Sahli, a native of Aberdeen, S.D. and a 2010 graduate of the University of South Dakota, is finishing his third year of law school. After his first year, he worked as the executive intern for the Department of Tribal Relations, and his second year interned with the Judge William D. Gerdes, Federal Magistrate Judge for the Northern District. Following graduation, Sahli is moving to Washington D.C. where he was selected as a Legal Honors Scholar for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. While serving as a Legal Honors Scholar, Sahli will be in the field of Civil Defense Litigation in Federal Court. Sahli graduated Suma Cum Laude from USD with degrees in political science and American Indian Studies. After graduation, he joined AmeriCorps VISTA where Sahli helped start a nonprofit in, at the time, the poorest county in America on the Crow Creek Reservation. The nonprofit is Hunkpati Inc., a Native Community Development Financial Institution.

“Since my freshman year of high school I knew that I wanted to go to the USD School of Law. I wanted to use the law to make a better and more just future,” said Sahli, who took active leadership roles at the School of Law the past three years, serving as president of the Native American Law Student Association, as president/site coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, and secretary of the Student Bar Association.

“I wanted to use the law, not to make money, but make significant and meaningful change. I wanted to be a voice that would be heard for people who had been silenced,” he added, “that’s why I knew that I wanted to go to law school to become the most effective public servant I could be.”

The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program is administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Each year, candidates apply for the prestigious title of PMF Finalists. Selected Finalists are eligible for appointment as Fellows. The two-year fellowship includes career development and advancement, and at the end of the two years Fellows must be converted without further competition to a term or a permanent position.

PMF Program requirements include:

  • An Individual Development Plan (IDP) that includes the training and development plans for the next two years.
  • At least 80 hours per year of formal classroom training.
  • A minimum of one 4 to 6 consecutive month developmental assignment in the occupation or functional discipline in which you are most likely to be placed, with full-time management and/or technical responsibilities consistent with your IDP.
  • An annual performance plan as well as an annual performance evaluation in accordance with the agency's rules.
  • Participate in OPM/PMF Program and agency-sponsored career development activities to support and to enhance your career and continuing education goals.
  • Active participation in PMF training opportunities and accept leadership roles whenever possible.
  • Rotational opportunities with consideration to short and long range career goals.
  • Networking with other Fellows.

For more information about the PMF, please visit www.pmf.gov/becomeapmf/index.aspx. A photo of Sahli is also available for download at www.usd.edu/press/news/images/releases/David_Sahli.jpg.

Press Contact
Hanna DeLange
Contact Email usdnews@usd.edu
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