Congressional
Fellowships
on Women and Public Policy
Class
of 2005
In
2003, Nita Elison was appointed to a vacant seat on the City
Council of Lexington, Kentucky, and now finds herself in Washington
after a close but unsuccessful election. Nita served in the Air Force
for 20 years, holding a wide range of education, administration, and
command posts in the U.S. and in Germany. Married to a fellow officer
when the Air Force adopted a new policy allowing married women with
children to remain on active duty, Nita raised their two children, Patrick
(now 28) and Michelle (now 26) while in uniform. By the time she retired
from the Air Force, Nita had earned two bachelor's degrees--from the
University of Maryland in psychology and from St. Leo College in human
resources--and two master's degrees--in education/history from Eastern
Kentucky University and in international relations from Troy State University.
Since retirement, she has earned post-graduate certificates from Ohio
State and Troy State, taught college for five years, worked in public
schools for five years, written a children's book, and volunteered for
many political campaigns, most recently in the special election of Rep.
Ben Chandler to the U.S. Congress.
Jaime
Hawk has accepted a position as a legal fellow for Senator Edward
M. Kennedy, working with his Senate Judiciary Committee staff on a variety
of issues including immigration, bankruptcy, judicial nominations, the
ERA, and civil liberties. A strong advocate for women's rights, Jaime
serves as the Washington State Coordinator of Amnesty International's
Stop Violence Against Women Campaign and was the national Law Student
Division liaison to the American Bar Association's Commission on Domestic
Violence. At the Casa Myrna Vasquez Domestic Violence Center in Boston,
she worked with victims on crisis intervention, support counseling,
and safety planning. Jaime also served with the United Nations High
Commissioner of Human Rights in Montenegro, where she researched sex
trafficking and other human rights abuses. She has volunteered at a
Missionaries of Charity orphanage in New Delhi; organized a "Mission:
Possible" service trip to the Dominican Republic; and was part
of a Witness for Peace political delegation to Cuba. A cum laude
graduate of Gonzaga University in political science, Jaime also earned
a cum laude law degree from Gonzaga's School of Law, where she
was a Thomas More Scholar and received both the Morey-Maurice Leadership
and Service Award and the 2004 Public Service Award.
Debbie
Jessup is working with Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard on HHS appropriations,
health, and women's issues. A nurse-midwife and mother of three teenagers,
Deb is in the dissertation stage of a doctorate in nursing and health
policy at George Mason University. Since majoring in biology at Tulane
University, she has earned three master's degrees--in nursing from Pace
University, in nursing (midwifery) from Columbia University, and in
health education from Teachers College. While pursuing these degrees
over the past 30 years, Deb has worked as a childbirth educator, a labor
and delivery nurse, and a certified nurse-midwife in hospital, home,
and birth-center settings. In 1982, she established the first midwifery
practice in Billings, Montana. After completing the 2000 Primary Care
Policy Fellowship at the Department of Health and Human Services in
Washington, Deb was instrumental in developing a Division of Women's
Health Policy and Leadership at the American College of Nurse Midwives,
and serves as its first and current chair. Deb is an active volunteer
at schools, church, the Fairfax County 4H, and the Girl Scout Council
of the Nation's Capital. She has also done considerable time as a "soccer,
cheerleading, volleyball, basketball, equestrian mom" for 16 year-old
Kolleen and 13 year-old twins, Katie and Kevin. She has been married
for 17 years to a staunchly feminist OB/Gyn physician, Lee Raitz, who
has been a constant cheerleader during her mid-life academic pursuits.
Irene
Lin accepted a placement with the minority staff of the House Ways
and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Trade, where she focuses on global
trade issues. Irene received her master's in international affairs from
the Institute of Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Her BA
is from Amherst College, where she majored in American Studies. A former
intern at People and PBS, Irene spent a year living in Zimbabwe
working as a journalist and later for an NGO that advocates for Africa
in the World Trade Organization. Irene spent another year on the road
in the U.S., driving 20,000 miles across the country for a nonprofit
educational website called "Odyssey US Trek," that explores
facets of American history often overlooked by traditional textbooks.
