On The Fast Track
By Kim Forrest
WASHINGTON–Kate Käufer moves fast. She’s run a marathon, loves to cycle and participates in any sporting event she can.
But her athletic prowess is not the only thing that makes Käufer speedy.
In less than five years, Käufer, 28, has gone from being a congressional aide to an analyst on homeland security issues. She is about to get her master’s degree in security policy studies at George Washington University, and she has received a fellowship to work for the federal government.
Käufer was born in Germany to a German father and an American mother, Christopher and Marie Käufer, who now live in Roxbury. She said her love of global politics stems from her own mixing of cultures.
“Growing up as an American in Germany, you’re by default part of international relations. There’s a world that opens up to you,” she said with a smile. “That’s where I got my start, I guess. Just reading a lot of [news]papers.”
She also gained her tenacity from fending off four older brothers.
“Older brothers usually meant a lot of teasing,” she said. “But I also toughened up.”
Käufer earned an earlier master’s degree in linguistics, political science and U.S. history from the University of Cologne. Then she obtained a congressional fellowship offered by the American Political Science Association – her ticket to Washington.
After more than two decades in Germany, Käufer said getting used to the fast-paced U.S. capital – she called it “a shark pond” — was tough.
“I would say that I grew up in a more reserved surrounding in Germany, and it took me a while to adjust to what I would describe as American frankness,” she said. “It wasn’t exactly difficult, but it took time to transition and adjust to the different mentality and social interaction.”
Washington, she said, is “a strange city. It took me a while to get used to the style of it. But I like it a lot; it has a lot to offer. It can be very intellectually stimulating. It can also be very partisan.”
Her major complaint, however, has nothing to do with politics.
“The weather,” she said with a scowl. “It’s horrible.”
Käufer came to the muggy capital city in 1998 to work as a legislative assistant for then- Rep. Bill Luther (D-MN). She specialized in defense, international affairs and trade issues.
“There’s always something going on. You have to be able to think on the run,” Käufer said. “I liked working for [Luther]. He was a good person and a good member, and that means a lot.”
Luther had equally praiseworthy words about Käufer.
“She was just outstanding. A wonderfully committed young person who worked in my office,” he said. “I know that she ahs a great future ahead of her. She loved the legislative process in Congress. Everyone in my office relied on her for knowing minute to minute what was going on on the floor.”
After working for about three years on Capitol Hill, Käufer became a policy analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, an independent organization that analyzes the federal government’s work on such issues as arms control, weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missile defense and terrorism.
Käufer helped write the center’s Terrorism Prevention Handbook. Released last October, the handbook reviews federal programs aimed at combating terrorism and how they were funded. She said the goal was to make the handbook easy for ordinary citizens to understand.
“We sort of started it from a concerned citizens’ perspective,” Käufer explained. “As a citizen living in D.C., I obviously want to be protected from a terrorist attack. And I want to know what the government is doing to protect me from a terrorist attack.”
Käufer’s boss, Erik Floden, director of the center’s terrorism project, said she was an integral part of the project.
“She’s doing great,” he said. “She and I work more as a team, more than a boss- subordinate kind of thing.”
Käufer said that the government is trying to prevent terrorist attacks by safeguarding buildings and improving airline security. But she said it also is important for the United States to help economically struggling countries where terrorism could grow.
“You can make the case that poverty, disenchantment and not having freedom of speech fosters, or at least creates a culture that could support, terrorism,” she said.
Käufer, who lives near the Capitol, said she is not afraid of another attack.
“What are you going to do? Live your life in fear?” she asked rhetorically. “There could be a terrorist attack, but people are dying of other causes every day. Am I not going to drive my car because I’m afraid of car accidents? I can’t do that.”
Despite a jam-packed schedule – or maybe because of it — Käufer tries to make time to unwind by listening to classical music, an interest she inherited from her father. She also visits her parents in New Hampshire a few times a year.
“I love going up there,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
Although she’s been in Washington most of her adult life, Käufer still is energized by the capital. She remembers feeling humbled and excited the first time she walked down the halls of congressional office buildings.
“I hope I never ever lose that fascination in government,” she said.
There’s one thing Käufer has gotten used to.
“You do see ‘important’ people all the time, and it gets kind of normal. I’ll go to my cleaner, and there’ll be a senator standing there,” she says. “If you live in Hollywood, you see all the movie stars. Well, if you live here, you’ll see government officials all the time.”
So what’s next? Käufer seems certain about the direction of her career.
“I want to work for the federal government and I will be working for the federal government,” she said, bluntly.
When Käufer receives her master’s degree, she will begin the Presidential Management Intern Program, which will allow her to work for a federal agency. She hopes to continue her focus on national security.
That’s for now. Käufer has bigger, long-term plans.
“National security adviser Käufer,” she said with a laugh. “Sounds pretty good to me.”
Published in The Keene Sentinel, in New Hampshire.
