By Surabhi Ashok
Jonathan Barnett, a current attorney at Elias Law Group, detailed his experiences growing up in Millstone, getting a graduate policy and law degree, and starting his career in an interview with CNJ+ Media.
His time in Millstone consisted of Boy Scouts, PACE Youth Development Cooperation, and participation in sports and church as a child and extracurriculars such as Model UN, the academic team, and political awareness club as a high school student.
Barnett said he was able to develop his sense of community and service early on in his life and stayed committed to these values throughout high school and college.
“My most formative memories of my childhood in Millstone revolve around the people I met and spent time with friends I remain close with to this day, teachers and mentors who inspired and encouraged me, and wonderful moments with my family,” he said.
Barnett’s involvement in his history classes and politically oriented clubs at Allentown High School, along with his emerging awareness of the country’s issues during Former President Obama’s second administration, helped him find his fascination for policy.
He went to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in order to follow his passion for understanding and helping to resolve community issues.
“My high school courses and extracurriculars seeded my interest in the work that I continue to do today,” he said.
Graduating college in 2016, Barnett went from working at the United States Department of Agriculture to Phil Murphy’s gubernatorial campaign in New Jersey to the governor’s office itself as a policy analyst. Through these positions, he was able to home in on focus areas such as agriculture, computer science in education, health benefits, and rural poverty.
Wanting to further his efficacy as a policy professional and realizing that a law degree would give him the skills needed to advocate for issues close to his heart, Barnett applied to and joined a joint-degree program at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and the University of Michigan Law School. Completing the program in four years, he left with a Masters in Public Affairs and a J.D. law degree.
In policy school, he delved into the analysis of societal issues and solutions, which complemented the law education, discussing the nation’s governing systems and the power it held to act on those issues.
“Pursuing the joint graduate degree gave me the opportunity to think in new ways about the various social and economic issues I encountered in my work at the Department of Agriculture and in Governor Murphy’s office,” Barnett said.
Kickstarting his legal career, he joined a clerkship for Chief Justice Stuart Rabner of the New Jersey Supreme Court, one who Barnett astounds as a mentor and dedicated public servant. He said that clerking for the state Supreme Court provided him a unique opportunity to observe the decision-making process and strategies involved for several intricate cases.
Working now as an attorney at Elias Law Group, an organization focused on election and voting rights and representing Democratic campaigns, Barnett hopes to continue to expand his knowledge in law and policy and champion for the issues he cares about, he said.
“My childhood in Millstone and my life since then have taught me that … dreams that seem far-off or unattainable are really within reach, with hard work and communities supporting you,” he said.