Returning to her home state of California, Irene worked for the Bay
Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition, researching how the lack
of transit options affects the healthcare of poor and minority citizens,
and for Asian Immigrant Women Advocates, where she produced a report
on the ergonomic and health injuries suffered by Asian sweatshop workers.
Since then, Irene has used her research and policy background for political
purposes. She conducted opposition research for two (victorious) Southwestern
gubernatorial candidates in 2002 and for Governor Howard Dean's presidential
campaign in 2003.
Renee
Neely works in the office of Rep. Robert C. Scott, covering a variety
of healthcare, education, and workforce issues. Renee, who has a master's
degree in counseling psychology and a bachelor's degree in political
science from Bowie State University, is working toward a doctorate in
clinical psychology at Argosy University. Her doctoral research project
focuses on the relationship between domestic violence and the increased
risk of HIV among low-income African American women. Along with her
graduate studies, Renee has held a full-time job supervising a welfare-to-work
program and has volunteered at the Children's National Medical Center.
Renee has completed an internship in child and adolescent psychology
at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey as well as
an externship in psychology at DeWitt Army Community Hospital at Ft.
Belvoir, VA. Among her legal/legislative experiences: three years at
the Office of Child Support Enforcement in Upper Marlboro, MD; a public
interest policy graduate internship at the American Psychological Association;
and a legislative internship with Senator Gloria Lawlah at the Maryland
General Assembly.
Karen
Persis handles women's issues in the office of Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
Karen graduated from the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida,
where she was named the National Association of Women Lawyers' Student
of the Year. In addition to working in the Juvenile Division of the
Alachua County State Attorney's Office, Karen served as president of
Florida Blue Key, the oldest and most prestigious leadership honorary
society in the state. In this capacity, she directed 120 volunteers
and managed a $750,000 budget to organize "Gator Growl," the largest
student-run pep rally in the nation, along with a Homecoming Banquet
featuring Attorney General John Ashcroft as speaker. This meant hosting
two comedians, a pop band, 40,000 cheering fans, the FBI, national media,
countless protestors, and the nation's top lawyer all in one day. A
cum laude graduate in journalism from the University, Karen served
as women's affairs director of the student government and Panhellenic
Council. In high school she was active in the Girl Scouts (ultimately
becoming a troop leader), and also organized the first National Organization
for Women high school action team in Broward County.
Brenda
Ritson works on the staff of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, where
she covers such healthcare issues as medical malpractice reform, Medicare
and Medicaid, women's health, and access to healthcare in rural areas.
Brenda has completed her fourth year of medical school at Yale University,
where she is specializing in medicine and women's health. After receiving
her BS from Boston University cum laude in human physiology,
Brenda worked as a research technician in the Pediatric Hematology department
of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She then volunteered at
the Women's Community Clinic in San Francisco for a year as a member
of the Healthcorps division of AmeriCorps. While in medical school,
Brenda helped found a Women's Health Journal Club and organized a Hunger
and Homelessness Auction that raised over $30,000 for homeless shelters
and a food kitchen in New Haven. Though once a stand-out player on a
nationally ranked high school basketball team, Brenda now prefers snowboarding
and distance running.
Patty
Skuster covers a range of legal issues, including reproductive rights,
in the office of Senator Barbara Boxer. She earned both
a law degree and a master's degree in public policy from the University
of Michigan, where she received the Jane L. Mixer Award for Social Justice
and was named the Women Lawyers Association Outstanding Woman Law Student.
Her undergraduate degree in English is from the State University of
New York at Geneseo. After college, Patty managed an independent dance
company in Nashua, NH, where she not only trained in ballet but also
kept the books. Her next stop was as a Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia,
Southern Africa. There, Patty taught in a rural village; learned to
speak Oshiwambo; organized a regional workshop for 80 young Namibian
women on HIV/AIDS prevention, sexual decision-making, and careers; and
helped construct a community library out of discarded bottles. Her other
international experiences include interning in Geneva at the UN Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, study with the Naropa Institute
in Kathmandu, Nepal, and researching the impact of the U.S. reproductive
gag rule in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Patty's work in East Africa
was funded by the Center for Reproductive Rights, where she has worked
as a legal/legislative intern.
