professional career or their personal lives or something like that, Truman is a vehicle by which people can go out and make change,” Kavanaugh said. “I don’t do politics in my professional life, but there are things that I am interested in and through Truman, I can work on these things or connect with people who can effect change or help me effect change if I’m not doing it on my own.

“That is the special part for me,” she continued. “You don’t have to be sitting on Capitol Hill or in the White House or something like that in order to make a difference.”

While VanDiver had spent several years in the public relations, media and political arena, his exploits hadn’t gotten him into the circles he yearned for.

“I got out of the military; I didn’t know anyone in D.C.,” he said. “I have a masters degree in homeland security and I’ve been teaching and I’ve been engaged politically, but I certainly had no business running around the Pentagon or doing anything like that. Truman has given me the opportunity to get in the room and have those discussions. As a former enlisted man in the Navy, that [enlisted] perspective is important when generals and admirals are the only ones giving input. It’s offered me a voice.”

Other local members include Councilmember David Alvarez, Councilmember-elect Chris Ward and attorney Gil Cabrera.

The group conducts closed meetings attended by members only — such as a recent roundtable with U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth who is running for a Senate seat in Illinois; open meetings that consist of various activities and allow others to learn more about Truman; and what VanDiver calls “public-facing events,” such as their annual “Memorial Day Rose Drop,” which in just one year went from 1,000 roses and about 25 attendees to 6,500 roses and 120 attendees.

On a national scale, VanDiver said two of the largest initiatives the Truman Project has had a measurable impact were on are women in combat and the Iran deal.

Truman members get together, discuss the issues, devise plans of action and then go out into the world — writing articles, talking to people at the Pentagon, knocking on doors of members of Congress, and reaching out to the public — to gain consensus. They also act as a resource for elected or government officials; like when Rep. Duckworth recently needed some veterans of Afghanistan to go on record. The San Diego Chapter delivered five names to her within a few hours.

Kavanaugh’s connections with Truman helped get her a coveted prime time position on stage at the recent Democratic National Convention, just before former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

“It was pretty cool; I approached it from a very Marine Corps perspective,” the Naval Academy graduate said of the experience. “I was there to do a mission; I didn’t have time to go hang out with my friends and go schmooze like everyone else was doing, which looked like a lot of fun. I was there to deliver a message. Once I deliver the message, then I can hang out with my friends and enjoy the moment.”

The application fee for Truman is $35 and annual dues are $250, but VanDiver is quick to dispel any concerns, stating that scholarships are available and they also offer donated airline miles to the convention.

“Money should never be a reason not to apply,” he said.

As for Kavanaugh and VanDiver’s differing personalities and backgrounds, the former Marine and the former sailor appear to have many more years ahead.

“That’s why it works,” Kavanaugh said. “He makes me do things that make me uncomfortable and I reel him in when I need to.”

“The major tenet [of Truman] is that everyone is wiling to give more than they get,” VanDiver said. “We’re a community and we all very much care about each other.”

Para obtener más información, visite trumanproject.org. If you have questions about the local chapter or the application process, contact VanDiver at [email protected] or Kavanaugh at [email protected].

—Morgan M. Hurley puede ser contactado en [email protected].