Walter O. Pryor

View Pryor's Odyssey medal acceptance speech. 

Pryor graduated with a degree in political science from Hendrix, where he received the President’s Medal and the William C. Buthman Political Science Prize. During his undergraduate years, Pryor completed an internship with U.S. Senator David Pryor. In 1997, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award given by the Students for Black Culture at Hendrix. Following Hendrix, he studied at the University of London, Birkbeck College of Literature and earned his juris doctorate from Georgetown University, where he was awarded the Dean’s Certificate in Recognition of Special and Outstanding Service to the Law Center Community.

Pryor began his legal career as an associate with Jones, Day, Reavis and Pogue, and later Metzger, Hollis, Gordon and Mortimer, both in Washington, D.C. From 1994 to 2001, he served the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division and Office of Training. During his tenure, he received the Tax Division’s Outstanding Performance Award and the Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Management. Pryor next served as Deputy Director and Managing Attorney for the National Association for Attorneys General, supervising the association’s legal work, managing outside counsel retained by the association, overseeing internal staff and operations, and protecting the group’s legal interests.

Beginning in 2003, he served as Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Mark Pryor, providing legislative and political counsel, managing legislative staff, overseeing the implementation of the Senator’s legislative agenda and strategic plans, and managing relationships with Senate, Committee, and other Congressional staff, as well as industry, political, and interest group representatives.  Later, Pryor was a principal with the government relations and public affairs firm The Podesta Group and served as a policy and legislative strategist.

Currently, he is Senior Vice President, Government Relations and General Counsel for Ceannate Corporation. Pryor has been a member of the Hendrix Board of Trustees since 2012.