In
2003, Nita Elison was appointed to a vacant seat on the City
Council of Lexington, Kentucky, and now finds herself in Washington
after a close but unsuccessful election. Nita served in the Air Force
for 20 years, holding a wide range of education, administration, and
command posts in the U.S. and in Germany. Married to a fellow officer
when the Air Force adopted a new policy allowing married women with
children to remain on active duty, Nita raised their two children, Patrick
(now 28) and Michelle (now 26) while in uniform. By the time she retired
from the Air Force, Nita had earned two bachelor's degrees--from the
University of Maryland in psychology and from St. Leo College in human
resources--and two master's degrees--in education/history from Eastern
Kentucky University and in international relations from Troy State University.
Since retirement, she has earned post-graduate certificates from Ohio
State and Troy State, taught college for five years, worked in public
schools for five years, written a children's book, and volunteered for
many political campaigns, most recently in the special election of Rep.
Ben Chandler to the U.S. Congress. 
Jaime
Hawk has accepted a position as a legal fellow for Senator Edward
M. Kennedy, working with his Senate Judiciary Committee staff on a variety
of issues including immigration, bankruptcy, judicial nominations, the
ERA, and civil liberties. A strong advocate for women's rights, Jaime
serves as the Washington State Coordinator of Amnesty International's
Stop Violence Against Women Campaign and was the national Law Student
Division liaison to the American Bar Association's Commission on Domestic
Violence. At the Casa Myrna Vasquez Domestic Violence Center in Boston,
she worked with victims on crisis intervention, support counseling,
and safety planning. Jaime also served with the United Nations High
Commissioner of Human Rights in Montenegro, where she researched sex
trafficking and other human rights abuses. She has volunteered at a
Missionaries of Charity orphanage in New Delhi; organized a "Mission:
Possible" service trip to the Dominican Republic; and was part
of a Witness for Peace political delegation to Cuba. A cum laude
graduate of Gonzaga University in political science, Jaime also earned
a cum laude law degree from Gonzaga's School of Law, where she
was a Thomas More Scholar and received both the Morey-Maurice Leadership
and Service Award and the 2004 Public Service Award. 
Debbie
Jessup is working with Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard on HHS appropriations,
health, and women's issues. A nurse-midwife and mother of three teenagers,
Deb is in the dissertation stage of a doctorate in nursing and health
policy at George Mason University. Since majoring in biology at Tulane
University, she has earned three master's degrees--in nursing from Pace
University, in nursing (midwifery) from Columbia University, and in
health education from Teachers College. While pursuing these degrees
over the past 30 years, Deb has worked as a childbirth educator, a labor
and delivery nurse, and a certified nurse-midwife in hospital, home,
and birth-center settings. In 1982, she established the first midwifery
practice in Billings, Montana. After completing the 2000 Primary Care
Policy Fellowship at the Department of Health and Human Services in
Washington, Deb was instrumental in developing a Division of Women's
Health Policy and Leadership at the American College of Nurse Midwives,
and serves as its first and current chair. Deb is an active volunteer
at schools, church, the Fairfax County 4H, and the Girl Scout Council
of the Nation's Capital. She has also done considerable time as a "soccer,
cheerleading, volleyball, basketball, equestrian mom" for 16 year-old
Kolleen and 13 year-old twins, Katie and Kevin. She has been married
for 17 years to a staunchly feminist OB/Gyn physician, Lee Raitz, who
has been a constant cheerleader during her mid-life academic pursuits.
Irene
Lin accepted a placement with the minority staff of the House Ways
and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Trade, where she focuses on global
trade issues. Irene received her master's in international affairs from
the Institute of Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Her BA
is from Amherst College, where she majored in American Studies. A former
intern at People and PBS, Irene spent a year living in Zimbabwe
working as a journalist and later for an NGO that advocates for Africa
in the World Trade Organization. Irene spent another year on the road
in the U.S., driving 20,000 miles across the country for a nonprofit
educational website called "Odyssey US Trek," that explores
facets of American history often overlooked by traditional textbooks.
