Clerking for Judge Lance Ito during the O.J. Simpson trial, Tasia Scolinos '94 had her first experience in law crossing paths with media hoopla. But it wouldn't be the last. At 31, she is senior director of communications for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The blinding velocity of her career has bounced her from one end of law to another, from pitching legal ideas for television, to freelance work for the Oxygen network, and guest spots on Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect as the "token conservative."

It was those latter experiences she credits for whetting her appetite for the media fray. "I enjoyed that process so much," says Scolinos, who was raised near CMC in Arcadia. "I enjoyed the on-camera opportunities, and I felt I was reaching more people with my ideas. I enjoy the intersection of law, politics, and the press," aptly defining her current duties as a key aide to the leader of the nation's domestic security, Secretary Tom Ridge.

"In any organization," she says, "you want your employees to go the extra mile, to give 110 percent to getting the job done right. This is especially true on the homeland security front. Strong leadership at the very top is vital to creating this type of exceptional culture. "We are successful," Scolinos says of her job, "when nothing happens. Every day that goes by when there isn't a terrorist attack is a success to the DHS."

Leadership, she says, is also critical to her job because homeland security is still in its infancy. With the department having been formally established on Jan. 23, the staff is still being assembled. And constructing an office of the president's Cabinet from the ground up is an historic opportunity, "a unique time in history to be able to serve your country."

A government major, Scolinos' senior thesis focused on the influence of rightists on the GOP, and she says her education prepared her for a career of unexpected twists. "The College fostered leadership, and encouraged me to take risks," she says. "And CMC definitely instilled in me a love for public policy. Being senior director of communications entails managing the department's message to the public, to ensure that everyone interacting with the press is on the same page about that message," she says. "What do we want to tell the American people about our domestic security?" The position not only taps her legal background, but requires media savvy and an ability to work with federal, state, and local authorities. What to tell the public, especially during the anxious times of Code Orange alerts, "is a fine line, and a delicate balance between informing the nation, while not tipping our hand to terrorists," Scolinos says. "It's not always easy, and the department's victories aren't always obvious to the American people."

Following the Simpson trial, Scolinos headed to Washington, earning a degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1999. Then it was back to California to litigate business law, including cases representing theaters in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. While working as a lawyer, the freelance work for Oxygen and other side jobs in television trickled in.

It was during this time in California that Scolinos supported George W. Bush's presidential campaign. "I really felt he'd give this country the type of leadership we deserved," she recalls. Shortly after the election, she moved to Washington again as senior spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Treasury, where she was involved in tracking terrorist financing. Robert Nichols, deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, was her boss.

Says Nichols: "She was a very talented, very energetic, very hardworking individual with extremely good instincts and extremely good leadership and management skills. We just kept increasing her job portfolio." This included Treasury Department delegation trips to Europe and South America, Nichols explained, where Scolinos met with financiers in those countries to discuss cracking down on terrorism financing.

"She was one of our bright stars here at Treasury," Nichols said. "She's an asset to the president, she's an asset to Tom Ridge, and she's an asset to the administration in general. She's going places."

When it comes to leading her own staff, and ensuring that some 300 DHS employees are kept informed, Scolinos often looks to her boss. "Being able to observe Secretary Ridge's leadership style up close is one of the highpoints of my job," she says. "He understands the purpose and mission of the organization and is a very effective communicator of those ideals to the 180,000 employees."

If she gets her wish, President Bush will be re-elected next year and she will continue to work for the administration she loves, in a job in which she thrives. "Protecting our homeland is important to me," Scolinos says. "I'm very patriotic. I would rather do a job that makes a difference, than take a bigger paycheck."

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On a military plane en route to Miami, Scolinos briefed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Robert Bonner, Assistant Secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Michael Garcia, and Deputy Undersecretary and Chief Operating Officer of the Transportation Security Administration James Loy.