Georgina Patient
Legislative Correspondent
Sen. Michael Bennet
Georgina is a Legislative Correspondent for Sen. Michael Bennet, working on issues tied to her boss’ role on the Finance Committee, including tax, trade, technology, and Social Security.
But her path to the Senate started across the pond.
Born in the U.S. and raised in Cambridge, England, Georgina moved back stateside when she was 15. During a free period at school, she happened to pick up Bill Clinton’s autobiography and read about his experience at Boys State.
She was intrigued. A little research led her to Girls State, and a couple of years later she was selected to attend Florida Girls State in Tallahassee.
That was it. She fell in love with the lawmaking process.
College brought a brief detour into social media marketing, but an internship posting from the House Small Business Committee pulled her back into politics. She applied on a whim, got the job, fell in love with D.C.—and a fellow Hilltern—and decided she’d be back after graduation.
After working for Harvard University’s D.C.-based Federal Relations team, Georgina decided to give the Hill a shot. Eight months later, she found her place in Sen. Bennet’s office, where she says the team’s genuine passion for their policy areas has made it an especially rewarding place to learn.
- 🇻🇳 Travel: She’s visited 29 countries, but Vietnam—especially Hue—takes the top spot.
- ⛷️ Skiing the East: She grew up skiing the French Alps but now proudly champions Okemo and Mount Snow. A bold position for someone working for a Colorado Senator.
- 🎨 Art: She loves drawing and painting people and says it’s taught her patience and how to trust the process.
- 🎻 Cello: She played for more than a decade and recently brought her cello back to D.C.
- 🇬🇧 Beans on toast: “Don’t knock it till you try it.”
One of Georgina’s most formative political experiences happened because she didn’t get the internship she wanted.
While studying at FSU, she joined a legislative internship program and made it pretty clear she wanted to work for a Democrat.
She was assigned to a Republican office in the Florida State House instead.
Georgina considered whether she even wanted to go through with it, but ultimately decided the experience would be good for her.
It was.
The experience didn’t necessarily change her convictions. It helped her understand them better.
“You need to open yourself up to hearing reasonable opposing opinions, and the rationale that goes along with said opinions,” she says. “If nobody was open to discussion, we wouldn’t ever have any bipartisanship.”
Ask Georgina how she landed her Hill job and you won’t get an elaborate networking strategy. “I simply applied!” Actually, she applied a lot.
Her other advice: be yourself. Offices have dramatically different cultures, and Georgina argues that forcing yourself into the wrong one just to land a Hill job isn’t worth it.
That same philosophy carried into her interview for Sen. Bennet’s office.
Much of the portfolio she would inherit was new to her, and rather than pretending otherwise, Georgina told her now-supervisor that she probably wasn’t the most knowledgeable candidate—but she was ready to learn.
“Clearly that humility resonated, as I’m here today!”
Coffee Spot: La Betty — she goes often enough that they start making her order when she walks in
Bar: Dan’s Café
Happy Hour: Prost
Lunch Spot: “Normally leftovers—I’m boring”
TV Show: Fleabag or Veep
Movie: Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Educated by Tara Westover
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
- There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone
Georgina is not a morning person.
Her solution is something she calls “Angry Time.”
She wakes up 15 minutes earlier than necessary, walks straight to the living room, turns on the TV, and gives herself exactly 15 minutes to be tired and annoyed before starting the day.
“It sounds funny, but it actually works!”
So if you happen to catch Georgina before coffee, maybe give her 15 minutes.