R. Erich Caulfield SM ’01, PhD ’06, a member of the MIT Corporation whose five-year term ends this month, has been chosen as one of 13 members of the prestigious 2010-11 White House Fellows program.

Created in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the program gives promising American leaders first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the federal government.

Fellows typically spend a year working for senior White House staff, cabinet secretaries and other top-ranking government officials. Selection is highly competitive and based on a record of remarkable early-career professional achievement, evidence of leadership potential, a proven commitment to public service, and the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute successfully at the highest levels of the federal government.

Caulfield is the chief policy advisor to Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker and to the city’s business administrator. The Baton Rouge, La., native is responsible for directing Newark’s federal economic stimulus-related efforts. He also leads the development of Newark’s implementation plan for Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” childhood obesity program.

Prior to government service, Caulfield worked as an associate at McKinsey & Company, focusing on public-sector projects. There, he led the design and implementation of an improved textbook-delivery system for a 50,000-student urban school district, and established and supervised a project management office that coordinated 36 initiatives designed to improve customer satisfaction for a multi-billion dollar company.

At MIT, Caulfield was president of the Graduate Student Council.

This article includes material originally published by the Office of Alumni Relations and the Office of Communications at Morehouse College. Caulfield received his bachelor’s degree from Morehouse in 1998.
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