Interview with Mrs. Elizabeth Wilkins

Text of the Full Interview Below:

For Mrs. Elizabeth Wilkins, in order to achieve the change she hoped to see, she had to become part of it.

Growing up, Elizabeth's greatest inspiration was her family, primarily her dad. He is an academic who had ties to the government. His writing highlighted civil rights justice as well as issues lacking government awareness. Inspired by her father's spirit of inquiry and purpose, she carried that same drive to her education.

Throughout her time at Sidwell, her intellectual curiosity was nurtured by teachers who dedicated themselves to exploring her interests. However, after she left Sidwell, she was struck by the fact that not every place took the time to do that.

Mrs. Wilkins spent a summer in the Mississippi Delta and another summer in Columbus, Ohio, which helped foster her strong passion for economic justice issues. She later joined a labor union. She began as an organizer but found herself prompted to look for a change. After the realization that she preferred writing craft languages for policies, she spent a summer in Washington with White House lawyers.

Throughout her career, some of Mrs. Wilkins’s most enriching professional experiences were her positions as senior counsel at the DC Attorney General's Office and as director of the Office of Policy at the Federal Trade Commission. She appreciated the commitment her bosses showed to each cause as well as the independence and trust she was granted to implement her own ideas. She also enjoyed the management aspect and detailed policy work.

Mrs. Wilkins says, “Law feels to me as the language in which power is written.”

This characterization explains her extensive legal work. She believes that while groups of citizens lobbying causes change from above, true lobbying comes from groups with political power, or those with the power of the law behind them, i.e., lawyers.  

Mrs. Wilkins’ personal outlook on service is captured by the following quote featured at the end of her father’s autobiography: “My life,” he had learned,“should be forged into an instrument to be used to make things better for people whose lives are made miserable by the unfairness of our country.”

By all accounts of those who know her, she has succeeded in her father’s example.