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On the Hill

Graduates share top-secret work and friendship

For most attorneys, keeping a lid on privileged information is all about professional ethics. But for recent Seattle University School of Law graduates Angela Rye and Jill Butler, it's a matter of national security.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rye '05 and Butler '07, serve as staff attorneys for the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. Rye is senior advisor and counsel to the committee, responsible for overseeing federal minority business contracting issues at the Department of Homeland Security, as well as broad-level political strategy for the committee.

Butler serves as investigative counsel to the committee, charged with investigating allegations of abuse and waste at the Department of Homeland Security. She also handles diversity training for the department.

Both are required to maintain top-secret security clearances. "If we told you something (confidential) we'd go to jail," Rye says.

Despite the seriousness of their jobs and the high-stakes environment they work in, it's clear that neither is in danger of buckling under the stress. If anything, they both seem to be having the time of their lives.

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