Bringing women policymakers together across party lines to advance issues of importance to women and their families.

WCPI Annual Report

Dear Friends of WCPI: As we look back over 2019, we wanted to take a moment to thank you , our WCPI champions and friends, for supporting our critical mission to bring women policymakers together across party lines to advance issues of importance to women and their families. This past year has been record-breaking for women in Congress and exciting for WCPI as we welcomed our sixth class of congressional fellows and hosted multiple congressional briefings and events. We are excited to look ahead to 2020 and our 25 th anniversary. Since our founding in 1995, WCPI has worked tirelessly to bring together women policymakers, bridge the partisan divide, and create new opportunities for women leaders at all stages of their careers. We hope you will join us in celebrating our 25 th anniversary at our annual congressional gala on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. We also invite you to attend our congressional briefings and access our resources on our new and improved website launched earlier this year. Please stay in touch with us @WCPInst on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn . Thank you for your continued generosity and support as we ring in the new year and our 25 th anniversary! Sincerely, Cindy Hall President

WCPI Leading the Effort to Advance Women’s Leadership on Capitol Hill

Bridging the Partisan Divide

This year, we hosted several events designed to build and strengthen bipartisan relationships among women Members of Congress. In January, WCPI hosted a reception to welcome the new women Members of Congress and leadership of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues . A record-setting 36 women were elected to the House of Representatives during the 2018 election cycle; many of them attended the event.

Congresswomen Susan Brooks (R-IN) and Lois Frankel (D-FL), Co-Chairs of the Women’s Caucus in the 115 th Congress, passed the leadership gavel to Congresswomen Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) and Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Women’s Caucus Co-Chairs, and Congresswomen Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), Women’s Caucus Vice-Chairs, for the 116 th Congress.

Throughout the year, we held smaller events with members of the Women’s Caucus, including a brainstorming meeting on priority issues and discussion about women’s leadership with Patti Poppe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Consumers Energy, one of 33 women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. We wrapped up 2019 by bringing together the women Members of Congress at a reception to spread some holiday cheer on Capitol Hill.

Expanding the Pipeline of Women’s Leadership on Capitol Hill The sixth class of WCPI’s Congressional Fellowships on Women and Public Policy started in January. Fellows Hillary Davis, Christina LeBlanc, Mia Mazer, and Courtney Rogers worked as legislative assistants in congressional offices through July, and covered a wide range of issues while learning the legislative process. In June, we celebrated their achievements at our annual reception, at which Members of Congress, congressional staff, family, friends, and fellowship sponsors congratulated the fellows as they neared completion of the program. Special thanks to our sponsors for their support! After the conclusion of their fellowships, Mia Mazer and Courtney Rogers remained in Congress in legislative positions, Hillary Davis transitioned into state and local government relations work in the private sector, and Christina LeBlanc returned to Tulane University to complete her PhD  in History. Congratulations to the Class of 2019 on their incredible accomplishments and time as WCPI Fellows! We are happy to announce our incoming class of fellows who will be joining us in January 2020! We are excited to welcome Sarah Kington, Adriianna Lagorio, Suhasini Ravi, and Amber Bivins Ray to the sisterhood of fellows. Stay tuned to learn more about these accomplished women. Click here to learn more about the WCPI Fellowship program. Applications for the Class of 2021 Fellows will open early this spring! Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media for updates.

Empowering the Next Generation of Women Leaders in Public Policy

In January, we were proud to launch a second paid internship – the Communications/Development internship. The new internship has provided critical support to our development efforts, while also strengthening our social media outreach and engagement. In addition, our long-running General Internship allowed students to continue contributing to our Weekly Legislative Update and supporting our programs, while also ensuring that they learn the legislative process. We are grateful to our 2019 interns for their hard work: Chidiebere Azubuike, Emma Berlage, Asha Talia Chadha, Zaria Guignard, Erin Kleinschmidt, and Melody Magly. These young professionals hailed from Cornell University, Ohio State University, University of Virginia, American University, University of Loyola-Chicago, and George Washington University, respectively. Thank you for your hard work, creativity, and collaboration this past year! We look forward to welcoming more interns in 2020. Click here for more information about our internship program, including how to apply for our summer positions - open now!

Bringing Together Women Chiefs of Staff on Capitol Hill

WCPI hosted several events and meetings as part of its Women Chiefs of Staff “Joint Session” program . Administered in partnership with Democracy Fund , the program fosters bicameral personal relationships across party lines, builds a support network for women chiefs of staff, committee staff directors, and senior leadership staff, and develops bipartisan women’s leadership. We are looking forward to next year’s programs to support these women leaders in Congress.

Inspiring Young Girls to See Themselves as Leaders

WCPI and Girls Inc. teamed up once again to host our annual Take Our Daughters to Congress Day . Twenty-one girls from Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Tennessee came to Capitol Hill to shadow women Members of Congress and learn about Congress and women’s leadership.

The day gave the girls – ages 12-17 – the chance to see themselves as leaders in their communities and perhaps consider running for office in the future. Click here to see more from this year’s event. We are looking forward to our 2020 event in April!

