Rising Stars: Annika Bjork, Calkin Public Affairs

Although Annika Bjork’s professional entry into the California Capitol community began just last year, it is a role they have been preparing for their entire life.

Bjork, who graduated from Georgetown University last spring and is currently an Account Executive at Calkin Public Affairs, has long been fascinated by California’s political sphere and ways in which they can influence and drive political change.

Born and raised in Sacramento, Bjork attended public school K-12 and expected to stay in-state for college. But when the opportunity arose to attend one of the best public policy and international affairs universities in the country, they could not pass it up.

“I didn’t think that coming from a public school in Sacramento, I would ever have the chance to study somewhere like that,” they said. “I had this crazy opportunity, and I took it.”

But Bjork’s interest in civic engagement began long before university. Growing up near the state capitol and attending CIVITAS, the political studies and public service academy at Rio Americano High School, Bjork developed an early passion for international and public policy.

“I just fell in love,” they said. “I thought it was so cool.”

At CIVITAS, Bjork gained hands-on experience in local politics. This included interning at the Northern California World Trade Center and canvassing for Congressman Ami Bera, who was their local representative within the U.S. House of Representatives.

Through these experiences, Bjork knew that they wanted to focus on international and public policy during their undergraduate studies.

“The world is so much bigger than us, and there is so much to see, so much to learn. I think that really sparked the push for me to enter my studies in international policy,” Bjork said.

Bjork fully applied this outlook to their time at Georgetown. Through their major in Culture and Politics within the School of Foreign Service, they were able to take classes outside of the scope of a traditional political science education, including gender studies, anthropology and sociolinguistics.

Their learning also ventured outside of the classroom. From utilizing their French language skills to work as a translator in the mayor’s office of the small French country town Saint-Omer, to regularly writing concert and album reviews for their school’s arts and culture publications, Bjork’s endless propensity for learning new things and gaining new experiences has proved instrumental in their professional career.

One particularly formative experience was during their second year at Georgetown, when they worked as a legislative intern for Congressman Bera. Several days a week, Bjork rode the bus across the river to Virginia then hopped on a train to the Capitol, where their work included taking notes at hearings, writing position letters and conducting research projects.

“The world is so much bigger than us, and there is so much to see, so much to learn.”

But beyond their official capacity as an intern, Bjork was able to get a glimpse of public policy at the federal level for the first time, which they described as “eye-opening” in comparison to their previous experiences in and around the Sacramento Capitol in high school.

“[At] the federal government, … people don’t seem to want to work together,” Bjork said. “The bills have to go through more representatives, so more stakeholders are involved in conversations, and I feel like it’s more difficult to find a compromise that works for everyone and leads to the passage of a bill.”

Bjork described the “compromise zone” between legislators to be much narrower within the federal government than California, a shift that made it challenging to feel that their work was leading to tangible differences.

“I like to see things move,” they said. “I want my effort to have something come about it. I feel like at the state and local level, that’s honestly where a lot of change is being made right now.”

Even so, Bjork still hoped to work in D.C. after graduating. But amidst unexpected federal shakeups at the beginning of the new presidential administration, including an influx of job cuts, Bjork was competing against candidates with far more experience and qualifications. Eventually, they expanded their job search, applying to over 50 jobs across a variety of cities and industries.

But after moving back to the Sacramento area, a family friend informed Bjork of a six-month apprenticeship opening at Lucas Public Affairs. Bjork applied for and got the position, and suddenly found themself working with clients from public, private and nonprofit sectors at the center of California politics.

Although Bjork hadn’t initially expected to become involved in public affairs, its unique blend of public policy, politics, communications and media allowed them to utilize many of their own previously-developed skills.

“Public affairs definitely aligns with my lifelong goal of being a student,” Bjork said. “There’s always something to learn, I never know what it’s going to be that day, and that’s really exciting to me.”

At LPA, Bjork jumped between a multitude of projects. Within the span of a day, they could go from writing fact sheets, to generating media clips, to assisting clients with legislative campaigns, all with the goal of helping shape public policy and enact legislative change.

Cassandra Pye, President of Lucas Public Affairs, praised Bjork’s ability to ask questions and bring an invaluable perspective to any project. In one instance when Pye had to develop a presentation for a client, she recalled the value of Bjork’s insights in shaping the presentation.

“Annika just did a really good job of … sitting with me [and going over] issues I wanted to cover, questions I wanted to raise, questions I should think about, points I should think about,” she said. “I remember it turning into a very nice give and take, with them asking me some questions to be sure we were getting to the root of what I was trying to accomplish, and me giving feedback.”

But when the apprenticeship’s six-month period ended, LPA did not have any open entry-level roles, leaving Bjork unsure of their next step. However, their work as an office intern for Richard Stapler a couple of years prior, when Stapler served as Chief of Staff for State Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), soon paid off. Stapler, now the Chief Client Officer at Calkin Public Affairs, reached out to ask if Bjork was looking for a job.

After meeting the team, Bjork officially became CPA’s Account Executive in February, a role they state they “kind of fell into.”

As Account Executive, Bjork balances many of the responsibilities they had at LPA, with the addition of coalition-building. This consists of Bjork reaching out to organizations and elected officials on behalf of their clients to build support for, or opposition to, ongoing bills or legislative issues. In one ongoing project, Bjork described building a coalition of nearly 90 organizations for a single issue point.

“When I’m doing any kind of client work, it’s like, ‘Are we bringing everyone to the table? Is there anyone’s voice that we’re leaving out? Is there a way that we could frame this that would be more helpful to this other interest group?’ Just really trying to uplift and bring everyone in,” Bjork said.

According to Kelly Calkin, CPA’s founder, that approach is at the heart of Bjork’s success within the Capitol community.

“When I’m doing any kind of client work, it’s like, ‘Are we bringing everyone to the table? Is there anyone’s voice that we’re leaving out? Is there a way that we could frame this that would be more helpful to this other interest group?’”

“Their instincts are beyond their years,” Calkin said. “I’m so impressed by Annika’s ability to go out and pick up the phone or text somebody and get them on a coalition.”

Their kind of work, Bjork states, also lends particularly well to a political community like California, where policymakers and advocates often come together to compromise and initiate change.

“A lot of people that work in California policy genuinely want to see the state thrive,” Bjork said. “Even if I have ideological differences with people, or our approach to something doesn’t quite line up, I have a very high level of respect for everyone else working in this space because we all have that shared goal of wanting a better future for everyone who lives here.”

Despite not knowing what the future holds, Bjork cites this shared goal — improving the lives of those they serve — as the backbone of their professional journey and aspirations for the future.

“One thing that I’m really wary about is closing any door before I even arrive at it,” Bjork said. “There’s so many issue areas that I work on daily, but that’s not even scratching the surface of everything that the legislature deals with, or that our country is concerned about, or that the international community cares about. So my goal for myself in the next couple of years is to just learn as much as possible, and see if there’s any kind of ignition where I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s what I want to do. That’s where I can make the most difference.’”

Olivia Bye is an intern with Capitol Weekly. She will be entering her junior year at Tufts University in the fall.