Lives of Consequence
Christopher Salotti ’87
Legislative Counsel, U. S. Department of the Interior
Born into a family of local politicians in Geneva, N.Y., Christopher Salotti ’87, legislative counsel at the United States Department of the Interior, always had an interest in law and legal practice. “My interest in these areas was only enhanced at Hobart and William Smith,” says Salotti, who studied under faculty members such as Professor Emeritus of Political Science Joseph DiGangi and Professor of Public Policy Craig Rimmerman. “Their passions for their subjects made the material compelling,” he says.
Following graduation, Salotti enrolled in Vermont Law School, the premiere institute for environmental law, a practice area that was only just taking off when Salotti was a student there. “Environmental law was, at the time, an up-and-coming field,” he explains. “And even though I had always been a terrible science student, the subject matter was fascinating.”
At Vermont, Salotti participated in a practical legal clinic where he helped to draft legislation for state senators and representatives in the Vermont Legislature’s office of Legislative Council. He went on to earn a master’s in environmental science from Johns Hopkins University.
Since 1995, he has worked with the United States Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor, and now serves as the Department’s legislative counsel. With a staff of five attorneys, his office oversees the development of legislative policy on issue surrounding everything from fish and wildlife management, to oil and gas development, to improving the education and social welfare on Native American reservations.
“It’s a big and broad department, with many different sub-bureaus,” he says. “It’s also a great place to get a survey of all the important issues in conservation and natural resources management.”
Salotti and his team collaborate with different interests to ensure the Department’s position on Congressional bills and other legislative issues is consistent with Administration policies and that draft legislative proposals are legally sound and clearly address the intended objectives. To do this, he must appreciate the sometimes conflicting viewpoints of the many different department bureaus.
“It’s like doing a puzzle every day,” Salotti says. “I’d like to think I’m helping people get done what they want to get done, which is making the right changes to laws in an efficient and effective manner.”
Salotti cites the curriculum at HWS as a help in developing these skills. When he attended HWS, the bi-disciplinary program at the Colleges required each student to enroll in a class that approached a particular issue from two different perspectives.
“It taught me how to critically analyze and write in two different perspectives Salotti says, reflecting on his academic career. “I gained the ability to think and write with a different point of view.”