John Latini joins UA as new federal relations director

February 18, 2022

John Latini will join the University of Alaska on February 28th as the Director of Federal Relations succeeding Dustin Bryant who left the position last month. For the past 15 years, John has worked in Washington D.C. and brings both higher education and congressional experience to his new role with the university.

Since 2014, he has been with Penn State University including as Director of Federal Relations leading the university’s DC-based advocacy efforts to increase federal funding for scientific research and student financial aid. 

John began his career in Washington, D.C. with Congressman’s Paul E. Kanjorski ultimately working his way up to as Legislative Director and Projects Director where he was the lead adviser on all legislative issues. He also worked for Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur as her lead personal office staffer for the House Committee on Appropriations handling the Agriculture, Defense, and Financial Services subcommittees while overseeing science and technology and transportation issues, among others.

Additionally, John is a leader in the higher education advocacy community. He is the current chairman of the Coalition for National Security Research (CNSR) and has previously served as president of The Science Coalition (TSC) and chair of the Council of Governmental Affairs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). John also has served in multiple leadership roles for the Council on Federal Relations at the Association of American Universities (AAU) and was the inaugural winner of AAU’s New Innovator Award in 2018. 

A native of Bucks County, PA, John earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and obtained his master’s degree in Public Administration and Graduate Certificate Public Budgeting and Financial Management from Penn State World Campus.

As John transitions into his new role, he is likely to reach out to introduce himself. His email address is jalatini@alaska.edu and cell phone is (202) 253-4691.

Welcome John!