Distinguished Alumni Award

Bob Schellhas knows his way around Washington, D.C., and Lansing, Michigan.

He is a former chief of staff to Sen. Rob Portman, deputy chief of staff to former House Speaker John Boehner, communications director and senior legislative assistant to former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, and special assistant to former Rep. Bill Schuette (now Michigan's attorney general).

He also has held senior roles in statewide and congressional campaigns in Florida, Iowa, Michigan and New Mexico. A principal at Washington Council Ernst & Young, Schellhas monitors, strategizes and advocates for corporate and trade association clients on issues before Congress and the executive branch.

Since being successfully treated for a benign brain tumor several years ago, he has donated to glioblastoma research at CMU.

Schellhas stays involved at CMU by donating to The Washington Experience, a D.C.-based program dedicated to cultivating public-spirited scholars, rigorous understanding and improvement of the human condition. This program allows students to live in Washington, D.C., for a semester to explore career options and network with those who work in government.