The Haas Center lost an influential leader and one of its original staff members in Jeanne Wahl Halleck, who retired in November from the position she had held for more than 20 years. Center representatives, however, say the transition has been smooth.

Halleck had a profound impact on hundreds of students through her administration of the John Gardner Public Service Fellowship, which allows students to spend a year after graduation working in a nonprofit or governmental agency, and through her role as campus coordinator of the Stanford-in-Washington (SIW) program.

“Ever since I’ve known Jeanne Wahl Halleck, she has been the vital cog for the engagement of Stanford students with public service,” said former University President Donald Kennedy in a press release.

Halleck said she was sorry to leave but wanted to concentrate on an upcoming move.

“It’s really good for these programs to have new blood and new people, and I certainly hope to continue to be involved,” she said. Halleck remains on the board of the John Gardner Fellowship Association (JGFA).

She said that working with students was the most rewarding part of her job and the part she will miss the most.

“They’re a real source of renewal,” she said.

Her mentorship of students did not go unrecognized by the students themselves.

“Jeanne helped me find the perfect placement for my Gardner Fellowship,” said Regan Johnson, a 2006 graduate and current fellow. “I certainly wouldn’t have been this lucky without her.”

Similarly, current fellow Brian Bergmark, who graduated in 2006, said Halleck was almost entirely responsible for his placement.

“I could not be happier with how I am spending these 10 months,” he said, citing Halleck’s tirelessness and knack for finding good opportunities throughout the placement process.

Having been with the Center since its founding, Halleck’s impact on public service at Stanford is vast. After working in Washington, D.C., Halleck was recruited to Stanford by Catherine Milton, founding director of the Public Service Center, which became the Haas Center in 1989. Halleck has been at Stanford ever since.

“Her experience in the policy world, her contacts in that world, her passionate commitment to the public sector and her indefatigable attention to the careers and lives of generations of Stanford students constitute a scope of service rarely seen, in my experience,” said Suzanne Abel, director of external relations at the Haas Center.

One of Halleck’s strengths was her ability to connect people, and she used this skill for the benefit of the students she served.

“I’ve never met someone like Jeanne who knows and befriends everyone, it seems, from students to people in Congress to leaders in public service across the US and around the world,” Johnson said.

Halleck’s goal of creating a strong network of former Gardner fellows was realized when the JGFA, aimed to connect former and current fellows, was established in 2004. Marjorie Alfs, who has assumed most of Halleck’s responsibilities at the Center, called the establishment of the JGFA an important part of Halleck’s legacy.

“She has served as a continuous link over all these years for both programs, and that’s really helped — especially for the John Gardner Fellowship Program,” Alfs said. “She has kept the fellows together in a network, so they feel a personal connection over all these years.”

Halleck said that she saw the establishment of the JGFA as the fulfillment of the wishes of the fellowship’s founder.

“John Gardner said that the most important part of the fellowship would be the resources and network that would develop over time,” Halleck said. “Developing this network of resources was something I knew how to do and enjoyed doing. I continue to feel that connecting [past and current fellows] is very important.”

Indeed, she said that many recent fellowship placements have been facilitated by some of the former fellows.

According to Abel, there will be no major changes to the SIW or John Gardner Fellowship Program in the foreseeable future.

Alfs, who worked closely with Halleck beginning in 2002, assumed most of Halleck’s responsibilities following her retirement, with other duties going to Anu Menon, a 1999 graduate, and Sonia Mittal, a 2004 graduate.

“Marjorie Alfs, Anu Menon and Sonia Mittal are deeply familiar with how the two programs work, and are committed to carrying on the tradition of excellence established and maintained for so long by Jeanne Halleck,” Abel said.

Alfs said the leadership transition has been nearly seamless for her because of the support she has received from others at the Haas Center.

In addition, she said, working closely with Halleck over the past few years helped her get a strong feel for her new responsibilities. “Having gone through several years of the programs, I know the rhythm of the yearly cycle, so there aren’t a lot of surprises about what is going to happen over the next year.”

Following her retirement, Halleck enjoyed traveling to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos islands, capping her journey off with a trip to Yosemite. Over the next few months, she will be focused on finding a place to live and moving into it.

“I haven’t thought much beyond that,” she said, though she added that she plans to continue her involvement with the JGFA.