Get to know Cabelle St. John 🎙️
Get to know Cabelle St. John outside of politics in a new episode of Capitol Spotlight, a video and audio podcast from CNCT.
Before Cabelle started working as the Senior Advisor for Sen. John Fetterman, she was an aspiring opera singer living in New York City and working in the Global Licensing Department for Sesame Street. Try finding someone else on the Hill with that background!
After pursuing her musical interests in NYC, Cabelle then decided it was time to tap into her political interests and move to D.C. She started working for Sen. Patrick Leahy in May 2017 and spent five years with his office.
Cabelle took a break from the Hill to work as the Executive Assistant to the Founders of Axios, which she describes as a valuable and insightful time. Now, Cabelle has spent over two years at the office of Sen. John Fetterman as Senior Advisor.
Listen to Cabelle's episode to hear about her background in opera singing, her time working on Sesame Street, and the life of a scheduler and senior advisor!
03:17: Cabelle's musical experience
04:52: Favorite operas and musicals
09:08: Working at Sesame Street
11:43: Moving into politics
13:14: Working for Senator Leahy
15:55: Cabelle's experience at Axios
17:18: Differences between private and public sectors
22:19: The Hill needs more weird job backgrounds
24:38: Prioritizing as Staffers (specifically schedulers)
30:50: Bipartisanship as a scheduler
33:21: Who is Cabelle outside of politics?
💬 Cabelle talks about…
More about Cabelle 🎶
Her whole life, Cabelle always knew she wanted to perform and pursue her love for music. At the age of fourteen, she started taking voice lessons and discovered her interest in opera singing. Being a fan of Broadway and a performer herself, she gave us a great list of show recommendations (some of which she's been in):
The Medium
All of Menotti's works
Carmen
The Marriage of Figaro
Evita
Follies
Gypsy
During her interview, Cabelle described musical theatre as "a true American art form," noting how the music is produced from within yourself, without amplification, and in a volume that is over the orchestra and fellow singers. This takes a lot of time and training.
🎭 If you're looking to connect with someone who has a unique and fascinating background in opera, operations work, and politics, you should talk to Cabelle!