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NGAUS has added two new employees familiar with the way things work in the nation’s capital to its headquarters staff in Washington, D.C.
Mark Hensch (left) is the new senior writer/editor in the communications department, while Alec Gonzalez (right) is a new analyst in the legislative department. Both started this week.
Hensch’s duties include writing and editing the association’s weekly e-newsletter, Washington Report, as well as writing stories for NATIONAL GUARD magazine.
He said he was looking forward to keeping the membership informed on what is going on on Capitol Hill and in the Pentagon that affects the National Guard.
Hensch came to the association after serving as a senior staff writer at GovLoop.com, a Washington, D.C.-based website where he wrote extensively about cybersecurity.
Hensch said it was the “human element” that attracted him to NGAUS.
“I missed being out and about, interviewing people, doing a wider range of stories,” he said. “I like writing about technology and cybersecurity, but that’s all I was writing about.”
He has also served as a digital editor and blogger for the Washington Times and a staff writer at The Hill. Both are based in the nation’s capital.
“I look forward to telling the people about the National Guard and seeing the policy implications on the actual Guard and getting to know the actual personnel,” he said. “I’m excited about that.”
Meanwhile, Gonzalez will be providing information, such as background and notes on bills, to the legislative team.
He said NGAUS gives him the opportunity to grow more knowledgeable about the issues facing the Guard.
Gonzalez previously worked at Ward Circle Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington, D.C. He was also a congressional intern for Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H.
“I can become a lot more specialized in these issues,” he said. “Before, it was very surface level. I understand what’s going on, but I’m never researching or learning about one specific area. NGAUS gives me a lot of opportunities to become almost a guru in everything related to the National Guard.”
Gonzalez said what drew him to working at NGAUS was the opportunity to help the Guard.
“I really liked that altruism because that was the main thing that I enjoyed and drew me to working in a congressional office helping people,” he said.
Hensch has a bachelor’s degree in English from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, while Gonzalez earned a bachelor’s in political science from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Both reside in Washington, D.C.