Returning to her home state of California, Irene worked for the Bay
Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition, researching how the lack
of transit options affects the healthcare of poor and minority citizens,
and for Asian Immigrant Women Advocates, where she produced a report
on the ergonomic and health injuries suffered by Asian sweatshop workers.
Since then, Irene has used her research and policy background for political
purposes. She conducted opposition research for two (victorious) Southwestern
gubernatorial candidates in 2002 and for Governor Howard Dean's presidential
campaign in 2003. 
Renee
Neely works in the office of Rep. Robert C. Scott, covering a variety
of healthcare, education, and workforce issues. Renee, who has a master's
degree in counseling psychology and a bachelor's degree in political
science from Bowie State University, is working toward a doctorate in
clinical psychology at Argosy University. Her doctoral research project
focuses on the relationship between domestic violence and the increased
risk of HIV among low-income African American women. Along with her
graduate studies, Renee has held a full-time job supervising a welfare-to-work
program and has volunteered at the Children's National Medical Center.
Renee has completed an internship in child and adolescent psychology
at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey as well as
an externship in psychology at DeWitt Army Community Hospital at Ft.
Belvoir, VA. Among her legal/legislative experiences: three years at
the Office of Child Support Enforcement in Upper Marlboro, MD; a public
interest policy graduate internship at the American Psychological Association;
and a legislative internship with Senator Gloria Lawlah at the Maryland
General Assembly. 
Karen
Persis handles women's issues in the office of Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
Karen graduated from the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida,
where she was named the National Association of Women Lawyers' Student
of the Year. In addition to working in the Juvenile Division of the
Alachua County State Attorney's Office, Karen served as president of
Florida Blue Key, the oldest and most prestigious leadership honorary
society in the state. In this capacity, she directed 120 volunteers
and managed a $750,000 budget to organize "Gator Growl," the largest
student-run pep rally in the nation, along with a Homecoming Banquet
featuring Attorney General John Ashcroft as speaker. This meant hosting
two comedians, a pop band, 40,000 cheering fans, the FBI, national media,
countless protestors, and the nation's top lawyer all in one day. A
cum laude graduate in journalism from the University, Karen served
as women's affairs director of the student government and Panhellenic
Council. In high school she was active in the Girl Scouts (ultimately
becoming a troop leader), and also organized the first National Organization
for Women high school action team in Broward County. 
Brenda
Ritson works on the staff of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, where
she covers such healthcare issues as medical malpractice reform, Medicare
and Medicaid, women's health, and access to healthcare in rural areas.
Brenda has completed her fourth year of medical school at Yale University,
where she is specializing in medicine and women's health. After receiving
her BS from Boston University cum laude in human physiology,
Brenda worked as a research technician in the Pediatric Hematology department
of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She then volunteered at
the Women's Community Clinic in San Francisco for a year as a member
of the Healthcorps division of AmeriCorps. While in medical school,
Brenda helped found a Women's Health Journal Club and organized a Hunger
and Homelessness Auction that raised over $30,000 for homeless shelters
and a food kitchen in New Haven. Though once a stand-out player on a
nationally ranked high school basketball team, Brenda now prefers snowboarding
and distance running. 
Patty
Skuster covers a range of legal issues, including reproductive rights,
in the office of Senator Barbara Boxer. She earned both
a law degree and a master's degree in public policy from the University
of Michigan, where she received the Jane L. Mixer Award for Social Justice
and was named the Women Lawyers Association Outstanding Woman Law Student.
Her undergraduate degree in English is from the State University of
New York at Geneseo. After college, Patty managed an independent dance
company in Nashua, NH, where she not only trained in ballet but also
kept the books. Her next stop was as a Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia,
Southern Africa. There, Patty taught in a rural village; learned to
speak Oshiwambo; organized a regional workshop for 80 young Namibian
women on HIV/AIDS prevention, sexual decision-making, and careers; and
helped construct a community library out of discarded bottles. Her other
international experiences include interning in Geneva at the UN Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, study with the Naropa Institute
in Kathmandu, Nepal, and researching the impact of the U.S. reproductive
gag rule in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Patty's work in East Africa
was funded by the Center for Reproductive Rights, where she has worked
as a legal/legislative intern.