Onward and Upward: Brandon Naylor

Age: 26

Hometown: Topeka, Kan.

{mosads}Marital status/children: Single/none

Last job: “I started working for the congressman shortly after getting out of college, but for about a month before I started and while I was still interning, I was a Capitol tour guide. But in Congressman Moore’s office, I started as the executive assistant/scheduler, then became legislative correspondent, then legislative assistant/deputy communications director, and finally, communications director.”

First job: “My very first job was at Target, the day I turned 16.”

Most unusual job: “I was a luxury hotel bellman in college, which led to my seeing a lot of strange and curious sights.”

Most embarrassing moment: “Well, I am a big oaf who was named class clown in high school, so I’m sad to say I don’t embarrass easily. If I did get embarrassed, I’m not sure how I would have made it this far, because I have done some ridiculous stuff in my life.”

Management style: “Focused teamwork. I absolutely see our office as a team, so in working with our deputy communications director, Megan McClendon, I feel like we just keep open lines of communication and keep our final goal in sight.”

Number of cups of coffee you drink per day: “Zero normally, one if it’s going to be a hectic day, and two cups if everything is going wrong.”

Favorite political TV show or movie: “Well, I guess it’s pretty typical to say ‘West Wing,’ but it premiered when I was in high school and was still a debate nerd, so it resonated with me in a significant way. [It] further reinforced what I wanted to be doing.”

Most inspirational figure: “It’s hard to have one. My parents, I suppose. My dad has worked hard and sacrificed his whole life to take care of his family and his responsibilities, and if someone is really good at that, I don’t know that you can ask much more. He has also been fighting cancer — non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma — since 2006 and seeing his ‘work-pail’ mentality of addressing his illness has given me a whole different kind of respect for him. And my mom is a dedicated public high school teacher [who] always wants to see her students succeed, even at the sacrifice of her own peace of mind, sometimes. Plus, she was able to put up with my brother and me, which warrants some kind of accolade or award, I’m sure.”

Dream job (not including present one): “I would love to be the White House chief of staff someday, but for someone I believe in. I couldn’t just do it for the job and the job alone.”

College: University of Kansas, 2006

Passion outside work: “I love my school deeply, so rooting for the Kansas Jayhawks is usually at the top of the list. I also enjoy camping, reading, keeping up with friends, gardening and cooking, which I think makes me about the least cool person ever.”

Claim to fame: “I’m not sure if it’s a claim to fame, but I probably know more about Otis Redding’s music than I do about politics. [He’s my] favorite artist of all time. I’m a bit of an old soul.”

 
For motivation at the workplace, Brandon Naylor looks back in history. Construction workers in New York City in the 1920s and 1930s, he explained, started the “work-pail” or “lunchbox” mentality — using the container as a symbol that when you’re at work, you work.

When Naylor’s working at his new post as communications director, he said he’s been focusing on keeping everyone informed in Rep. Dennis Moore’s (D-Kan.) district, which leans Republican, and prioritizes keeping an open line of communication with constituents and the media. He has worked in Moore’s office since he graduated from the University of Kansas, but the organizational demands of his new position leave him trying to “just keep my head above water, keeping up with everything,” he says.

In addition to a dream of being White House chief of staff, Naylor said he hopes one day to run for political office, joking that he would make Jan Beukelman, Moore’s legislative aide and a high school rival of Naylor’s, his campaign manager.

But he’s not in a rush to move on from Moore’s office. “I’d like to ride this train until the journey’s over,” he said.