Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024 - 11

FEATURE
cide to give law a try as I saw a
nexus between law and public
policy. "
Snyder earned his law degree
at Georgetown University Law
Center in 2003, followed by a
master of business administration
at George Washington University
School of Business in
2016. He spent the first part of
his career working in government,
from the D.C. Council to
the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development to the
D.C. Department of Health. In
2013 he shifted gears and went
into the nonprofit association
space, where he has made his
mark in organizational management
and strategic planning for
the past 11 years.
As CEO of the National Association
of State Treasurers, Snyder
focuses on membership development
and engagement. He
aims to leverage his expertise in
both areas, as well as his experience
serving on the Executive,
Budget, and Finance Committees
of the D.C. Bar, to maximize
member involvement
and strengthen the Bar's value
proposition.
" As a membership association
professional - I actually have
a Certified Association Executive
credential - I view my experience
with organizations
through the lens of member
value, " says Snyder, who twice
served as treasurer of the Bar before being elected president. " In other
words, individuals have limited time and resources, so what will prompt
them to join an organization, maintain their membership, and maybe
even get involved in leadership? "
Here, Snyder talks about his career path and what he envisions to accomplish
during his term as Bar president.
What motivations have guided your career path?
I've always thought that it's important to believe in what you do. That's
a big motivator for me. Starting at the D.C. Council, I found it exciting to
work there because I was able to work on policy proposals that I personally
supported. That was a great start to a career. I was able to take that
and develop a path for myself that was in alignment with my own values.
I've been fortunate to be in jobs where I supported the mission of the organization.
My current work running the National Association of State
Treasurers is no exception. What do we do? State treasurers finance infrastructure,
including schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and waterworks.
They help people afford education through 529 plans. They help people
with disabilities save through ABLE savings accounts. They help return
missing money and property to people through their unclaimed property
programs. And they support financial literacy and well-being. It's very
easy to go to work each day when I get to support a mission like that.
Public service has been an important part of my career. Money isn't the
driving force when you work in the public and nonprofit sectors. That's
not why you do it. When I left the government, I recall telling the staff at
my going-away party that no matter how challenging your day is in that
job, at the end of it you can go home satisfied that you did something to
promote the public good. I still really believe that. I've been very lucky in
my career to have that alignment with my values.
You've been a member of the Bar for 20 years now. How did you
first get involved in volunteer leadership?
I wasn't very involved in the Bar in my early years. I remember writing
my first check to the Bar but not having a clear understanding of what
the organization was or what it did. I thought, I write this check to be licensed,
and that's kind of it. I didn't have the familiarity with membership
organizations and their benefits that I do now. Looking back, I wish
I had become more involved then, and that hindsight has helped shape
some of my Bar leadership philosophy.
Over the last few years, as I've become more involved in Bar leadership,
it's caused me to think back and consider what I can do to impact the
way that incoming attorneys engage with the Bar. If I could travel back
in time, how could I tell Shaun about the value of his membership? What
opportunities did he miss? What could he have done that would have
helped his career and helped him personally? How do I apply that to my
leadership role so that I can help attorneys who are at that time in their
life now?
I had a slow start to getting more deeply involved in Bar leadership, but
in 2019 I was approached by a colleague who suggested that I consider
running for the Board of Governors. I hadn't thought about it. I thought
that was for a certain level of person ... I didn't think that I had the connections
or the prominence in the legal community to win a Board seat
at the Bar.
We had lunch to discuss the idea. I admitted that I didn't know the leadership
of the organization very well and asked what position I should run
for. They suggested running for treasurer, possibly because I run the state
treasurers' association. I thought that made sense, so I threw my hat in
the ring, was selected by the Nominations Committee to run in 2020,
and that set me on the path.
How was your experience running for Bar office the first time?
My campaign took place during the start of COVID, so it wasn't the easiest
environment in which to campaign, but it was a lot of fun to reconnect
with people I hadn't spoken with in years and to meet new people
in the community. I sought endorsements from voluntary bars [and] was
very pleasantly surprised to receive support [from some of them]. It was
a very cordial election, but my opponent was experienced, and I still
didn't think I would win, but then I did.
Having been on the staff side of membership associations, it was very
interesting to now be on the board side and get that perspective. And
JULY/AUGUST 2024 * WASHINGTON LAWYER 11
Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - July/August 2024