WCPI Events

Annual Congressional Gala

The 2019 Congressional Gala celebrated the record number of women elected to the 116 th Congress. The speakers included Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Women’s Caucus Co-Chairs, Congresswomen Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) and Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), and a number of newly elected women Members of Congress. An inspirational event bringing together women policymakers at the highest level, the gala was attended by 440 guests, including current and former women Members of Congress, senior federal agency officials, corporate and labor supporters, senior congressional staff, and representatives of women’s organizations. Thank you to our sponsors for making this evening such a success. Click here to see photos and video footage from the 2019 annual gala. We look forward to celebrating our 25 th anniversary at the 2020 gala on March 4! Stay tuned for details.

Annual WCPI STEAM Fair and Reception

The WCPI STEAM Fair and Reception continued to bring together exciting private and public sector efforts to encourage women and girls to choose careers in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics (STEAM) fields. More than 250 attendees, including Members of Congress, congressional staff, federal agency officials, and more than 100 DC, Maryland, and Virginia school-aged girls, visited the 15 interactive exhibits. Congresswomen Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) and Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Co-Chairs of the Women’s Caucus, and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Founder and Co-Chair of the STEAM Caucus, spoke to the girls and attendees, showing their continued support for this event, now in its seventh year. We are grateful to our corporate, labor, nonprofit, and federal partners for their continued support. Click here to see photos from this year’s event.

FDA Office of Women’s Health 25 th Anniversary

In October, WCPI celebrated the 25 th anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Women’s Health. At a congressional briefing, “ Twenty-Five Years of Protecting and Advancing Women’s Health ,” attendees, including Congresswomen Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR), Co-Chairs and Vice-Chair of the Women’s Caucus, heard from former Acting FDA Commissioner, Dr. Norman Sharpless, and Associate Commissioner and Director of the Office of Women’s Health, Dr. Kaveeta Vasisht. Special guests also included Ambassador, former Member of Congress, and WCPI Vice-Chair Connie Morella, along with three former directors of the Office of Women’s Health: Marsha Henderson, Audrey Sheppard, and Dr. Ruth Merkatz. For photographs from the event, visit us on Facebook .

Women Veterans and Suicide Prevention

As part of its annual recognition of women veterans, WCPI raised awareness of mental health issues and resources available to women veterans at its congressional briefing, “ Improving Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Among Women Veterans.” Congresswomen Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) and Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Co-Chairs of the Women’s Caucus, and Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Women’s Caucus Vice-Chair, spoke at the briefing, along with Congresswomen Carol Miller (R-WV), Elaine Luria (D-VA), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA). Dr. Lisa Kearney of the Department of Veterans Affairs and Army veterans Major April Harris (Ret.), who was featured in the HBO documentary, “We Are Not Done Yet,” and Ms. April Price, who had a 20-year career with the Department of Defense and is a Peer Group Leader with the Women Veterans Network, were inspiring speakers who left us with hope for the future and those struggling with mental health challenges. Lauren Gurski, a combat veteran and current Implementation Project Planner with Philips North America, also spoke, describing her company's work to support veterans. Special thanks to Philips for their sponsorship of this important briefing. For more information on our annual women veterans’ event, visit us online .

Commemorating Women Suffragists

As part of the celebrations commemorating women’s suffrage, WCPI participated in congressional events recognizing the 100 th anniversary of the House and Senate passage of the 19 th Amendment in May and June, respectively. We also followed the path toward ratification with a special series of social media posts marking the dates of each state’s ratification. Click here to follow the story on Facebook . Stay tuned for additional events honoring this historic anniversary in 2020!

What's New for WCPI?

New WCPI Website

In April, WCPI launched its new, streamlined website that focuses on our key programs and signature events. Designed to better engage our audiences, the site continues to serve as a resource for bipartisan information on women’s issues in Congress. Click here to visit our homepage and learn more about who we are and what we do!

New Board Leadership and Staff

WCPI welcomed new leadership and board members in June. Former Vice-Chair Anna Schneider (Volkswagen Group of America) was elected Chair. Board members also elected Ambassador and former Rep. Connie Morella as Vice-Chair, and Kenny Thompson (PepsiCo) as Secretary-Treasurer. LaQuita Honeysucker (United Food and Commercial Workers International Union) was elected to the Board of Directors. Amy Plaster (CMS Energy) and Amy Overton Hunt (Goldman Sachs) stepped down from their roles as Chair and Secretary-Treasurer, respectively, after several years of service. Bevin Albertani (LIUNA) was elected unanimously to Emeritus Board status after years of dedicated service. WCPI also was pleased to welcome three new staff members in 2019: Olivia Carvajal, Executive Assistant to the President; Cynthia Ramos, Policy Director; and Emma Berlage, Development Associate. Click here to learn more about our Board of Directors and Staff .

Thanks to our Foundation Partners!

WCPI is grateful for the longtime support of four foundation partners: Democracy Fund, Walton Family Foundation, Kahn Education Foundation, and PG&E Foundation. We also were excited to welcome our newest foundation partners: the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Qualcomm Foundation. We look forward to working with these partners to bridge the partisan divide and bring together women policymakers in 2020 and beyond!

Connect with us: ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Donate