Monica Tranel is an attorney, Olympian, and mother of three, and she’s also running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Montana’s reformed second congressional district. Monica grew up in eastern Montana in a large family where she was one of ten siblings. Throughout her childhood, her parents stressed the importance of hard work, curiosity, and independent thinking, characteristics that Monica has exhibited in all aspects of her athletic and professional endeavors.
As an athlete, Monica began rowing competitively during law school, and after years of unwavering focus and tenacity, she earned a spot on different two Olympic teams. As an attorney, she devoted much of her career to standing up to a wide range of powerful corporate interests that were attempting to bully or take advantage of everyday Montanans. And now, as a Congressional candidate, she’s focused on bolstering Montana’s middle class and closing the ever-widening inequality gap.
Monica is in the final stretch of her campaign, so I greatly appreciate her taking the time out of her jam-packed schedule to chat with me. We spend about half of the time talking about Monica as a person– her upbringing in eastern Montana, why athletics have been so important in her life, her high school and college years, her rowing and legal careers, and why public service has always been a part of her personal operating system. For the second half of the conversation, we discuss the election– the challenges facing the middle class, her commitments to Indigenous communities, the importance of thinking independently, an issue that she has changed her mind on, and much more. She also offers a ton of excellent book recommendations, which I always appreciate.
A big thank you to Monica and her team for fitting this podcast into their busy schedule, and thank you for listening. Hope you enjoy.
Photos courtesy of Monica Tranel
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EPISODE NOTES:
Topics Discussed:
- 3:15 – Monica discusses her upbringing and how it set her on her trajectory\
- 6:45 – Monica talks about athletics and the role the outdoors played in her life
- 9:00 – Monica describes her high school years
- 12:40 – Monica explains what drew her to the legal field
- 16:00 – Monica talks about what she is particularly proud of in her legal career
- 21:45 – Monica discusses her Olympic career in rowing
- 26:45 – Monica talks about when public service became an interest in her life
- 30:15 – Monica discusses the challenges of politically addressing the inflating cost of living in places like Montana
- 34:15 – Monica talks about rebuilding a culture of governance with fair, enforceable rules
- 39:15 – Monica outlines what she feels her political role and commitment will be with respect to Indigenous communities in Montana
- 42:15 – Monica talks about something she has changed her mind on
- 45:45 – Monica discusses what she thinks people will find surprising about her during her Congressional candidacy
- 51:15 – Monica’s book recommendations
- 52:15 – Monica’s parting words of hope
Information Referenced:
- Miles City, MT
- Ashland, MT
- Northern Cheyenne Tribe
- Beartooth Highway
- Red Lodge, MT
- Broadview, MT
- Gonzaga University
- Ten Circles Upon the Pond by Virginia Tranel
- Marty Wilde vs NorthWestern
- Rutgers University – Camden
- Ryan Zinke
- Freedom from Fear by David Kennedy
- Teddy Roosevelt trilogy by Edmund Morris
- Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean
- Butte, MT
- Thomas Walsh
- Burton Wheeler
- Teapot Dome scandal
- January 6th Committee
- 17th Amendment
- William Clark
- Blackfeet Nation
- Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
- Battle of the Little Bighorn
- Salish Kootenai College
- American Indian Boarding Schools
- Think Again by Adam Grant
- Boathouse Row
- Tribe by Sebastian Junger
- NAFTA
- The People, No by Thomas Frank
- The Koch Family
- Mansion Heights (Missoula, MT)
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Enjoy this episode? Then you might like these too:
- Kate Mannix – A Legacy of Land Stewardship
- Liz Moore – For the Love of Montana
- Lesli Allison & Tuda Libby Crews – Durable Conservation in the West… and Beyond
- Juanita Vero, Part 2 – A Deep Desire to Serve
- Hal Herring – A Man of Words & Wild Places
- Rachel VandeVoort – Harnessing the Power of Outdoor Recreation
- Iris Gardner – Living with Intention
Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.
