Hauke
When Aurora Hauke graduated from college, she imagined a job in international diplomacy.
While she didn’t pursue a career overseas, she’s spent two and a half decades fulfilling her dream—but with a northern exposure.
“The unique challenges that Alaskans face are as vast as our geography,” says Hauke, chief of staff to Alaska Sen. Jesse Kiehl (D). “State legislators have a spirit of working together to make things happen because it’s what we must do here. We’ve created a coalition model that is highly successful because it brings people with different views to the table to agree on agendas and direction.”
With both bipartisan and multipartisan legislative coalitions, Alaska is known for a spirit of cooperation among legislators that is rare among state governments, as minority parties play an important role in crafting policy.
For 25 years, Hauke has helped build those coalitions, nurturing strong relationships and mentoring newcomers on both sides of the aisle. She is known for her institutional knowledge of process and policy, savvy political instincts on how hard to push an agenda and ability to bring out the best from those she works with.
“She never lets party affiliation affect her work or the human beings doing that work,” Kiehl says. “She wants the institution to work, work well and succeed. You can’t last in this profession if you don’t ultimately love the institution, what it’s about and what it needs to be. Aurora has that passion. The fact she has lasted this long says something.”
Building Strong Connections
Hauke moved to Alaska with her mom when she was 4 and spent summers visiting her dad in Georgia. When it came time for college, she headed south and graduated from University of Georgia with degrees in Spanish and French, thinking she might become an interpreter for the United Nations or enter diplomacy work.
But the pull of the Last Frontier was strong, and in 1998, she returned to Juneau to regroup.
Profiles in Service: Legislative Staff
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, NCSL is running a special series of profiles highlighting the invaluable contributions of legislative staffers across the nation. Each of NCSL’s nine professional staff associations chose staffers who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, creativity and impact in their legislative roles. We’re publishing the profiles throughout NCSL’s 50th anniversary year. To read more profiles, visit Profiles in Service: Legislative Staff.
“Like anyone growing up in a small town, when I was younger, I thought I was going to leave for good. But I came back to Juneau and fell in love with the town as an adult.”
Her mom worked at the state Capitol and told her about a front desk opening in 2000. It would be her first taste of politics, and she found she had a knack for managing personalities, juggling demands and responding to constituent concerns. She rose through the ranks with positions including legislative aide, committee aide, recording clerk, and chief of staff at different times for the House minority and majority leaders.
Hauke gained knowledge and experience, along with a deep respect for the legislative institution, messiness notwithstanding.
“Clerks and secretaries, legal services, personal staff—we all keep the institution going, and when we follow the rules, we help legislators make the law,” she says. “That whole process is endlessly fascinating to me.”
Professional Development Is Key
An introvert by nature, Hauke was nudged out of her comfort level early in her career with the help of NCSL, the Leadership Staff Professional Association, or LSPA, and the Legislative Staff Management Institute, or LSMI.
“When I was first hired, I was a little shy,” she says. “But over the years, NCSL and LSPA have helped me develop so many skills and be more intentional about training and mentoring other staff to bring out their unique skills and talents. The organizations have made me become the staffer I am today.”
Hauke served twice as LSPA’s chair and is currently the immediate past chair. She also serves on the NCSL Executive Committee and the Legislative Staff Steering Committee, or LSCC. She has been a strong proponent of accessible and affordable professional development training for her colleagues, knowing it can be key to career advancement and help hone the soft skills support staff need.
She is particularly proud of her work with LSCC to establish the NCSL Legislative Staff Institutional Essentials program, which focuses on core competencies for new legislative staff, helping them obtain a broader picture of legislatures and how they work. The program, online since COVID-19, has been very successful, with more than 450 staffers completing it, Hauke says.
Mercedes Colbert, a close colleague of Hauke’s for 16 years, credits her friend’s guidance for her personal growth and professional development.
In 2022 at the NCSL Legislative Summit in Denver, Hauke convinced Colbert to take her spot on a panel as a speaker when Hauke couldn’t attend.
“It was funny, because she is my mentor, and she encouraged me to get out there and talk about mentoring,” says Colbert, chief of staff to Senate Rules Committee Chair Bill Wielechowski (D). “It was a great experience, and I was so grateful to have that time there. She’s got such a good gut feeling about encouraging staff to push themselves in the best way possible.”
Colbert adds, “She helps others make good decisions without telling them what to do but can help lead them there. When I was starting out, I knew I could reach out and not feel judged or worried about asking her questions. She is so approachable.”
With an impressive tenure in a profession known for its high degree of burnout and turnover, Hauke is often asked what her best advice is for newbies.
“At any given time in the legislature, it can be difficult. You could be working for 24 hours straight, have conflicts, get no sleep, have difficulties in your office and have unsolvable problems that hit you in the heart,” she says. “But if you know your ‘why,’ you can go back to that and say, ‘This is why I do this.’”
Mary Gay Broderick is a Denver-based freelance writer.